welcome center representative

referee

lifeguard

personal trainer

gymnastics instructor

Greater Austin YMCA

A typical day at work consisted of setting the place up, getting all my supplies ready for the kids, and watching the kids. I would do activities with the children, play outside with them, and observe them while they played inside. Some days the kids were impatient or rebellious. They taught me to be more patient when they were impatient. I learned how to deal with stressful situations, like when a parent is upset about what happened to their child that day or when there are more than 20 children that need to be watched and half of them are arguing. 
The management was great. My director was always understanding and encouraging. My Center Supervisor supported me and taught me more about his position and mine. 
My coworkers were fun to hang out with. They did well with the kids, but they didn't go over the rules as much as they should have. 
The hardest part of the job was getting the kids under control when they were being hyperactive. Whether it was right before a school break or just because they had a party in their class, they were hard to control. I had to use a positive, calming voice to get the children to behave, which is not the easiest to do when frustrated.
The most enjoyable part of the job was getting to see how happy and how much fun the children would have. They would rush in to see me and give me hugs. They wouldn't want to go home sometimes. Seeing them happy would make me happy.

Of all of my areas of employment, I felt the most welcomed and comfortable at Extend-A-Care for Kids. The management was flexible with me when I needed scheduling adjustments during my hectic last semester of college. I was never extremely challenged or worn-out after my days at work at EAC, and I feel that the entire staff was supportive and friendly, even when I was a new employee of the company's. I was trained and warned about every situation to expect before I began the job, and was impressed with the relaxed but informative nature of all the representatives that I met through the company.

The hardest part of the job was managing my heavy schoolwork with the job, but considering the flexible hours they worked with me to establish, made me feel nowhere near overwhelmed with schoolwork and my occupation during the school year. The most enjoyable part of the job by far was being able to influence and interact with the children in a positive way. I quickly developed great respect and pride for each of the children I supervised, and still value those experiences after resigning from my position due to relocation after my college graduation.

A typical day at Extend-A-Care is simple, you go into work clock in and set up the room before the last bell rings to let the students out of school. After the children begin to come in all riled up and ready to have lots of fun, I take attendance. Then the children are quickly reminded that they must take out homework first and if they do not have homework then they will read a book. Afterwards, they will eat snack and finally go have a restroom break which leads to there favorite part of the day, fun at the playground and basketball court. By then the time is going by fairly quick and I might only have a hand full of kids left after the parents come a pick them up. The handful and I go back into the building where we will then play inside games while we wait on their parents to arrive. The whole day is enjoyable with my group of kids until someone begins to cry because they really want their parents to come pick them up. Whereas, the hardest part is when we have to stay at worker after hours because we have one child left that's waiting on their parent to arrive. Overall, I love my job and my loving coworkers, we make an awesome team.

Working for the Y provides you with a sense of fulfillment due to the fact that you are helping members of the community whether people are there to work out, for childcare, or the Y's many other programs. The Y helps out people of all ages through their programs from teaching young children how to swim or getting them ready for pre-school, to youth sports, to afterschool and camp programs, to programs for special needs children, to free yoga and zumba for adults, to Livestrong for cancer survivors, and senior programs.

The Y's core values and mission are heavily promoted. From the start of your position with the Y they talk about their expectations that you engage others by welcoming, connecting, supporting, and inviting. 

The hardest part of the job is so many things being expected of you while being paid so little. I don't feel like I can leave because I love working there and everyone there is so on board with the company mission, but at the same time I have bills to pay. 

I love being able to help the community through our different programs and financial assistance and I like my co-workers. I've connected with so many people through the Y and I've learned and grown so much through working there.

Overall
This company used to be an amazing place to work. The upper management was super invested in everyone's personal growth. This has always been something that set the Y apart from it's competitors. HOWEVER, the YMCA of Austin Licensed Child Care recently merged with Extend-A-Care and this ruined EVERY aspect of the job. The Extend-A-Care staff were always given priority when it came to hours, countless YMCA staff were demoted with absolutely no real reason, the Extend-A-Care leadership treated the YMCA veterans like rookies, and if you spoke up about it, they shot you down. Those Extend-A-Care leaders are a bunch of worthless, disrespectful, SOB's who don't give a hoot about any YMCA staff. If any of you Extend-A-Care leadership are reading this, I hope you do the right thing by undoing this merger and letting the Y be the Y again, rather than just absorbing the entire business and turning it into EAC. HAVE YOU GUYS EVER WONDERED WHY EAC STAFF USED TO CONSTANTLY LEAVE YOU GUYS TO COME TO THE Y INSTEAD??? IT'S BECAUSE YOU GUYS HAVE NO CLUE WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WORKING FOR EAC IS CANCER.

Applied for a job that stated the pay was 15-18$ DOE. I showed my qualifications and presented how I was overqualified for the position (but still willing to do it for a side hustle) and they stated that the starting rate is 15$/hr with no room for negotiation per policy. If that’s the case then multiple locations need to correct the pay range for the position because they all state “15-18$ DOE”. 

Moreover, I told them my availability in my application and interview and was told it was fine and they could work with it - the role is already part time. Then they abruptly tried switching it up on me and stated that the position had a set schedule. So why bother asking what my availability is / acting as if my availability was a good fit? 

Overall, the process came off as them trying to squeeze as much out of an over qualified applicant as they could for the least amount of give on their part. They weren’t willing to pay me the full 18$/hr and weren’t willing to work with my schedule despite saying it would work for them initially. The lack of transparency is just a red flag all around. 

While the YMCA's mission is admirable, my experience with association leadership was disappointing. Decisions were frequently made without meaningful input from frontline staff and department leaders, despite those individuals having direct knowledge of operational challenges and member needs. There appeared to be little willingness to consider perspectives that differed from senior leadership's views.
Over time, it became increasingly clear that organizational priorities were focused more on internal politics and leadership advancement than on supporting staff, serving members, or strengthening programs. This created an environment where collaboration and constructive feedback were not valued, leading to frustration among many dedicated employees.
The organization has talented staff who genuinely care about the mission, but I believe leadership would benefit from listening more closely to the people responsible for delivering programs and serving members every day.

Extend-A-Care is a wonderful place to work if you are a student, have more than one job, and/or love kids. Some benefits include: short work days, weekends off, and a chance for promotion as long you maintain a positive work ethic. 

Even though the days can be less than 5 hours, one can experience exhaustion after the shift is over because constant supervision of a large group of children takes its toll. Every site I've worked in, I've formed wonderful relationships with the children, staff, and parents. 

The hardest part of the job can be managing behavioral issues with the children--but this can be resolved with proper behavior management techniques, prevention methods, intervention, and working with parents/teacher/supervisors/etc. At some centers, the morale among fellow coworkers can be low and produce a hectic work environment, especially if you're the only one following protocol. But EAC gives extensive training in order to work with any problems that may arise.

Extend-A-Care is a great job to have, especially while in college or having other commitments in the mornings. It's a part time job in which you supervise a group of children at a school every afternoon for about four hours. The work is not too difficult, and you get to learn behavior management skills and create bonds with these children. It's  not just a part time job, because you are providing a service to the community, and the children will depend on you. This is one of the most meaningful part-time jobs I've ever experienced. There is a purpose in your work, it's not just doing a job so you can be done and go home and get paid(although the pay is pretty nice as well). The management is wonderful and willing to work with you on any issues that you have in a positive way. I would recommend anyone who has a heart for kids, or just a positive attitude to work here.

A typical day of work in an infant/toddler & preschool program include: morning calendar work with the children, preparing morning/afternoon snack as well as lunch, children telling you about the most interesting parts of their day, babies crawling all around, and laughing with your coworkers about a funny story a kid told you. I learned that patience is key when working with children and adults. At times, you have to step back and reevaluate your actions and their impact on the children. The culture of the workplace is very enthusiastic, dependable, supportive, fun, and safe. The hardest part of the job is when the children are all over the classroom & it's time for a nap. However, once they are fed lunch, they are quite content. The best part of the job is seeing the children come in the morning. Seeing their bright smiles and their excitement in their eyes is all worth it.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Welcome center representative 36 salaries reported	$15.57 per hour
Referee 28 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour
Lifeguard 39 salaries reported	$16.99 per hour
Personal trainer 39 salaries reported	$27.50 per hour
Gymnastics instructor 30 salaries reported	$17.43 per hour

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