preschool teacher

lifeguard

swim instructor

personal trainer

camp counselor

Jewish Community Center

I was hired as a front desk receptionist. Horrible experience. Extremely disorganized. No one knew what the other was doing. Assistant director would tell me one thing and then the Director would tell me the complete opposite. I would be told to not come in the day of a teacher training and I planned to not come i. Then the director calls asking where I am and I need to get in there. 

I was told on the interview how important it was to connect to the families. I loved that philosophy remembering when my children were young dropping them off at pre-school. Perfect environment (I thought).  However when I started working there I saw all the moms would stop  to chat with  the  assistant director and the other  part time receptionist and never, NOT ONCE did either of them introduce me to these people. They talk a great  story about a warm environment during the interview but it is nothing like that once you are hired. Whenever I asked if there  was something for me to do the assistant director would  tell me yes but it is quicker if she does it herself rather than show me. 

If you are hired, expect to be the stock person and cleaning person. My main "job" seemed to be cleaning up after the teachers in the kitchen.I was never given projects to do , which is basically what I was hired for. I spoke to  the director and her boss, yet nothing was done to help improve the situation. Very disorganized, poorly managed and the amount of wasted time these women were spending daily is unbelievable. One day I sat and listened to the assistant director and the other p/t receptionist try and decide if they should order blue plastic bins or red plastic bins. I actually timed it. 15 MINUTES!!  This is why nothing got done there. 

The interesting thing is I had an amazing interview. I was asked great questions and I knew this would be a great place to work. As it turned out it was by far the most incompetent  work place I have ever encountered. Think twice before applying. Unprofessional, disorganized and extremely frustrating.

A typical day at work for me starts by answering e-mails, then I enter any money coming into the agency having to do with fundraising.  I enter into sage software and then process through the front desk.  I keep excel spread sheets on all events and am responsible for sending out invoices for pledges not filled.  I also handle all thank you letters to our contributors.  Most of our fundraising events require decorating our social hall and I am called upon to come up with decorating ideas and or put together centerpieces which I love doing because I get to use my creativity.  Mailings for events and assembling mailing lists are also part of my job.  I also assemble gift baskets for raffles for our fundraisers.  

Over the years I have learned how to use Micro soft word, Excel and more recently Sage software.  My knowledge is a direct result of working with the above programs.  I have not been formally trained but I am proficient in all of the above.

My co-workers are amazing people who I've known for years and they are my second family.  We are a very close group and it will be very hard to leave them.

The hardest part of my job is there have been no raises in salary for several years yet the work load gets bigger and bigger.  I am always on deadlines and I am proud to say I always get the job done in a timely manner and accurately.

I do enjoy the fundraising events and the planning that goes into them and trying to meet the goals set for these events.  

The senior staff at the JCC are wonderful people and because the center is having a difficult time bringing in new sources of revenue we haven't been able to have salary increases.  This is a very stressful and frustrating part of this job.




The day starts off with editing newsletters, postcards, and flyers for the center. Between the hours of 10:30 - 12:30, if someone needs help with their computer software, I immediately stop what I'm doing and assist them. Around this time, I'm also required to let people in the facility by staying in the front desk. 12:30 - 1:30 is lunch. 
After lunch 
I proceed to continue editing the newsletters, postcards and flyers. Between the hours of 1:30 - 2:30, If someone needs help with their computer software, I immediately stop what I'm doing and assist them. Around this time, I'm also required to let people in the facility by staying in the front desk.
Around 2:10
I go to the upper floor where the children's academy is located and set up the computers for a 2 hour class of computer study. After which I proceed to go downstairs and continue my edits.

What I learned in my experience is that you shouldn't do anything you aren't paid for.

Management is great, although it still needs a lot of work.

Every single one of my co-workers are the best, but there are specifically 2 members in the facility who need to work on their manners, consideration and actually understand that professionalism isn't just an expected skill that needs to be practiced at work.

The hardest part of the job is working on handed down computers that already have malware and viruses.

The most enjoyable part of the job is working with the children.

The Preschool is a wonderful place to work. You have a great staff that are working on becoming Step Up star rated, the classrooms are big and full of materials and the freedom to write your own curriculum to the children's needs. It is a play based preschool and follows loosely the Reggio philosophy. Parents are VERY supportive, there is a parent committee that shows appreciation at holidays and random times during the year. They are above average when it comes to hourly compensation and the perks of working there include: Indoor/outdoor pools, HUGE health center with special health center benefits for full time staff, two gyms, a theater with free tickets for full time staff, a catering department that provides meals to our preschool as well as a grab n go store on premises. Sometimes we are offered discount or free hockey tickets/event tickets! There are 4 different playgrounds for the children by age and inside gross motor spaces for bad weather days. I have worked at several different centers and this one is by far my favorite to be at. They value education and flexibility in their teachers. 

At 6AM at the jcc there are 2fls and the basement. when I get in , the first place i start setting up is the basement rooms, the art room and media room for the clld members to draw or play games in. second floors are bathrooms men and ladies,I recheck all the area to make sure all is clean and good.along with the kid room, gym, and music rooms. first floor three baths, one handycap. social hall is a room for party,shows for the kids and other events that hold 250 to 300 people.and the children in early child hood and first foot forward two floors and cafe. after 9am, its a crew of three and we rock. we work hard at making sure all our areas are up the part clean and smelling good. we work together to get the job done fast. and with a smile.sometimes. the members are happy to come into a good build. and the best part is .it gets better with change.the hard part is, some days all we can do is smile when nothing going right.but I learn to suppost  my crew persons ,we help each other when one of us can not carry on.in that day. Its challenging and the projects get difficult to handle, And thats why we have management to back us up,our back bone  And at the end of the day when we see that all is clean reset and the members or clld members are going home, the next crew is coming in , that is the joy full part of my day.. thank you

Working for a non-profit community service agency is all about relationships - with the membership, the lay leadership, the community. I learned how to deal effectively with the community at large, as well as the professional and administrative staff.

A typical day at work included setting goals, short and long term, followed by implementation. Planning volunteer recruitment programs and activities to attract new members as well as retaining current members, planning fundraising projects with lay committees, preparing publicity both internal and community wide were part of my daily and weekly activities.

Overseeing the committees that carried out the planned programs was a major part of my position. Interacting with management and co-workers was part of each day. Working for a not for profit agency takes exceptional dedication to the mission of that agency and the interaction with both staff and lay leadership who have that dedication is probably the most satisfying and enjoyable part of the job.

This place tries very hard to retain employees, but most employees get an extreme burn out from high student to teacher ratios, management not offering help, and no summer breaks. The management also always side with the parents of the students instead of with their teachers. They do not support their employees when it may cost them losing a paying customer. At the end of the day, they will always side with a parent's request no matter how inconvenient it is for the teacher.

The benefits are really awesome!!! You start accruing PTO after 3 months of work( about 3.5 hours a week for your first year of employment), you also get really cheap: health, dental, and vision insurance. 

The pay is OK if you're coming in with little or no experience(expect between 13-14 an hour with no experience), and I did receive 2 raises in under a year, but you have to ask for the raises.. Don't expect management to notice your hard-work, you basically have to go plead your case and if they like you well enough they will comply to your requests.

Overall this place is not too bad to work, I just wish they offered lower class ratios, and directors would listen and care for their employees more.

There were many instances where there would be medical information I needed to know about a camper and was never informed about. This is especially a problem for those who work before and aftercare as you aren't told any of the kid's medical information. This is a huge problem because when counselors don't know these things it means campers as young as five are responsible for knowing about life-threatening allergies and making sure that whoever is before/aftercare that week knows these things. I found a lot of the staff members to be incredibly cliquish and didn't like how a lot of the counselors would talk bad about some of the campers of other staff members. A lot of the activities that were planned didn't happen because of planning underestimating how long certain activities would take. One of the biggest problems of working here is how many moving parts there are and how they don't talk to one another. The campers are great. If communication is important to you in the workplace I would not recommend this job. I also think that with how much the counselors have to do they should be paid more.

We moved to Pittsburgh from Seattle and I wanted a new job in a non-food service related field. The JCC was within walking distance from my house and we were members there, so it seemed like a good fit. It was honestly the best decision I made while in Pittsburgh! 

I got to know a lot of great people and came to learn about my new community very organically. Yes, there are occasional problematic customers here and there, but for the most part, it was a great time. 

My supervisors were great and the work/life balance was a dream, especially after working back of the house for over a decade. The pay was extremely fair given the difficulty (or lack thereof) of the work. I was part time, so I didn't qualify for benefits, although they do offer that for full time employees.

The only complaints I would have about it is that advancement opportunities are few and far inbetween and upper management can take a while to implement changes that shouldn't be a big deal (like certain customer complaints we got ALL the time that could have been fixed with a phone call or two.)

I would go back to work for them in a heartbeat! Wish there was a JCC in Morgantown!

What is the best part of working at the company?
Front Desk- early morning opening; greeting members; selling theatre tickets; providing information; telephone/messaging; responsible for keys and cash drawer receipts; taking to-go orders; making sure lobby was clean; working closely with staff and other departments; stressed security of buildings and personal items. I also assisted elderly members with transportation.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Unreasonable members; occasionally a staff problem; not really much stress.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Generally very pleasant. There was a sizable management and staff turnover after I left.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
If early shift, I prepared the 1st floor lobby area to receive members checking them into the security system, greeting them; addressing their concerns; leaving messages to appropriate staff; working with maintenance and private duty police officers; answering phones; made sure the bank was counted out and correct; filing; clean up reception area.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Preschool teacher 16 salaries reported	$21.66 per hour
Lifeguard 31 salaries reported	$16.99 per hour
Swim instructor 18 salaries reported	$19.83 per hour
Personal trainer 12 salaries reported	$26.41 per hour
Camp counselor 2 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour

Working at Jewish Community Center: Company Overview and Reviews

Jewish Community Center

Jewish Community Center Ratings

Popular jobs at Jewish Community Center

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected