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Job outlook for day camp counselors in the United States
Day camp counselor job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected day camp counselor job growth rate is 10% from 2018-2028.
About 28,100 new jobs for day camp counselors are projected over the next decade.
Day camp counselor salaries have increased 19% for day camp counselors in the last 5 years.
There are over 91,311 day camp counselors currently employed in the United States.
There are 32,895 active day camp counselor job openings in the US.
The average day camp counselor salary is $29,384.
Are day camp counselor jobs in demand?
Day camp counselor job and salary trends over time
Day camp counselor jobs over time
Day camp counselor job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 91,311 | 0.03% |
| 2020 | 112,211 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | 123,477 | 0.04% |
| 2018 | 121,656 | 0.04% |
| 2017 | 121,163 | 0.04% |
Average day camp counselor salary over time
Day camp counselor salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $29,384 | $14.13 | +7.9% |
| 2025 | $27,225 | $13.09 | +5.1% |
| 2024 | $25,892 | $12.45 | +2.1% |
| 2023 | $25,355 | $12.19 | +2.8% |
| 2022 | $24,662 | $11.86 | +2.4% |
Day camp counselor jobs by state
Most common states for day camp counselors
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,062 | 15% |
| 2 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 90 | 13% |
| 3 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 240 | 7% |
| 4 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 75 | 7% |
| 5 | Delaware | 961,939 | 69 | 7% |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 729 | 6% |
| 7 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 34 | 6% |
| 8 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 392 | 5% |
| 9 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 333 | 5% |
| 10 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 307 | 5% |
| 11 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 267 | 5% |
| 12 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 259 | 5% |
| 13 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 66 | 5% |
| 14 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 41 | 5% |
| 15 | Alaska | 739,795 | 40 | 5% |
| 16 | New York | 19,849,399 | 886 | 4% |
| 17 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 397 | 4% |
| 18 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 166 | 4% |
| 19 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 64 | 4% |
| 20 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 53 | 4% |
Most common cities for day camp counselors
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Granite City | 2 | 7% | $26,028 |
| 2 | Saugus | 1 | 4% | $35,339 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 1 | 3% | $35,369 |
| 4 | Holland | 1 | 3% | $27,352 |
| 5 | Dubuque | 1 | 2% | $25,504 |
| 6 | Bloomington | 1 | 1% | $26,569 |
| 7 | Bloomington | 1 | 1% | $21,049 |
| 8 | Cambridge | 1 | 1% | $35,387 |
| 9 | Hawthorne | 1 | 1% | $37,748 |
| 10 | Miramar | 1 | 1% | $29,918 |
| 11 | Pasadena | 1 | 1% | $37,547 |
| 12 | Simi Valley | 1 | 1% | $38,075 |
| 13 | Boston | 1 | 0% | $35,390 |
| 14 | Chandler | 1 | 0% | $31,553 |
| 15 | Indianapolis | 1 | 0% | $21,286 |
| 16 | Los Angeles | 1 | 0% | $37,793 |
| 17 | Phoenix | 1 | 0% | $31,649 |
| 18 | San Diego | 1 | 0% | $36,684 |
Day Camp Counselor job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of day camp counselor experts
Adelphi University
Saint Xavier University
Western Illinois University
Louisiana State University at Shreveport
University of New Orleans
Concordia University Irvine
Nicholls State University
Presbyterian College
Augsburg University
University of Indianapolis
Lancaster Bible College
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Carolina Christian College
The American Camp Association’s
Montana State University – Bozeman
American University
California State University Long Beach
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
What general advice would you give to a Day Camp Counselor?
Katherine Stavrianopoulos Ph.D.: Education and Credentials: Invest in obtaining advanced degrees and relevant certifications that enhance your qualifications and marketability. A master's or doctoral degree in counseling psychology, along with licensure or certification in your jurisdiction, can significantly increase your earning potential. Specialization and Niche Expertise: Develop expertise in specialized areas of counseling psychology that are in demand or command higher fees. Consider focusing on niche populations, such as children and adolescents, trauma survivors, couples therapy, family therapy and acquire specialized training or certifications to differentiate yourself in the market. Clinical Experience and Internships: Gain diverse clinical experience through internships, practicum placements, and supervised training opportunities. Continuing Education and Professional Development: Stay abreast of emerging trends, research findings, and evidence-based practices in counseling psychology through continuing education, workshops, and professional development opportunities.
What Day Camp Counselor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Katherine Stavrianopoulos Ph.D.: Digital Literacy and Teletherapy Skills: With the continued integration of technology in mental health care, counselors will need to enhance their proficiency in digital platforms and teletherapy modalities. This includes utilizing secure video conferencing tools, managing electronic health records (EHR), and maintaining ethical standards in online therapy settings. Cultural Competence and Diversity Awareness: As awareness of cultural diversity and social justice issues grows, counselors must deepen their understanding of intersectionality and cultural humility. Competence in working with diverse populations and addressing systemic barriers to mental health care will from an antiracism lens will be essential for providing inclusive and culturally responsive services. Trauma-Informed Care: Given the prevalence of trauma and its impact on mental health, counselors will need to adopt trauma-informed approaches across various settings. This includes recognizing the signs of trauma, creating safe environments for disclosure, and integrating trauma-sensitive interventions into counseling practice. Resilience-Building and Positive Psychology: In addition to addressing mental health challenges, there will be a greater emphasis on promoting resilience and well-being. Counselors will incorporate positive psychology principles, such as strengths-based interventions and mindfulness techniques, to empower clients and enhance their coping skills. Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Care: With the recognition of the interconnectedness of physical and mental health, counselors will collaborate more closely with other healthcare professionals in integrated care settings. Strong communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams will be essential for providing holistic and comprehensive care to clients. Data Literacy and Outcome Measurement: Increasing emphasis on evidence-based practice and outcome measurement will require counselors to develop skills in data collection, analysis, and outcome evaluation. Ethical Decision-Making in Complex Situations: As counseling scenarios become increasingly complex, counselors will face ethical dilemmas that require nuanced decision-making. Strengthening skills in ethical reasoning, consultation, and ethical sensitivity will enable counselors to navigate challenging ethical issues with integrity and professionalism.
What will help Day Camp Counselors increase their earning potential?
Katherine Stavrianopoulos Ph.D.: Continued Learning and Development: Stay committed to lifelong learning by attending workshops, pursuing advanced certifications, and staying updated on the latest research and therapeutic techniques. Supervision and Mentorship: Seek out supervision and mentorship opportunities from experienced professionals in the field. Consider participating in a peer supervision group where you can support one another and be open to constructive criticism as part of your development. Engage in regular self-reflection for personal growth. Prioritize Self-Care: Establish healthy boundaries between work and personal life, engage in activities that recharge you and help prevent burn out. Cultural Competence and Diversity: Cultivate cultural humility and strive to understand the diverse backgrounds and perspectives of your clients. Continuously educate yourself on multiculturalism and antiracism to provide competent and inclusive counseling services. Ethical Practice: Adhere to ethical guidelines and professional standards in your practice. Strive to Build Strong Therapeutic Relationships: Establish rapport, demonstrate empathy, and create a safe and trusting environment where clients feel comfortable exploring their thoughts and feelings. Evidence-Based Practice: Stay informed about research findings and utilize interventions that have been empirically validated for specific client populations and presenting issues. Networking and Collaboration: Build professional connections within the counseling community. Attend conferences, join professional organizations, and participate in networking events to expand your professional network. Collaboration with colleagues can lead to referrals, consultation opportunities, and mutual support. Consider doing some pro bono work: Pro bono services help bridge the gap to access mental health services for individuals who cannot afford them.
Errol Rodriguez Ph.D., MAC, CRC
Assistant Dean & Program Director, Master's programs in General Psychology and Mental Health CounselingAdelphi University
Mental And Social Health Services And Allied Professions
What general advice would you give to a Day Camp Counselor?
Errol Rodriguez Ph.D., MAC, CRC: In the next few years, counselors will benefit from developing skills in emerging technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and how such technology is being used by clients through various social media applications that might lead to clinical concerns (.e.g., dating, gambling, pornography). Integrating some of these new technologies into therapeutically sound interventions will be one way to address these concerns both in traditional therapy settings, as well as virtually (e.g., avatar therapy).
What Day Camp Counselor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Errol Rodriguez Ph.D., MAC, CRC: Given the complexities of the world today, emerging counseling professionals must be flexible in their treatment approach, inclusive in their understanding of diverse cultures and sub-cultures, and mature professionally through humility, self-reflection, and self-care.
What will help Day Camp Counselors increase their earning potential?
Errol Rodriguez Ph.D., MAC, CRC: One way to maximize your earning potential when starting your career is to develop a focus, not just a specialization. A focus requires a broader lens when it comes to earnings. For example, specializing in clinical treatments for addiction is important and will generate referrals. However, having a focus in addiction treatments extends your reach into other adjacent areas such as business applications and services offered outside of the therapy office. It might start with the question, 'what other groups or organizations might benefit from my focus area?' This might lead to a consultation opportunity at a business that is interested in reducing burnout for its employees and by extension the sequelae of problems associated with burnout (e.g., depression, addiction). One opportunity often leads to another. The second way to maximize income early in your career is to consider ways to translate what you do into a public-facing profile. Whether using LinkedIn or your own website, it is crucial for the public to become acquainted with you professionally. Investing in this process will pay off quickly.
What general advice would you give to a Day Camp Counselor?
Kristen Toole: Remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Personal and professional development are
lifelong processes that are never really finished. So, it is essential to pace yourself and establish a
foundation of healthy practices from the outset. Creating habits and routines in the beginning
with the end in mind can be a good strategy for success and sustainability.
Keep work-life balance and boundaries in mind from the start because breaking bad habits can
be tricky once established. Think about where you ultimately want to be and build toward that
future one step at a time. Also, it is okay if plans change! You never know where open-
mindedness and willingness to learn may take you.
What Day Camp Counselor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Kristen Toole: This is an exciting time to be a counselor. It is a time for integration and inclusivity. With an
increasing focus on neuroscience and the advent of telehealth, incorporating science and
technology in counseling is increasingly relevant.
The use of technology is on the rise. As more people become familiar with telehealth, counselors
must become comfortable providing virtual care. Telehealth practices are also critical to
expanding our reach and improving the accessibility of our services.
Undeniable links between science and counseling continue to emerge. Findings in neuroscience
are shaping how we understand counseling and informing best practices (Cammisuli &
Castelnuovo, 2023). Furthermore, this supports incorporating knowledge and skills from other
disciplines to broaden the counseling field's horizons.
Mastering essential attending behaviors and the basic listening sequence (Ivey et al., 2018) is not
enough if we cannot successfully and accurately position our clients against a backdrop of broad
and complex contextual factors. Embracing diverse perspectives is crucial to supporting holistic
counseling practices. Integrating new information will be the key to achieving a more complete
and inclusive understanding of our clients and our work as we move forward.
What will help Day Camp Counselors increase their earning potential?
Kristen Toole: Post-pandemic disparities have highlighted the necessity of prioritizing mental health and the
need for more mental health providers (Fink-Samnick, 2023; Health Resources & Services
Administration, 2023). The counseling field is expected to outpace the national average for
occupational growth six-fold over the next ten years (U.S. Department of Labor, 2022). There is
no question that counselors are in demand, but there are still a few strategies for new
professionals to maximize their salary potential.
A growing number of students are entering counseling graduate programs, having completed
undergraduate minors and focus areas in related fields. This is fantastic conceptually and can be
a vital strategy for enhancing their counseling work. Skill building is one way to optimize
success and salary.
Some graduate programs, like Xavier's, offer options for obtaining additional certifications along
the way to a master's degree. In Xavier's counseling program, students can choose courses that
allow them to get certificates in addiction counseling and medical trauma-informed care. For
clinical mental health counselors, this is an excellent way to demonstrate skill mastery, and for
school counselors, it provides a unique opportunity to broaden their scope of practice. Either
way, additional certifications exhibit a commitment that potential employers can appreciate.
Counselors who are well-informed about their market value and earning potential can engage in
informed offer negotiations. Additional skills are one way beginning professionals can increase
their starting salary. However, it is important to remember that total earnings include several
elements, and salary is just one piece of that puzzle.
Counselors are immensely versatile and can find work in various settings, so they need to
understand their options in addition to their earning potential. Benefits, schedule, and location
are other things that can impact the earnings bottom line and are essential to consider. Finally,
counselors must know themselves: personality, interests, work values, and abilities impact job fit
and, ultimately, work satisfaction. These are crucial considerations for mitigating compassion
fatigue (Stamm, 2010), which can limit counselors' longevity.
New professionals must research and reflect as they enter the job market. There are many things
to consider when choosing a job, and it can feel overwhelming. Thankfully, various resources,
such as the Occupational Outlook Handbook, O*Net, Glassdoor, and Monster, offer
indispensable tools and information to job seekers.
What general advice would you give to a Day Camp Counselor?
Emily Yowell Ph.D.: A practicing counselor's day is often full of sessions with clients. These sessions may be individual therapy, couples/families, or groups of individuals with some shared presenting issue. Counselors also have to complete paperwork associated with these sessions throughout the day. Some counselors also provide supervision to newer practitioners as a part of their work roles.
What Day Camp Counselor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Emily Yowell Ph.D.: There is a critical need for mental health care in our world. Many want to help with this need, making counseling a good profession to enter now.
What will help Day Camp Counselors increase their earning potential?
Emily Yowell Ph.D.: Psychologists should be aware of what others in their field are making for similar positions. It is important to ask for what your work is worth in an initial position to assure raises are based on a solid starting salary. Newer psychologists may also consider asking for an early review that prompts an early conversation around potential raises, bonus, or other job benefits.
Leigh Ann Tipton-Fisler, PhD, BCBA
Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Specialist in School Psychology and Clinical/ Community Mental Health Graduate ProgramsWestern Illinois University
Clinical, Counseling And Applied Psychology
What will help Day Camp Counselors increase their earning potential?
Leigh Ann Tipton-Fisler, PhD, BCBA: - I think skills in using and being familiar with artificial intelligence (AI) will be important in our field now and in the upcoming five years. The capabilities of the open AI sources has exponentially grown smarter in just the past year. The tools accessible are revolutionizing the way people write reports, generate recommendations, capture clinical notes, and even summarize and synthesize information. It is technology that we must learn to understand after the point of graduate training where we can apply our professional decision-making skills and theoretical knowledge to the information input/output of this great technology.
What general advice would you give to a Day Camp Counselor?
Leigh Ann Tipton-Fisler, PhD, BCBA: - The best I can give to graduates is to focus on taking small steps at first. Often the first year in the field can be exciting and overwhelming at the same time. The system we work in (the helping profession broadly) often has a lot of challenges, and new professionals want to re-envision a path for changes. This is tangible, but at first, it is important to understand the roles and functions in the workplace before flipping everything upside down. I suggest taking one small change at a time in an area that is important to you and build relationships and trust with your professional colleagues before overloading yourself with the new job and new goals.
What Day Camp Counselor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Leigh Ann Tipton-Fisler, PhD, BCBA: - The best I can give to graduates is to focus on taking small steps at first. Often the first year in the field can be exciting and overwhelming at the same time. The system we work in (the helping profession broadly) often has a lot of challenges, and new professionals want to re-envision a path for changes. This is tangible, but at first, it is important to understand the roles and functions in the workplace before flipping everything upside down. I suggest taking one small change at a time in an area that is important to you and build relationships and trust with your professional colleagues before overloading yourself with the new job and new goals.
Kacie Blalock Ph.D.
Associate Professor; Director, Master of CounselingLouisiana State University at Shreveport
Department Of Psychology
What skills stand out on Day Camp Counselor resumes?
Kacie Blalock Ph.D.: Skills that stand out on Counselor resumes include multilingual, critical thinking, conflict resolution, and leadership skills.
What soft skills should all Day Camp Counselors possess?
Kacie Blalock Ph.D.: Soft skills that are essential for counselors include emotional intelligence, empathy, multicultural competency, interpersonal abilities, and authenticity.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Day Camp Counselors?
Kacie Blalock Ph.D.: It is important that counselors are able to effectively take notes and summarize progress, interpret assessments, memorize and recall information, and keep clear yet concise records.
What skills will help Day Camp Counselors earn the most?
Kacie Blalock Ph.D.: Skills that will help you earn the most include teletherapy and trauma-informed care.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Day Camp Counselors?
Christopher Todd Belser Ph.D.: 100 percent, yes. The coronavirus pandemic has greatly impacted the training experiences that emerging graduates have received, especially those who have been working at practicum and internship sites in 2020 and 2021. Many students had to navigate school site closures and pivots to online learning both in their K-12 field site and their graduate coursework. On one hand, this has likely limited some of the experiences they were able to gain as a graduate student, and on the other hand, it forced them to become acquainted with new technologies and new real-world crises while working under a supportive network of university and site supervisors. In addition to the direct impacts on the graduates themselves, the coronavirus pandemic has also sparked conversations about what role school counselors will play in responding to student needs as we move toward a new normal. The events of 2020, including both the coronavirus pandemic and racial justice efforts, will likely be watershed moments for the current generations of K-12 students, and the impacts will be both immediate and long-term. School counselors will need to dive head first into helping K-12 students work through grief/loss, fears and anxieties, academic challenges, motivation loss, career and postsecondary concerns, and a myriad of other issues related to reintegrating into on-site school environments. And as K-12 employees whose identity bridges education and mental health, there will be a great need for school counselors to act as leaders, advocates, collaborators, and change agents in response efforts that are equitable and systems-oriented.
What's a day at work look like for a Day Camp Counselor?
Christopher Todd Belser Ph.D.: I'm not sure there was a "typical day" before COVID-19 for school counselors and I don't think there will be after. Because the pandemic is ongoing, graduates going immediately into school settings may still need to be prepared for environments that are virtual at least to some degree. Even if schools are moving more toward on-site learning, some element of virtual learning will likely still be in place, and if there is an unfortunate need to return to virtual learning, school counselors will need to be prepared to organize their work in that way. More concretely, day-to-day tasks will involve checking-in with specific students, making referrals for long-term mental health care, going into classrooms to deliver counseling-related lessons, conducting small group interventions, meeting with parents and teachers, etc. And because of the magnitude of the COVID-19 impact, school counselors will need to avoid the trap of "random acts of guidance" and be prepared to gathering universal data on student needs and delivering multi-tiered services to students in response to these needs.
What will help Day Camp Counselors increase their earning potential?
Christopher Todd Belser Ph.D.: In many states and districts, school counselor salaries are based on a set pay scale, so earning potential is more tied to getting a school counseling job and keeping that job. New graduates often face the dreaded critique of lacking work experience as compared to more seasoned job candidates. However, newer graduates are also more likely to have been trained to design and deliver multi-tiered interventions and more trained on how to utilize school data to drive school counseling programming. Job candidates looking to stand out will need to be able to concretely discuss how their training will help solve issues that the school is facing, which does involve doing a bit of research on the school to which one is applying. Additionally, graduates need to recognize the importance of ongoing professional development--trainings, workshops, and certifications that equip school counselors to address unique circumstances of the school can only increase a person's effectiveness and longevity as a school counselor. Although grants and other external funding typically don't increase salaries for school counselors, these funding opportunities can help purchase evidence-based programs, support interventions, and buy other necessary materials that can make a school counselor's work a little bit easier. Lastly, school counselors can consider pursuing a doctorate degree in a related field (e.g., counselor education and supervision, educational leadership) to enhance their skills and expertise, open doors for new work opportunities and promotions, and possibly move them up on a pay scale.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Day Camp Counselor job market given the pandemic?
Michael Eschelbach Ph.D.: Any and every job that is either unaffected by a pandemic (essential workers) or jobs that flourish because of the pandemic; delivery people and methods, producers of packaging; disposable products, plexiglass production, and fabrication; whatever can provide people with as many choices as possible that can be delivered to their home.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Day Camp Counselors?
Michael Eschelbach Ph.D.: Medically related, including counseling. Apart from Covid, certifications/licenses/courses that are in demand; health care always but also in the trades.
What's a good job out of college for Day Camp Counselors?
Michael Eschelbach Ph.D.: A good job out of college is any job, some might argue. A better job would be one that employs what you studied in college because it asks you to do what you prepared to do. A still better job is one that offers the opportunity to use the whole college experience in problem-solving, creativity, interpersonal relationships - learning, thinking, and communication skills that allow you to see an opportunity, be inspired by it, and pursue it.
Dr. Stephanie Baran
Instructor, SociologyNicholls State University
Social Sciences Department
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Day Camp Counselors?
Dr. Stephanie Baran: I think there will be an impact, but I don't necessarily think graduates in the social sciences will find an issue getting jobs. If anything, at least what I've seen from my students is that they are resilient and are flexible to the changes that occur around them. So, the impact that the coronavirus had on graduates showed them ways they could innovate and be responsive to changes. I think those qualities are desirable for post-graduate work.
I also don't necessarily think sociology will "change"-the social impact of the coronavirus-how it continues to affect groups in varying intersections of race, class and gender are all the main threads of sociological inquiry. Students may find more opportunities post-graduation in organizations that address social stressors-like the impact on mental health services, social services and how the pandemic disparately impacted women, women of color, BIPOC and marginalized groups in different ways and how society directly feels the impact from inaction from governmental structures.
What type of skills will young Day Camp Counselors need?
Dr. Stephanie Baran: I do not believe this has changed much-aside from the increase of distance learning. I know that in my teaching experience, the things students learn in class are directly relatable to their future endeavors. Sociology teaches its majors, minors and (other students simply taking the course for credit) how different social structures impact different lives, differently. Therefore, being able to be proactive, assess situations, understand different relationships are all still important. I think a skill we can as instructors instill in students is simply asking for help and knowing who to talk to/reaching out to others is imperative to mental health. I think employers are the ones that need to shift and provide access to different work/life balance resources, versus the graduate always being on alert.
What experience really stands out on Day Camp Counselor resumes?
Dr. Stephanie Baran: For recently graduated students, or students about to graduate, because they may not have a lot of work experience, it is helpful to use the work they completed in their different courses, emphasizing their ability to think through complex issues, showing the ability to navigate/be flexible then things quickly change. They can also use some of the skills acquired from the pandemic-like more online/computer skills, which may be helpful to their coworkers.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Day Camp Counselor job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Carla Alphonso: I expect more remote work options and also more jobs opening in health care and social services. Not only due to the pandemic but to the aging of the babyboomers. We will see a greater need for medical social workers, hospital administration, and non-profit administration (and especially in the nursing home/assisted living sector). Contact tracing and research on human social behaviors during the pandemic will continue to be important.
What skills stand out on Day Camp Counselor resumes?
Dr. Carla Alphonso: Skills involving data collection and analysis remain important, and are one of the qualities that help sociology majors to stand out compared to their peers. Communication skills, especially strong writing skills but also confident, effective public speaking, are helpful in today's job market. Sociology students are also well-positioned in terms of problem solving and critical thinking skills. Many jobs that our students enter need applicants who are solutions-focused, and sociology helps students in that area.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Day Camp Counselors to find work opportunities?
Dr. Carla Alphonso: Sociology students can easily find work wherever there are people and wherever there are social problems. In other words, just about anywhere! Again, due to the aging of the babyboom generation, I would recommend areas that have large proportions of elderly including Florida, Maine, and West Virginia. More jobs may be available in urban areas, but there are needs for workers with sociology skills in rural areas, too. More social services and non-profits are located in urban areas and especially in/around state capitals.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Day Camp Counselor job market given the pandemic?
Christina Erickson Ph.D.: The market for social workers has remained high for several years. Social workers have become an important component of most health care settings and the pandemic has only increased this reality. I don't anticipate any shortages in medical social work in the years to come, only growth. Medical social work is particularly interesting for people who care about the connection between physical and mental health, like the idea of working in a health care setting, and appreciate a fast paced environment. However, the pandemic will likely impact other social workers, too. School social workers will likely assist in addressing back to school issues for families, and certainly social workers who care for elders, and those who assist with death and dying. Because social workers are found in so many different sectors of society, much of their work will be impacted by the pandemic.
What Day Camp Counselor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Christina Erickson Ph.D.: Gap years are welcome for students. Generally, I see a great deal of maturity as students move through the four years of college and this is necessary to prepare them for the demands of being a professional social worker. A gap year often increases the maturity level of students and can provide rich experiences that prepare them for college. A good gap year for a social work student includes human interactions that require students to work across human differences. That difference can be in a variety of forms, age, culture, gender, faith tradition, experiences, or even ways of thinking. What matters most is the student's ability to describe their own growth as they worked across those differences. Not about how other people changed because of their interaction, but how they changed to meet their goals and learn from others. Experience solving problems is helpful, too. Even learning how to take the first steps to deal with a challenge and being able to describe the steps, grows critical thinking and evaluation skills important for the most successful social work practitioners.
What general advice would you give to a Day Camp Counselor?
Christina Erickson Ph.D.: First, don't be afraid of informational interviews. You'll find social workers in many parts of society, and many of them will love to talk about their experiences. Draft up a few questions, three will suffice, and interview someone to see if the kind of work they do interests you.
Second, peruse the website of the National Association of Social Workers. As the professional organization for social workers, they house enormous amounts of information about careers, education, requirements for continuing education, and give you a sense of the direction social work is headed as a profession. Find out if you are comfortable with their information and how they discuss the profession and the future they suggest.
Finally, social work is a licensed profession, like teaching, nursing, law or medicine. Make sure you want to enter a profession in which you are required to be licensed by passing a test, follow a code of ethics, and commit to continuing education to maintain your license over many years. In most states there is a governing body that manages licensing. Look up the name of your state, the word license, and social work to learn more about what that would entail where you hope to work.
Dr. Charla Davis
Assistant Professor & Director of Clinical TrainingUniversity of Indianapolis
College of Applied Behavioral Sciences-Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology
What experience really stands out on Day Camp Counselor resumes?
Dr. Charla Davis: All practicum experiences really stand out and will tell a future employer the exact experiences the student has had and that is why it is important to keep a well-documented curriculum vitae rather than a resume.
Melissa Boas
Director of Professional School Counseling, Assistant ProfessorLancaster Bible College
Counseling & Social Work Department
What Day Camp Counselor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Melissa Boas: I believe the most important skill to enhance if taking a gap year is self-awareness. Understanding oneself and why and how self-awareness directly relates to future career decision making is instrumental in ensuring the right decisions are made. Self-awareness is extremely beneficial in all areas of life not just in choosing a career pathway.
What type of skills will young Day Camp Counselors need?
Brian Ogolsky Ph.D.: Critical thinking skills are crucial in science disciplines. Graduates need to be the right consumers of research because there is a lot of false information floating around. They need to be able to understand and critique science, methods, and data. Independence and creativity are also crucial. Employees are becoming more dependent on specific guidelines, tasks, and directives, but to thrive and move up the ranks, it is critical to come up with new and exciting ideas and take risks.
How do you envision technology impacting Day Camp Counselors in the next 5 years?
Brian Ogolsky Ph.D.: The pandemic has taught us that we have to adapt to change, and technology has proven an essential form of adaptability. It is clear that employers now see that employees can work remotely, so I expect a lot more of this in the future. It benefits the employers financially (less overhead, etc.) and to employees (more flexibility). That said, work at home arrangements disproportionately affects women with children because they pick up more of the child care burden. This means that more needs to be done to support working parents (women, mostly) to help allow productivity and promote mental health.
What type of skills will young Day Camp Counselors need?
Dr. Andrew Wood: For Biblical Studies, it is vital that graduates have a genuine relationship with Jesus, that they are people of humility and integrity, desire to be lifelong learners, and have open minds to new things they learn that may challenge their original assumptions. They need to have a strong work ethic, organizational, and time management skills to work on their own productively and with integrity.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Day Camp Counselors to find work opportunities?
Dr. Andrew Wood: Many of the smaller churches across the country need part-time pastors. Our graduates could potentially find opportunities to pastor more than one rural church at the same time or to work part-time at a church as a "tentmaker," supporting themselves with a second job, as some of our missionaries and urban ministers do. Some larger churches and colleges are eager to diversify their staff, creating some unique opportunities for people of color from Carolina Christian College to minister in a way that bridges ethnic divides.
How do you envision technology impacting Day Camp Counselors in the next 5 years?
Dr. Andrew Wood: I believe more of our ministry and higher education will be done online. During the pandemic, many people have taken advantage of the opportunity to participate in online church, and I think not all will return to in-person church. Churches and educational institutions have an excellent opportunity to expand their impact globally. We need young people who are tech-savvy and culturally fluent while having a solid grounding in Scripture and an appreciation of the Christian tradition's positive aspects.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Day Camp Counselor job market given the pandemic?
Tom Rosenberg: Thanks to all the research and learning from the 2020 season and the newly revised "Field Guide for Operating Day & Overnight Camps in COVID-19", the outlook for overnight and day camps in summer 2021 is strong. Most day and overnight camp operators are carefully planning for a busy summer season, in the midst of another summer of COVID-19, and the Field Guide provides a well-researched and tested path forward in summer 2021. Due to COVID-19 requirements, camps are expected to seek increased staffing for camp counselors, activities specialists, nurse, food service, and maintenance staff.
As we prepare to see more camp in 2021 after a COVID summer 2020, we expect the camp job market to call for camp nurses, maintenance workers, and cleaning professionals. In addition, camps looking to operate in 2021 will need to recruit staff in the form of camp counselors, counselors-in-training (CIT's), program/activity directors, etc. - much like in a normal summer.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Day Camp Counselors in the next 3-5 years?
Tom Rosenberg: In COVID-19, camp parents and camp staff are expected to undergo additional pre-camp screening, as well as frequent testing (where applicable), and daily monitoring and surveillance. Camps have been employing innovative technologies to assist with communicable disease prevention and management, and we see this trend continuing and expanding. In summer 2021, the improvement of PCR, antigen and antibody tests will increase in their efficacy, availability, and pricing; making them a very helpful nonpharmaceutical intervention. The ACA Field Guide for Operating Day and Overnight Camps in COVID-19 has a new chapter on Technology and Controls, as well as a new chapter on Testing. For many of these nonpharmaceutical interventions (or layers of protection), there continues to be new research on relative efficacies, technologies that will influence the development of innovations.
Environmental Health, Industrial Hygiene, medical technology and public health research science helped in the development of the ACA Field Guide for summer camp operations - available to all!
Computer programmers and tech professionals for virtual camps (especially among camps who serve immunity compromised camper populations). Between sessions of camps, we see camps continuing to offer supervised connected online programming for camp friends to enjoy together during the off-season. We expect to see considerable improvements in safety and security components of these platforms, as well as program innovations. Just today, I was on the phone with a VR technologist who is interested in helping camps creating VR experiences to help prospective campers taste camp activity experiences.
We have seen our camps who needed to operate their programs online or in a virtual format really make impressive innovations. Zoom, YouTube, social media and more, were just a few of the ways that camps were able to interact with their camper communities in unique ways. This was especially the case for camps in states and localities where their in-person camp programs were not permitted to operate due to public health official ruling OR for camps who served immune compromised camper populations. While most camps will likely shift back to in-person programs (albeit covid-19 adapted) in summer 2021, we see camps continuing to employ various online connectivity platforms to engage campers, families, and staff members in additive, year-round community building and learning through the use of these technologies for years to come.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Day Camp Counselors?
Tom Rosenberg: We expect to see increased demand for seasonal camp staff and professional camp director opportunities. We expect most college students to want to stay closer to home this summer but seek employment opportunities that are more engaging and impactful. Camp counselors and other staff members gain professional skills and experience enormous social and emotional growth while working at summer camp. They learn to lead, communicate effectively and think on their feet to resolve issues ranging from the health and safety of children to helping 12 campers learn how to take positive risks, learn from mistakes, and have fun. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, for parents across the nation, that every child, teen, and young adult need in-person, immersive camp programs in supportive environments. Summer learning is a critical part of a person's year-long learning landscape. At camp, children, teens, and adults have endless opportunities to build social and emotional competencies, learn to build healthy relationships, appreciate diverse thinking, be in the moment, and enjoy the opportunity for a measure of independence from their parents under the nurturing supervision of caring adults.
After so many months of sheltering in place at home, with greatly reduced human interaction, adults are excited to get outside and work in a fun and adventurous summer camp setting. Thanks to the ACA Field Guide and all of the important research conducted on summer 2020's camp experiences, camps have learned how to consistently and diligently follow the required nonpharmaceutical controls, such as pre-camp screening and daily at-camp screening, masking, physical distancing, cohorting, testing and more. Campers and Staff learn how to employ the necessary controls diligently to be as safe as possible while having fun, living in nature in fresh air, and making new friends.
It will certainly be unique this year, given the COVID-19 guidelines implemented by the public health authorities and highlighted in the Field Guide. However, future camp professionals will be entering this wor force in a time when kids need camp and quality camp leaders, counselors, etc. - now, more than ever!
Dr. Mark Nelson
Professor and Program LeaderMontana State University – Bozeman
Department of Health and Human Development; Graduate Program – School Counseling
What type of skills will young Day Camp Counselors need?
Dr. Mark Nelson: I would argue that counseling, consulting, researching, problem-solving, and teaching skills form the top tier of a list for new school counselors. I would also suggest that creativity is an essential skill necessary to design, implement, and evaluate various aspects of delivering their school counseling program.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Day Camp Counselors to find work opportunities?
Dr. Mark Nelson: Rocky Mountain and western states seem to have many opportunities. This may be due to the westward migration in the U.S. population.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Day Camp Counselors?
Dr. Mark Nelson: I believe that over the next five years, technology will continue to have its greatest influence on a school counselor's students or counselees and not on the way counselors in schools work from day to day. Students still congregate in schools where counselors interact and facilitate their career, academic, and personal development. These efforts will likely continue to be conducted in a face-to-face manner. However, technology and its ensuing changes do have a pronounced impact on the life of students. Consequently, these impacts will become a part of a counselor's work as they assist students. It seems that with the increase in virtual/digital elements in our society, people, including students, appreciate and value personal contact with others. At my university, we have found that the isolation experienced by students as a result of changes precipitated by Covid-19 has prompted students to appreciate in-person contact with each other and our teaching faculty members. It would appear that technology may promote recognition among people that interpersonal contact continues to be important.
Will there be an increase or decrease in demand for Day Camp Counselors in the next 5 years?
Dr. Michelle Newton-Francis Ph.D.: The upheaval of the pandemic sees graduates entering the worst job market in more than a decade. Still, some forecasters say it is slowly getting better. I encourage graduates to remain flexible in their thinking and search strategies. For example, many companies will expand their remote positions, opening opportunities for jobs they may not have previously considered due to geographic location. Pandemic or not, graduates may not obtain their "dream job" right away and should also consider opportunities that build transferable skills. Pandemic or not, job searching should always be treated like a full-time job. It is just more challenging and competitive right now. Networking is vital and remains one of the most viable ways to get a job. To create networks, students should take advantage of virtual or socially distanced internships, which build contacts and skills. Students and alumni often overlook their college career centers, which offer invaluable services (and connections), including virtual career fairs and meetings with potential employers.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Day Camp Counselors to find work opportunities?
Dr. Michelle Newton-Francis Ph.D.: The applicability and utility of studying sociology opens the possibilities in numerous sectors. In business, graduates work in public relations, consumer research, marketing, and human resources. In health services, students work in administration, planning, education, and research. There are also opportunities throughout the criminal justice and social services fields. Many students go to graduate school to work in law and secondary or higher education.
Maria Claver Ph.D.
Director of the Gerontology ProgramCalifornia State University Long Beach
Gerontology Program
Will there be an increase or decrease in demand for Day Camp Counselors in the next 5 years?
Maria Claver Ph.D.: There will be an increase in the demand for graduates in Gerontology in the next five years. We know that, given the rapid aging of our population in the United States and throughout the world, there are not nearly enough professionals trained in meeting the various needs of an older community. Moreover, I believe that society will finally recognize the need for specialists in the aging field in areas that have not traditionally employed gerontologists, such as marketing and banking, and fashion design!
What type of skills will young Day Camp Counselors need?
Dr. Thomas Dearden Ph.D.: Indeed, the way we work is changing. The skills that young graduates will need are diverse. Transferable skills and soft skills will certainly be marketable. These include traditional crafts such as communication, but I also think the world expects more empathy from its employees. Young graduates with an understanding of racism, sexism, and environmental responsibility will become increasingly important.
How do you envision technology impacting Day Camp Counselors in the next 5 years?
Dr. Thomas Dearden Ph.D.: COVID-19 has shown us how much we rely on technology. It seems like all organizations are beginning to see their dependence on technology, for better or worse. Our field is no different. Everything from social conversations to crime is moving online. With so many human interactions happening online, it will be necessary for graduates to navigate technology with ease.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Day Camp Counselors to find work opportunities?
Dr. Thomas Dearden Ph.D.: Graduates will have the opportunity to shape the future and help solve problems. Numerous organizations are attempting to solve social issues and environmental challenges. The world needs, and subsequently, employment is available for passionate graduates ready to invest their energy into solving problems.