crew leader

crew member

program coordinator

americorps member

youth leader

Northwest Youth Corps

A typical day at work: trail work for 8-10 hrs, not including travel time usually
What I learned: many trail work skills, as well as group/teamwork, resilience in the face of difficult situations and change of plans, various certifications including Wilderness First Aid, CPR, Chainsaw, Leave No Trace
Management: Our project manager was not ver organized or helpful with answering questions or giving us our schedules and project specs in advance. My crew leader was very good though.
Workplace culture: enjoyed working with my crew members
Hardest part: not knowing our schedules in advance and not being prepared for what the job entailed because the job description was nothing like what we actually did and the interviewer had no idea what it would be like either. We all thought it would be "front-country camping (car camping)", so when we ended up needing to backpack incredibly heavy backpacks into the backcountry for 9 days straight with no outside communication and no previous experience with backpacking... that was an unhappy surprise.
I also did not appreciate having to hike in the dark when we didn't know where we were going or how long it would take. I would have liked our project partners to have come with us and shown us the way, and for them to have prepared us for what we'd be doing better.
Most enjoyable: definitely the beautiful places we got to work, especially Shi Shi Beach, Hurricane Ridge, and many other places in Olympic NP, Coleville NF, and Columbia River Gorge. I also enjoyed my crew leader and crew members, I made good friends.

I'll start with prefacing this was 2020 and things are weird so your experience may differ.

I was a crew leader for NYC in 2020 and I would not recommend this corps. If you're familiar with the corps world a lot of things related to disorganization and staff turnover is probably nothing new to you and NYC is certainly not the exception. Office and field staff are generally friendly but have a very clear vision of what they expect which you might find problematic if you have past leadership experience elsewhere and a preference in style. The organization stresses the importance of community building which you may or may not appreciate but you will be criticized for deviating from their ideas.
A lot of current staff are very new to their positions, especially in regards to their field training staff, so important details were often vague or unknown. Field training staff were often uninvolved and generally didn't seem to be focused on helping to prepare leaders for success. I also felt there was a strong undercurrent of favoritism among staff which created some resentment.
There seems to be a far greater focus on the project partner objectives over maintaining a healthy work environment. It's hard not to feel as if their primary concern is the profit of the corps.

The pros I can give to NYC are that they do feel very safe in regards to issues of identity and seem to really take it seriously. Constructive feedback is really encouraged and the techniques they teach for handling conflict I believe to be very effective. That said, crew leading for Northwest was generally unpleasant and in great need of reevaluating their mission.

Being a solo crew lead was very difficult. I would start working at 5 in the morning and did not stop running trails/tending to crew life/chores up until 9 at night. There are no personal boundaries set up for leads who need their time for rest. For a few weeks I was consistently in back country working on trails that no one ever used, which made us feel like our hard work was pointless. After a hitch would be over, the next project would be across the state, so there would be no rest afterwards. You spend your whole weekend driving and shopping and getting things you need. I'll never forget how stressful it was getting out of back country as the sun was setting, an hour away from reception of any kind and not knowing what you're going to eat or where to stay for the night. My crew demonstrated a lot of interpersonal conflict and it felt like the organization was looking to me to help solve everyones problems. We would hear a lot of unkind things that the staff and other crews said about us when the season ended, which was discouraging and disappointing to hear.  Especially because we were just struggling and came a long way from the beginning to end dynamically and socially. Some of the rules are dumb as well, like the no swimming rule. They expect a lot out of crews for very little pay. For a month I mindlessly lopped my way around a lake every day and that was torturous. I enjoyed meeting new people and my woods boss was an awesome dude. Lots of people on staff who are good and kind but unfortunately my experience with the other unkind ones outweighed it. I worked very hard that summer and for some reason it felt under appreciated.

I left this organization with not a single positive takeaway from it. I feel that it is only fair that others are aware of what they are getting themselves into before moving from another state for a job here as most coordinators do. During my time here, the turnover of staff was more than half. MORE THAN HALF. A lot of this turnover is on the coordinator level, while the majority of the upper management have been around for 20+ years. I was told that NYC was an industry leader; that they are very inclusive and progressive, but in my opinion, this is far from the truth. The compensation is outrageously low for the workload you’re expected to handle. The HR person is absolutely horrid. The directors/managers are well aware of the burnout that employees experience and I believe they have intentionally built their model this way. Coordinator positions are “burn and turn” positions. It seems like the whole staff at the bottom turns over about every two years. I believe this could be improved if upper management took some accountability and addressed the issues that have seemingly been repeated by every employee for the last 10+ years. I really think that NYC has the potential to grow and evolve into something better and healthier for all everyone with the right people in management and more respect for the people at the bottom. Overall, I can’t stress enough just how detrimental working here was for my mental health. I just wish to warn anyone who is considering a position here.

It is a decent choice for a first conservation crew. 

Multiple crew members left early because they were dissatisfied and the program did not meet their expectations. As someone with no background in camping or outdoor work looking for a crash course in field work, I found the experience to be challenging and rewarding. I would not recommend this particular program (YA camping crew) to someone who has been in multiple conservation crews, as it seemed to have very little to offer in terms of new skills or opportunities for more experienced members. The education program in particular could use some work for the young adult program, as most of the resources were geared towards high school age kids, which often felt awkward and ill-fitting.

Management outside of the field made little to no effort to connect with crews and often failed to communicate details about project specs. 

The hardest part by far was how unstable crew morale tended to be, which was very difficult to manage within the 24/7 model. Some weeks it felt as if one moment everyone would be laughing and getting along, and the next we would all be on edge and miserable.  

I got to see some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and got to explore Washington, Oregon and Idaho. I got to get to know some cool people as well. 

Worked as an assistant crew leader for a season. One of the hardest working jobs I have ever had but also one of the most fulfilling. Watching those kids give it their all everyday digging trail and clearing  paths, made it worth it. I believe it is something wholesome that the world is missing and I think that every young man or woman should work one season with NWYC. Usually your day would start before the sun came up and end long after it went down. Most days were ten hours long for the crew members and about 13 to 16 for crew leader and assistant crew leader. They would have to plan out each day the night before and prep each day the morning of. On top of that there is about an hour of SEED curriculum that is taught to the crew members (kids). That is usually rotated between crew leader and assistant crew leader. The hardest part of the job is finding the get up and go to sometimes hike 5 miles just to work ten hours then hike 5 miles back to camp. Then get up and do it again and again. The enjoyable part was making your mark on the next generation and helping to mentor kids in a positive way. Watching them develop and grow a little as they each met the challenge that was presented each day. Seeing them come together as a team to move a 450 lb boulder then fill the hole in and retread the trail. All in a days work.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The abundance of hard work, learning experiences, and getting youth back in touch with nature. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
When I worked there the sleeping conditions were not conducive to a healthy and productive work environment. And I often saw and felt that the crew leaders were not given enough support. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Somehow the work environment is wholesome high strung and goofy all at the same time 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
When I worked there I was a crew remember part if the youth residential camping program. So that meant I and 7 other crew member would get up and make breakfast while our crew leaders joined. After cleaning up we would drive or hike to our work site where we would join in a “safety circle” stretching and Identifying potential hazards for the day. Then we would get to work building a trail or clearing invasive species. We would pack up and head back to camp where we would make dinner and have some free time.

A typical day at Northwest Youth Corps consisted of waking up at around 6 am each morning, putting on our work gear and gathering tools and water for the day. We'd then hike from half a mile, to five miles or more each day, restoring trails or simply taking out invasive species in the area. (Depending on the job duty assigned that week). I acquired a lot of new and useful knowledge from Northwest Youth Corps. From how to identify specific trees and plants, to properly designing safe and beautiful trails that ensured that happiness of hikers and the community. The hardest part of this job was probably most days at work in general, but it was the sort of hard work that payed off immensely and provided you with a great deal of skills to walk into the world with. I enjoyed all aspects of this job, getting to work outdoors, being in the fresh air, gaining all sorts of new knowledge and working with a great crew.

Management is a little overwhelmed, and under experienced for the line of work they're set out to do. That includes taking care of the employees who are sent into harsh environments, and providing proper training. Program lengths are far too short and unstable to be consider a line of work but more of a "wing-it" style project. Which can either be fun or disastrous. All in all the organization has heart. But honestly they allowed far too many clueless/incompetent individuals to fall into positions of management. Not to mention they stretch the idea that "anyone can be anyone, and say anything because thats just who they are"...which is the greatest destruction of natural fundamentals to reality. Meaning just because you have an opinion does not mean you get unleash it on the rest of your crew and expect not beaten to pulp for trashing an entire race because your entitled to freedom of speech. If that was the case, then I suppose if I felt entitled to beating this person in for their actions that I would be in right for "just being who i am" lol

Working for northwest youth corps was a great learning experience i learned all about nature, what dangers to look out for on trails when your walking for fun or when your on the job.When on the trail you always need to look for branches that are overhanging caught on other branches, those are called snags. they can fall at any given moment sometimes injure and once in awhile can kill. The environment at NYC is great, your outside filled with the natural smells of earth, the breeze ( sometimes cool sometimes warm), you wake up with many others, work with many others. Northwest youth corps is great for working on self esteem. I would have to say the hardest part of the job, is waking up at 3 am and strapping the boots on, and immediately starting an uphill or downhill hike, not forgetting the rocky, slimy terrain. the most enjoyable part of the job is your in an environment that allows personal growth and healthy work conditions. constantly outside which is great for your emotional health.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Crew leader 11 salaries reported	$143 per day
Crew member 5 salaries reported	$466 per week
Program coordinator 2 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
Americorps member 17 salaries reported	$6,942 per month
Youth leader 3 salaries reported	$89.50 per day

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