While your summer camp will most likely be quite different than summer camps at Camp Crystal Lake from "Friday the 13th," being a camp counselor can be fun. Especially when you're not being chased by Jason.
This is a great job to have if you've received your high school diploma, as you'll be in charge of designing and leading activities. The majority of your day will be spent in recreation centers and parks. So basically, if you like being in charge of groups of people, being active and spending some of the day (if not all) outside then you'll fit right in!
Camp Counselor Overview
Camp Counselor Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a camp counselor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $11.52 an hour? That's $23,963 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 33,800 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Camp Counselor Do
There are certain skills that many camp counselors have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, flexibility and leadership skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a camp counselor, we found that a lot of resumes listed 35.3% of camp counselors included daily activities, while 10.7% of resumes included cpr, and 4.7% of resumes included recreational activities. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the camp counselor job title. But what industry to start with? Most camp counselors actually find jobs in the non profits and hospitality industries.
How To Become a Camp Counselor
If you're interested in becoming a camp counselor, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 69.7% of camp counselors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 5.0% of camp counselors have master's degrees. Even though most camp counselors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a camp counselor. When we researched the most common majors for a camp counselor, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or high school diploma degrees. Other degrees that we often see on camp counselor resumes include associate degree degrees or master's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a camp counselor. In fact, many camp counselor jobs require experience in a role such as volunteer. Meanwhile, many camp counselors also have previous career experience in roles such as internship or cashier.
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Camp Counselor Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a camp counselor can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as teacher, progress to a title such as consultant and then eventually end up with the title director of human resources.
Camp Counselor
Director Of Human Resources
10 Years
Patient Care Manager
5 Years
Center Director
7 Years
Facilities Manager
7 Years
Director Of Training
7 Years
Education Director
7 Years
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What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Camp Counselor
Camp Counselors in America make an average salary of $23,963 per year or $12 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $33,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $17,000 per year.
Average Salary
$23,963
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Girl Scouts of West Central Florida Camp Counselor Camp Counselor | Girl Scouts of West Central Florida Girl Scouts of West Central Florida | 03/31/2021 03/31/2021 | $13,30503/31/2021 $13,305 |
City of Atlanta, Ga Camp Counselor-Transportation Camp Counselor-Transportation | City of Atlanta, Ga City of Atlanta, Ga | 03/27/2021 03/27/2021 | $29,21803/27/2021 $29,218 |
City of Greenville, Nc Teen Voyager Camp Counselors Teen Voyager Camp Counselors | City of Greenville, Nc City of Greenville, Nc | 03/27/2021 03/27/2021 | $17,21803/27/2021 $17,218 |
YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne Summer Day Camp Coordinator-Parkview Ymca Summer Day Camp Coordinator-Parkview Ymca | YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne | 03/24/2021 03/24/2021 | $22,95703/24/2021 $22,957 |
New York State Civil Service Developmental Disabilities Camp Counselor Developmental Disabilities Camp Counselor | New York State Civil Service New York State Civil Service | 03/23/2021 03/23/2021 | $28,88403/23/2021 $28,884 |
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Camp Counselor Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Camp Counselor. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Camp Counselor Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Camp Counselor resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Colleges for Camp Counselors
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
2. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Public
In-State Tuition
$9,808
Enrollment
13,990
3. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
4. SUNY Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY • Public
In-State Tuition
$9,625
Enrollment
17,407
5. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
6. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
7. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
In-State Tuition
$26,756
Enrollment
6,166
8. SUNY at Albany
Albany, NY • Public
In-State Tuition
$10,011
Enrollment
13,434
9. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
10. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Public
In-State Tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
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Internship
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Top Skills For a Camp Counselor
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 35.3% of camp counselors listed daily activities on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and flexibility are important as well.
- Daily Activities, 35.3%
- CPR, 10.7%
- Recreational Activities, 4.7%
- Safety Rules, 4.3%
- Summer Camps, 4.1%
- Other Skills, 40.9% See All Camp Counselor Skills
Best States For a Camp Counselor
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a camp counselor. The best states for people in this position are Oregon, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island. Camp counselors make the most in Oregon with an average salary of $30,825. Whereas in Massachusetts and New York, they would average $30,434 and $30,095, respectively. While camp counselors would only make an average of $30,059 in Rhode Island, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Alaska
Total Camp Counselor Jobs:
38
Highest 10% Earn:
$41,000
Location Quotient:
1.26
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$29,560
Avg. Salary
2. Oregon
Total Camp Counselor Jobs:
141
Highest 10% Earn:
$46,000
Location Quotient:
0.94
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$30,825
Avg. Salary
3. New York
Total Camp Counselor Jobs:
664
Highest 10% Earn:
$50,000
Location Quotient:
1.43
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$30,095
Avg. Salary
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