It's not about the money!!

[Skater Bubbles]

So do people at your camp often joke about how little money you make and what not? At my camp sometimes the counselors have to be reminded that it's not about the money!! Is it like this at your camp? I have to say that one time I needed a little reminder. I was joking around or saying something about our salary, kinda whinning a bit and my director came up right behind me and said "Bubbles, why do you work here, for the money, or for the kids?" and I was all, but...uh...well... and he was like "no, are you here to make a difference in a child's life or are you here to make money?" And I was like, I am here to make a difference... Sorry. He snapped me out of that one real quick!!

So what about you?

[CAMPFRIEND]

I know that it’s not for the money. If it was I should have picked a different career a long time ago. When I was a director at an overnight camp the one thing that I thought was great was at the end of the summer I saved a lot of money. I think more money than I save working at a day camp. You get feed, no rent or as many bills. Also when you can’t go anywhere you can’t spend money..

[campCardinal]

I go to camp for the kids. Sometimes I wish I got more money... but I wouldn't stop going to camp for that reason alone. Camp has given me more than a paycheck, and I think that is the most important thing.

[Dave]

I wish I got more money, but if I really cared about money I'd be working elsewhere. my camp friends and I do joke about our small paychecks, but we really don't mind too much.

[CAMPFRIEND]

My staff loved to sit down ad figure out how much money they made per hour.. It comes out to about $.25 or something like that when you are working at an overnight camp 24 hours per day!!

[Dave]

My first year I made $1.27/hr. :eek:

[CAMPFRIEND]

So my staff were not the only ones. I have to say I used to do the math when I was a Counselor as well.

[martha27]

there isn't a better job out there :)
money was never high up on my list

[rockinsmiles]

We joke about how little we get paid as well...but never in a complaining type of way. but we also joke about how we do get paid. like i would work at camp for free (though i probably couldnt last as long :) ). I remember one time during training we were playing a team work game and one of the counselors said "just think we are getting paid to do this!"

[Skater Bubbles]

I am not at all surprised to hear how everyone is so dedciated to the kids at their camp and that they would work their for free, I would actually I do, I volunteer at my camp often. But I have to say I have sat around with counselors and laughed at the cents that we made per hour, but it's all trivial. I love camp!!! And ovbiously so do all of you!!

[camper]

yeah we joke, we even have a cheer..."we make 10 dollars a day, we make 10 dollars a day" haha. but it's ovbviously about everything BUT the money.

[CAMPFRIEND]

$10 a day is great for an overnight camp counselor!

[Skater Bubbles]

really, $10 dollars- great, are you sure campfriend, cause at my overnight camp we make about $33 a day.

[CAMPFRIEND]

Ok I was wrong! $33 is much better!

[camper]

haha i think we're taken advantage of a little bit b/c most of us were campers and grew up loving camp so they know we'll come anyway...just kidding, although i do wonder if that is a little bit the case sometimes...judging from the amount the kids pay to go to camp...

[Skater Bubbles]

Ya when I was looking up your camp camper I couldn't believe how much your kids payed, but it sounds like it's worth it!!

[who_stole_my_loofa]

skater- at camps that are very expensive you'd think the counselors make a lot more but in reality they don't at all. the reason the camps are more expensive is because tehy often have more activities or the food is different or the staff is larger- there are so many factors. I don't make a lot but I don't really care- I know that My salary is about 1/4 of an 8 week campers tuition but it doesn't really phase me because when you figure in upkeep of camp and food and trips and electric and water and busses and everything that I left out-- sure the owners are still making money but camp's are just so expensive to run.

My friend and I see it as we're getting paid to go to camp and nothing could be better than that. We might be working really hard but when you're at camp and you love your job you don't think about it. At least not at my camp cause they counselors are having just as much fun as the kids. And that's what it should be like.

We figured it out my first summer and I make something like 87 cents an hour- I guess it's gone up since then since my salary has changed. Eitherway the money is all bonus to me!

Loofa

[speedx5xracer]

First of all I have never and probably will never take a job solely for the money at camp or any where else. I took it originally to hang out with my friends and later to make a difference in childresns lives. My first year i made less than $0.33/hr my second increased to $0.45/ hr and last year i was up to $0.66/hr if i did the math right.

[Indigo]

It's definitely for the kids, and just for the experience. Of course, the money does help a lot. The summer before I was hired at camp, I worked 2 jobs (one all day, and another in the evenings). Together they only paid about as much as camp did for the whole summer. Plus, I hated the main job with a passion. I'd take camp over even the better job (an usher at an outdoor theater, basically getting paid to watch plays) any day.

[speedx5xracer]

As long as i make enough to cover gas and get a little spending money I dont care about the money. Ill be glad if i can make a living after college teaching canoeing but camp works to fill that void.

[audur]

I've never taken a job only for the money - I enjoy working with people, so pretty much every single job I've ever had is a "people-job"... and they don't pay very well, most of the time. However, I'm lucky in that I don't have to count on a steady/high income yet... or I wouldn't be able to work at camp at all. I probably wouldn't work there for free - I need to at least break even after I've paid for the airfare and insurance and visa and whatnot... but I am willing to work there for a very low salary.

I think it might be both good and bad, in a way, if camps were able to pay their staff more... good, because people devoted to make a difference in a kids life would be getting paid what they're worth, and might be able to keep working at camp longer, but bad, because it might attract a lot more of people who don't care as much about the kids as they do about the money...

[EchoLaker]

We know that we're not there for the money; and we have to laugh about it - but the director knows this too and when we are preparing for the staff lottery every week at the staff meetings he shouts:

"WHO NEEDS MONEY?"

And we all reply

"I NEED MONEY..... I NEED MONEY......." (to fade).

Of course the thought of winning $500, $250 or $100 is a motivating thought !


If it was the money we were after, we'd be doing something else for the summer. The real rewards are expressed in something more than $$$ amounts.

[Dave]

We know that we're not there for the money; and we have to laugh about it - but the director knows this too and when we are preparing for the staff lottery every week at the staff meetings he shouts:

"WHO NEEDS MONEY?"

And we all reply

"I NEED MONEY..... I NEED MONEY......." (to fade).

Of course the thought of winning $500, $250 or $100 is a motivating thought !


If it was the money we were after, we'd be doing something else for the summer. The real rewards are expressed in something more than $$$ amounts.
Yeah, people ask me why I do what I do since I make next to nothing. I tell them I don't do it for the money. They then look at me like I have two heads. :P

[CAMPFRIEND]

IF they don't do it, they will never know. I love camp.

[collissimon]

We usually have a chat about it too, we definitely earn a couple of quarters an hour. A friend worked with the older ones, who have a work programme. One of their favourite things is to moan 'But you're getting paid to do this, we paid to be here!' To which my friend responds that they get paid almost double for their work programme ($1.50/hour), at which I think the campers were quite pleased with themselves!

Of course you are not there for the money per se, but it is nice to be recognised for the hard work you have put in. I suppose the massive costs that my camp charges means that we can have the number of staff members we need to operate well.

It's getting a balance between doing the job you love, and the outside influences (such as rent or university etc) that I for one love leaving behind when I'm at camp!

[Dave]

IF they don't do it, they will never know. I love camp.
That's where the problem is. I tell them they should try it out before they bash it. My words go in one ear and out the other. They think that since they'd be making such little money that it's just not worth it. Oh well. It's their loss.

[collissimon]

It is their loss.

I do wonder sometimes whether I would really want my outside friends going to camp... What do you think?

[Dave]

It is their loss.

I do wonder sometimes whether I would really want my outside friends going to camp... What do you think?
With their attitudes, I think it's better they don't go. They'd probably think they were too cool for the kids and would ruin their summers.

[EchoLaker]

With their attitudes, I think it's better they don't go. They'd probably think they were too cool for the kids and would ruin their summers.


I think this is one reason, particularly for the internationals, that staffing agencies and the camps spend so much time probing the staff just to get some feel for their motivations.

A good measure of an attitude is whether they end up talking more about the great opportunity to meet new people, having some fun, and gaining some work experience; or more about the travel opportunities afterwards.


Camps could do without people who are just there to make what they might percieve pre-camp as an "easy" buck to be able to spend on their J-1 travel entitlement.

The more people camps have dedicated to the cause the better.

[CAMPFRIEND]

That's where the problem is. I tell them they should try it out before they bash it. My words go in one ear and out the other. They think that since they'd be making such little money that it's just not worth it. Oh well. It's their loss.

I think it might be better if they don't try it.. Who knows what kind of counselor they would be.

[Indigo]

One of my former campers who was hired for the second half of last summer was talking about working this year, and saying she might have to, because she needed the money... We made fun of her! :)

[roots]

Being a camp counselor is for me better paid than my summer job last year. At camp I'll make about 95 cents an hour, last year I made 80 cents an hour.

[ArtisticEric]

Its also so much more fun then any other summer job I can think of:D

[Sparkes]

where else are you going to meet as many people from random places (well, besides the UN of course)?

[Pooka]

One of my friends was complaining a while ago because she was 'only' going to be making $7.00 an hour at her lifeguarding job this summer. I sputtered in amazement.

And then I remembered-- hers is a parents-made-me-find-a-job-and-it's-a-chore job. Mine is a three-months-beforehand-and-I'm-happily-planning-campfires job.

My thoughts at this point were along the line of, "yeah, I win."

[KiwiCRB]

We figured out the other day we get 1.12 an hour if we work 16 hour days and don't get paid for sleeping. Haha. Good thing I love my job.

[CAMPFRIEND]

You get the chance to sleep. You should come work for us and with our 5 year olds. I have to give my counselors time to sleep during the day because they are up most of the night!