A recreation assistant works under the guidance of a recreation manager and assists the manager in planning and implementing recreational activities. He/She is responsible for planning, setting up, and executing activities. He/She also assists participants with some of these leisure events, coordinating them and ensuring the safety of participants. In addition to cleaning and setting up equipment like tables, chairs, instruments, and electronics for different activities, your job may also include administrative tasks. This may include filing related paperwork, answering phone calls, and answering questions and inquiries. Recreation assistants often work in schools, senior centers, camps, nursing homes, and after-school centers.

A recreation assistant must have a high school diploma or GED with some experience in this field. You should have great interpersonal, relationship, and communication skills. Plus, you must be able to speak confidently at an event and demonstrate social skills. Creativity, planning, and organization skills are essential requirements as well. A recreation assistant earns up to $33,525 annually.

What Does a Recreation Assistant Do

There are certain skills that many recreation assistants 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.

Learn more about what a Recreation Assistant does

How To Become a Recreation Assistant

If you're interested in becoming a recreation assistant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 54.3% of recreation assistants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.9% of recreation assistants have master's degrees. Even though most recreation assistants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Recreation Assistant

Recreation Assistant Career Paths

Average Salary for a Recreation Assistant

Recreation Assistants in America make an average salary of $31,040 per year or $15 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $46,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $20,000 per year.
Average Recreation Assistant Salary
$31,040 Yearly
$14.92 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Recreation Assistant

The role of a recreation assistant includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general recreation assistant responsibilities:

  • Meet and greet the public and serve customers. Ensure
  • 1. Organizes, conducts and directs recreation/non-vocational activities supervises student recreation/non-vocational activities on
  • Arrives on time for work and is ready to perform assigned tasks2 personal hygiene / appearance:meets facility hygiene, dress code

There are several types of recreation assistant, including:

Camp Counselor

Role:

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!
  • Average Salary: $24,340
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Summer Camp Counselor

Role:

The most critical of all Camp Counselor tasks is to keep campers safe at all times. You'll be in charge of tracking their actions and making sure they don't get distracted or injured. A Summer Camp Counselor's tasks include organizing summer camp activities, teaching children and adolescents, and setting up camp.

The summer camp counselor acts as a role model, companion, instructor, and guide for our campers. Each counselor is in charge of a cabin community, and they live, eat, laugh, encourage, and plan events for them.

They work hard to foster partnerships, organize special cabin events, and is responsible for their campers' spiritual care, protection, and well-being. A Camp Counselor must be dependable and capable of establishing healthy relationships with youngsters.

It will help if you are familiar with outdoor sports such as camping, canoeing, and caving. Employers can provide you a pay rise if you're patient, enthusiastic, and firm when necessary. Usually, you can expect your salary to be around $58,000 a year as a Summer Camp counselor.
  • Average Salary: $25,617
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Activity Coordinator

Role:

An activity coordinator creates and plans outings, activities, and events in various settings. Your job is basically to organize social activities for people who need care and support. You would commonly work in care homes, day centers, residential homes, or within the community. Your day-to-day activities will typically involve interviewing people and determining the type of activities they'll enjoy, booking external entertainment and organizing local trips both in and out of the community, and helping people take part in the community. You would also be expected to purchase items needed for your activities, set up the spaces needed, train other team members and volunteers, and ensure that safety measures are put in place.

A high school diploma is usually sufficient for this role in addition to some work experience in a related field. Basic language and numeracy skills, the ability to communicate effectively, and team leadership skills are essential. Activity coordinators earn $17.61 an hour and $36,632 annually.

  • Average Salary: $35,309
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Recreation Assistant Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active recreation assistant jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where recreation assistants earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Recreation Assistant Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California511$34,909
2Texas415$24,829
3New York355$38,465
4Ohio344$27,883
5Florida331$25,959
6Illinois214$30,428
7Pennsylvania210$32,381
8Georgia203$23,851
9Massachusetts185$40,296
10Michigan183$30,841
11New Jersey179$35,783
12Colorado170$33,649
13Virginia146$27,531
14Arizona143$29,033
15Minnesota136$37,457
16North Carolina136$31,276
17Washington126$40,248
18Wisconsin113$38,263
19Utah110$24,913
20Maryland107$33,236
21South Carolina98$26,994
22Missouri80$30,227
23Indiana78$28,434
24Connecticut73$36,177
25Tennessee73$27,506
26Nevada72$22,582
27Alabama62$24,513
28Iowa56$28,237
29Kansas55$25,269
30Oklahoma54$25,338
31Kentucky53$25,427
32Oregon49$38,670
33Nebraska46$35,961
34Mississippi44$40,249
35Louisiana44$20,179
36Alaska42$38,500
37Arkansas40$22,665
38Montana34$35,306
39West Virginia32$40,609
40North Dakota29$38,284
41New Mexico29$23,588
42Hawaii28$38,010
43Idaho26$34,937
44New Hampshire25$36,137
45Wyoming21$40,538
46Maine17$34,633
47Rhode Island14$37,144
48South Dakota12$37,241
49Delaware12$35,656
50Vermont7$37,902

Recreation Assistant Education

Recreation Assistant Majors

13.7 %

Recreation Assistant Degrees

Bachelors

54.3 %

Associate

18.3 %

High School Diploma

16.3 %

Top Colleges for Recreation Assistants

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Biology
Business
Liberal Arts
Communication
Psychology

2. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Education
Communication
Biology
Rehabilitation Science

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Liberal Arts
Business
Education
Psychology
Criminal Justice

4. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Psychology
Liberal Arts
Kinesiology
Criminal Justice

5. SUNY College at Cortland

Cortland, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,536

Enrollment

6,325

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Kinesiology
Biology
Business
Communication

6. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Biology
Education
Communication
Sociology

7. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,306

Enrollment

9,394

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Liberal Arts
Criminal Justice
Biology
Nursing

8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Psychology
Nursing
Health Care Administration
Rehabilitation Science

9. University of Alaska Anchorage

Anchorage, AK • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,580

Enrollment

10,482

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Liberal Arts
Nursing
Education
Business
Medical Assisting Services

10. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,094

Enrollment

32,974

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Biology
Psychology
Business
Communication

Top Skills For a Recreation Assistant

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, 31.2% of recreation assistants listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and flexibility are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Recreation Assistant Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Recreation Assistant templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Recreation Assistant resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Recreation Assistant Resume
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Recreation Assistant Demographics

Recreation Assistant Gender Distribution

Female
Female
59%
Male
Male
41%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among recreation assistants, 59.1% of them are women, while 40.9% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among recreation assistants is White, which makes up 61.0% of all recreation assistants.

  • The most common foreign language among recreation assistants is Spanish at 66.5%.

Online Courses For Recreation Assistant That You May Like

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Best States For a Recreation Assistant

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a recreation assistant. The best states for people in this position are West Virginia, Wyoming, Massachusetts, and Mississippi. Recreation assistants make the most in West Virginia with an average salary of $40,609. Whereas in Wyoming and Massachusetts, they would average $40,538 and $40,296, respectively. While recreation assistants would only make an average of $40,249 in Mississippi, 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. Wyoming

Total Recreation Assistant Jobs: 21
Highest 10% Earn:
$58,000
Location Quotient:
1.78

2. West Virginia

Total Recreation Assistant Jobs: 32
Highest 10% Earn:
$59,000
Location Quotient:
1.06

3. North Dakota

Total Recreation Assistant Jobs: 29
Highest 10% Earn:
$49,000
Location Quotient:
1.58
Full List Of Best States For Recreation Assistants

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Top Recreation Assistant Employers

Most Common Employers For Recreation Assistant

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1The Children's Village$33,422$16.0714
2Avalon Health Care Group$33,174$15.9515
3IAP Government Services Group$31,818$15.3014
4Arlington County, VA$31,781$15.2819
5US Air Conditioning Distributors$31,675$15.2320
6USAF Police Alumni Association$31,587$15.1923
7United States Marine Corps$31,409$15.1014
8CareOne$31,043$14.9230
9Genesis HealthCare$27,070$13.01152
10City of Los Angeles$26,286$12.64119