camp counselor

camp director

logistics coordinator

camp leader

staffing coordinator

KECamps

I was very excited to be on the KE camps team as a camp director. Opening camp, as well as all of your responsibilities such as: training your staff, doing administrative paperwork, planning each week and day of camp, supply shopping, administering first aid, making sure everything is logged properly, can be really overwhelming, even if you’re used to balancing a lot. 

Your experience also really depends on who you get on your team as your staff. As the director, KE camps is still responsible for the hiring, and you don’t have any say in who ends up on your team. This isn’t a big deal if you get a staff of passionate camp counselors, but can be frustrating if you don’t. It’s hard too when they only pay counselors minimum wage, so there’s less incentive to work hard. Most of my counselors were either recent high school grads, or were still in high school and had never worked with kids before. A situation like this puts more strain on directors who have to essentially teach staff how to work with kids and what is/isn’t appropriate. Some of the counselors would go on their phones when they thought I wasn’t looking and things like that, which is difficult to manage when you’re also managing an entire summer camp by yourself. 

Some campers that come through are definitely more privileged, as most of them are country club members. This results in challenging customer service, as some parents are appreciative, while others will scream at you because they don’t like the lunch menu options for that day. Some parents can be unnecessarily cruel and give really negative feedback, which even if you worked hard, will make you ineligible for rehire. 

Your relationship with the country club and staff there is really dependent on the club itself. In my experience, the club did not seem to want the camp there and did not give us adequate space. That made doing certain activities really difficult. Some staff went above and beyond to help out, while others would be irritated and complain about the camp and how we were always in the way. 

KE camps was always accessible and I appreciated their responses and willingness to help. It’s also a good vibe as the staff there all seem very understanding and easy going. But there are definitely downsides to having all of your supervisors be virtual and not see you on a day to day basis. You could be working really hard and giving it 100%, but a parent could complain about you and then they don’t see you as reliable. 

It’s a great opportunity if you’re passionate and want the experience and I think so much of your experience will depend on your team, the club, the campers and their parents. It’s a lot to take on as the face of the camp because any negatives, even if they’re the club’s doing or your counselors’ doing fall back on you and lead the company to view you in a negative light. You have to be okay with not always being appreciated and being able to respond to criticism. 

While I very much enjoyed my interview process with KE Camps, the actual work experience was less than stellar. However, that is not a reflection on KE Camps but rather an issue with Hallbrook which contracted out KE Camps to organize their summer program. The country club did not seem to prioritize the summer program in a number of circumstances. Many days, without fair warning, we would be ejected from our designated indoors space for various meetings and luncheons. This meant that the kids, some days, were outside in 80-90 degree weather for significant portions of the day. This made my experience working at Hallbrook sorely disappointing as they frequently made my supervisor's job more difficult and put the kids at risk. However, KE Camps did a great job hiring the Camp Director as she managed to navigate these situations effectively and satisfactorily. Hopefully, KE Camps manages to hammer out the details next time around. A typical work day for me was from 9-5, with the occasional extended day shift. We spent most of the days outdoors playing a variety of games which kept the kids busy and happy or indoors with crafts and indoor games. Our duties included escorting the kids around the club during their various schedules. This included lunch in the snack bar, afternoons at the pool, and lessons with Martial Arts, Tennis, and Golf instructors on their respective days. My co-workers were enthusiastic, effective, and very friendly. As is the case in every summer camp, I would imagine, there are always a few kids that present challenges that not every individual is capable of effectively handling. However, my co-workers were very skilled at calming down and encouraging the children who had a more difficult time adjusting to the summer camp day.

Management of this company is all virtual and often inaccessible when you need them the most. The club I worked at had some particularly challenging parents who would yell at staff or be late to pick up their kids or had bizarre demands. Management will always take the side of the parents and is incredibly unsupportive to camp directors and makes it challenging to support their counselors. Management is some of the most insincere management I’ve ever encountered in my life. They appear to be supportive and friendly, but are not transparent and do not provide feedback or opportunities to grow. They will throw you under the bus to parents and pretend to support their staff but is not genuine. 

Although they service country clubs and wealthier clientele, this company cannot even afford to pay directors and counselors decent wages. Counselors and directors do not have time for breaks (despite legally needing to offer breaks in some states). Lunch time is spent walking kids to the bathroom, counselors are lucky if they get more than a minute to themselves to eat. 

Would not recommend working here- if management is all remote and not available/doesn’t care about staff, then I’d recommend working somewhere with strong onsite leadership because this company only cares about revenue instead of prioritizing their hardworking staff, who without them, KE camps wouldn’t be in business. 

Overall this is a solid summer job. It paid very well and I enjoyed the club staff. I do question some of the staff hires as each year I have worked there has always been one that is clearly not up to snuff. I think there are a lot of policies that create unnecessary work or create frustration. My teams big frustration each year was the pay schedule. We worked 5-6 weeks a summer but it would be our fourth week before we see a paycheck for the first week. My director tried to see if there was something she could do with surplus camp budget for staff appreciation but was told no. If you’re going to make me wait a majority of the camp season before I see a paycheck you should at least do something small for your staff. Adding campers last minute to weekly rosters also messes up the staff schedule. I can come in to the week thinking I’m having a day off but now because we have two more campers I’m not able to because people were let in at the last minute. I get the sense that many at the top don’t fully understand  what they are putting on the directors and staff. I think an overall assessment of policies and trying to minimize extra load on staff so they can engage with campers needs to be done and this camp will soar to new levels.

Definitely know what your getting yourself into as a counselor. 

This job is really exhausting and they only pay you minimum wage. Some weeks you don’t get many hours because the company gives the director a set amount of hours to distribute among counselors. There’s no promise of working full time and the hq in New Jersey leaves us pretty understaffed given the amount of kids present. Have been a counselor before, but this was a whole new level of exhausting. There’s no breaks during the day and some kids are super privileged and disrespectful of counselors and the activities that the director prepares. 

I would work all day and be so exhausted I would just go home and sleep and have to do it all over again. In my opinion, it’s not worth it for only making minimum wage and not even being guaranteed full time hours. Some of the kids are really difficult. 

You should pay your staff more money, considering the amount of work they put it and how draining/understaffed these camps are. 

Beautiful place to work. The fellow staff members were nice and easy to get along with. Kept it very professional. The enrolled campers were a blast to work with, very fun and we had a good time showing them new things such as golfing, swimming, and some arts and crafts activities. 

The hardest part of the job was convincing the campers into getting  into their swim wear in a decent matter of time. But the catch to that was the most enjoyable part of the day swimming with the kids and having a good time in the sun. 

One thing I have learned is no child is the same and therefore they should not be treated as if they were. While some things universally work with most children you need to be prepared for the children who do not quite respond in the same manner as the rest. Learning these little tricks and what to say or do with them has been a challenge but also a interesting and intriguing task.

Working at a children's camp was a challenging and rewarding experience, and taught me many valuable lessons. I've worked previously with summer camps, and special needs programs, but I had never had the change to work with kids under the age of 10. I had excellent support from the co-counselor and director, as well as from the staff at the camp franchise location and the corporate entity of KE Camps. It was a short experience, but I learned patience, flexibility, and important lessons regarding the welfare and safety of children; something as simple as applying sunscreen before swim time demonstrates the importance of attention to detail, and compassion for those in your charge.

The camp is easy to settle into, and It'll be very easy to get along with the kids and staff. However, the organization could be very awful at times, and it wasn't at fault of the program leader. At Del Paso, the camp runs at the same time as the country club; so some activities were harder to accomplish on busier days. Also Del Paso provides the room and furniture which is small but mostly manageable. The tables sometimes broke and had to be replaced every other week. Otherwise, the camp can get stressful but is mostly chill. If you're someone who likes a more managed environment, I wouldn't recommend this job. However, if you do apply I can guarantee you'll be okay as an entry-level camp counselor looking for experience.

The staff are KE are great, really honest and kind people. You can go to them for anything. It's also great working with kids, especially outside of the classroom environment. However, the actual day to day job is exhausting. You do not have a single break during the day, except in the bathroom. The expectations for the clientele are also really high, which speaks volumes to how we address the differences in socioeconomic status-- which isn't KE's fault, it's just a frustrating factor. I do think the pay should be higher, especially because those who work full time work very hard.

This job is great for young people looking for a buck to make over the summer. I had a small crew and a ton of kids which makes for a lot of running around. Your break is at lunch, which you eat with the kids (they’ll give you children’s food if you have none). Definitely must be patient and proactive in this position. If you enjoy being around kids though, you’ll have fun and make a ton of memories - however you will come home exhausted and sunburnt every day! A good director and venue makes all the difference.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Camp counselor 482 salaries reported	$15.68 per hour
Camp director 256 salaries reported	$810 per week
Logistics coordinator 18 salaries reported	$15.69 per hour
Camp leader 3 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Staffing coordinator 1 salary reported	$22.50 per hour

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