camp counselor

camp manager

instructor

supervisor

operations coordinator

Pedalheads

this is my fave job ive ever had but it's still min wage and based on the work i was doing i definitely feel like i should have been paid more.

pedalheads is structured by skill level. you're assigned a specific level and a group of kids at the beginning of the week and you have to follow what it says in the book and teach them stuff. majority of the time you will be working with level 1&2 unless you ask to be in the higher groups (do this, it's fun!)

level 1&2 you are just teaching kids how to bike and get their training wheels off, level 3&4 you are teaching them slightly higher level skills and playing games a lot. level 5&6 is the best... you just lead kids on road rides and you're essencially biking for money which is pretty cool if you're an avid biker anyway.

your difficulty in the week completely depends on the kids in your group. one week i had a level 3 group with mostly 5-6 year olds and one 10 year old who did not know how to bike at all. very hard to keep everyone happy and having fun in this situation. each week presents its own challenges but the cool thing is you get new kids every week so you don't have to deal with the frustrating ones for long. working with the kids is the best part of the job

i got hours pretty consistently all summer but this job would absolutely suck if i didn't. because of the way camp works if you are not working you do not have any hours all week which means you're losing out on a lot of money. you can't just pick up someone's shift or come into camp as an added helper (which is how i think it should work)...

pedalheads as a company can absolutely afford to pay its employees a living wage, they just don't. this is not unique to pedalheads, but it really gets rubbed in your face when you realize parents are paying like $500+ per kid and you make less than that in a week. you are basically a glorified baby sitter making less than what a baby sitter makes.

overall it's a great summer job that was stable enough for me that i didn't have to worry about rent. i am probably coming back this summer

At first, Pedalheads seemed like a great summer job to be outside, help kids learn to bike, and could have a good work life balance for the summer. 

However, overall communication with managers was difficult and often left unanswered or misleading. It is not the most organized as information seems to change daily and is different depending on which manager you speak to. The number of campers being uncertain till the start of the work period seems very strange. That should generally be known ahead of time so that you can do the expected lesson planning and scheduling of workers, right? Yes, things change, but the general idea to "keep things structured for the kids" should also apply for the workers.

During "breaks" you will need to spend them with the kids, make sure no one has nuts and are friendly with one another, it is not a time to try and relax or decompress. You will also have to figure out lesson plans outside of hours for Tuesday - Friday (only Monday will be planned for you) and fill out individual report cards per student at the end of each week to submit and discuss with the parent(s). 

Hours are not guaranteed and the hours you may want you might not get. If you are not available Mon-Fri you will be on call for the days you are. If you're looking for full days, plan for 9 hours a day for the whole week, but again, that could change based on student attendance and your performance.

It's great if you are looking for something more involved, maybe get your feet wet toward the teaching route, and you have a very flexible schedule for the summer. But, not so much if you are looking for something with structure, stability, yet fulfilling and meaningful.

I was deceived multiple times throughout my few months working at Pedalheads. First, after I was hired as Camp Manager, I was told that if I got hired for a trainer position that I would get to go on a trip to Seattle. Once I was hired for this trainer position, they backtracked and said only the lead trainer would be going. Next, I was told as a manager I would not be instructing. They proceeded to force me to instruct classes, not allowing any of my teenage instructors to work. This upset the instructors, as they were promised work this summer. Lastly, Pedalheads pays managers an "salary" meaning that I got a certain amount of money a week no matter how much I worked. This seemed good in theory, but I quickly learned this was an excuse for them to make managers work outside of work hours and on weekends. I was constantly doing things for this company without extra pay. Along with these things, there were many more reasons why this was not a fit summer position. The instructors and my supervisor were severely undertrained, leaving me to constantly pick up their slack while also teaching my classes. This would've been fine, if I weren't given classes to teach, as I could've devoted my time to actually being a manager. We were forced to work in parking lots where homeless people would approach daily and scream at my staff and me. We were given NO chairs and had to sit on the curb on our breaks and lunch. I had headaches everyday from working manual labor in the sun. Overall this was my worst summer camp work experience out of the 7 years I have been working with kids.

In 2024 I was the supervisor and in 2025 I was the manager. There are a lot of issues with PedalHeads as a company. They do not give you enough training for camp and the first day is essentially your first real day at training. Second they do not teach you ANYTHING about how bikes work and how the fix them, pretty funny right? As a manager this year, I was required to print out the schedule Sunday nights but if there was an issue it would consume weekends and you do NOT get paid for that time. One time I spend three hours fixing the schedule because the velo app had messed it up. They also do NOT give any training at all about working with kids who are on the spectrum or are neurodivergent. Luckily I have experience with kids and a lot of the instructor staff do not. As a manager, they do not like if you have any time off, this summer I had FOUR days off and they complained that I had “too much” time off. They also do not have any coverage for managers if you get sick or need to call out, it’s very annoying. My final complaint is how your site support expects kids to be biking for eight hours a day besides snack and lunch break, kids are not allowed to ride around for fun and have to be doing some activity. I don’t think pedalheads realizes that most parents use this camp as daycare.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Super fun to see kids grow and learn. Outside all day long, great to take kids on road rides. It's also great seeing their progress over the week and watching them show their parents their new skills.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Horrible management. The manager got fired halfway through the summer. Tons of complaints about him. I was forced to work open to close in 90-100 degree weather without a break from the kids. The manager was found to have not had enough of a background check as he should have, and had been a convicted felon. We also got 0 training on how to work around parents' complaints or problems they had with the camp. Miserable to deal with, especially with mostly other teens. You had to be available all the time unless you specifically called out, and if there weren't enough kids signed up for a week, you just had to hope you were chosen to work. If you were lucky, you could be sent to another location, but each location had different standards. Also, insurance didn't cover kids playing on playgrounds, so we had to say no every time we went to a park (which was every day).

I can’t begin to explain how horribly managed this company is. From not paying employees for weeks or even months at a time to overall disregard for the effectiveness of their employees, I’ve seen it all here. They claim the camp is focused on the kids but really they only care about the moans of the parents who never know the true story and practice of the instructor’s work. Camp managers are totally powerless to the whims of Corporate’s decisions in every regard, not to mention this is hardly a full-time or even part-time job as the schedulers (who are based in Canada) schedule you when they feel like it, whether or not you may need the hours. Every single one of my coworkers are disgruntled, or have quit, and would agree with most if not all that I have shared with you.  

It was fun working as a bike instructor. We would get a class on monday and work with each kid to ensure their biking improved. There were problem children sometimes, how we handled that was by letting them bike on their own around the campus so they did not disrupt the class. hours were not guranteed and schedules came out on the weekend. often times i would be told i wouldnt be needed next week so i would make plans only to have them call me in the middle of the week saying they needed me. pay was minimum wage but houtrs were not guranteed so i often made less than a standard job would pay in a week. job was very phsyically demanding. stand in the sun. moving obstical courses around and being under the sun. over all id say its a good summer job for a sophmore to junior high schooler looking to buy some guitars and a laptop.

I loved working for Pedalheads.  The entire company is about having a great work environment, making sure everyone is supported in their work, and upholding the company mission. I made genuine friendships with my coworkers and had the best boss ever. 

The company works very hard to make sure all kids have a great time at camp.  Pedalheads is a great space for those who know the value of working hard and will be valued in return.  Great understanding if you have a personal matter to deal with or have a dentist appointment.  

Pedalheads is also a great company for personal and career growth.  Lots of opportunity for advancement within the company, as well as opportunity to try out various interests. 

The work is hard, the people are wonderful, and it is all worth it when you see smiles at camp from kids having a great time. 

I would recommend anyone to work here!

Had a lot of fun with coworkers and my manager. The atmosphere was super chill and wasn't too strict. I did feel a little under supported, especially since there's only one instructor per camp so it can be difficult to manage everything. Don't do this job if you're not good with working long hours under the sun. Considering the stress and demand of this job, the wage was a bit low. None of my coworkers felt fairly compensated for their jobs. The hours can also be inconsistent, as it completely depends on registration each week. I've had weeks where I wasn't scheduled at all, or I only did half-days. Overall, seeing the kids improve throughout the week was super rewarding, but I don't think I would do this job again unless the wages become more fair.

This company pays really well for being a summer camp and even better if you have a leadership position! I have been a site manager for 3 years and I look forward to it every summer. As a site manager you are responsible for running your site which means that there is nobody watching you 24/7 which is nice! It’s a fun job working with kids outside in the summer, but this is also what makes it a little tiring at time.

The company is awesome, very supportive, responsive and caring! I’ve loved my time at pedalheads! 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Camp counselor 185 salaries reported	$19.19 per hour
Camp manager 176 salaries reported	$21.46 per hour
Instructor 134 salaries reported	$19.07 per hour
Supervisor 29 salaries reported	$18.20 per hour
Operations coordinator 12 salaries reported	$24.29 per hour

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