tutor

camp counselor

area manager

instructor

regional manager

Play-Well TEKnologies

I worked with Play-well for years and after so long felt like another replaceable cog. When I started the previous manager was kind and outreaching always trying to make everyone feel like a community in our distant line of work. But the new manager came in and they weren't horrible but very business only attitude. 

A common thing they tell employees is that if there's anything wrong that you can talk to the managers but that is not the case. One day on break I suddenly started crying and couldn't stop. I finally realized the stress had gotten to me and wanted to talk to the manager about my anxiety. Before I could finish my sentence they stopped me and asked if it was "Play-well related" intimidated by this I said it wasn't and they immediately hung up leaving me to stress out even more.

This same manager wouldn't answer any of my calls when I was sick forcing me to take my aching body on a 2 hour trip to barely function around energetic children. They did eventually answer and just said good job and nothing else. 

Even the higher ups only look at instructors as just cogs. They have a means of accepting ideas for projects and class room management but will never reward any of the  instructors for this. There are no benefits to working with Play-Well despite the hours they may put on people. They can make you work from 8:30am to 4:30pm straight for a month and never give you any chance of getting health care for you. You can't even move up, they say they want to keep it to people already working in the company but only ever hire someone new to become a manager. 

They hire adults with full bachelor degrees and college students and only pay them $18 an hour and after working for years there I only ever got to $20. That's $26k a year for people who're legitimate engineers if you're lucky they don't cancel your classes. 

I hope there's a union for this company because no one deserves to be treated like they're nothing. You might as well work at Target because it pays more and gives benefits for the same amount of work.

Play-Well was the job I needed to get out of the food service slump. I wanted a job that would work with my school schedule, but also give me a chance to start working with my future career goals as a scientist. Play-Well gave me all of that and more! I've had three amazing years of teaching and learning through play. It has been a joy to touch so many young lives with STEM through this job. One of the best parts is all of my students have touched my life and taught me so much along the way too! The culture of the company is amazing as well. I've always felt I could be honest with managers and I never felt like any sort of politics were going on. I've always appreciated the honesty and communication from every person I have interacted with. This company really values all of its employees and encourages everyone to truly be themselves. I honestly haven't felt like I've had a job for three years because Play-Well has been THAT fun and great to work for.

I was an instructor and I got paid to teach children engineering concepts by playing with LEGOs! The first month was challenging since you have to take some training (paid) and get yourself acquainted to the teaching environment and how to handle children, but after that, lessons and projects are all just a breeze. Once you start teaching, all the training just clicked and sometimes you end up having a mental script of what to say or do in certain situations (kids not listening, two kids fight, kids throwing tantrums, etc.) Teaching children made me realize how smart kids are, not just based on how they do the projects but on how they communicate. Sometimes some kids would play mind games on you and try to get you to do their project for them or throw fits to not do the task, but the training you got would help you deal with these situations. Overall, it's a fun job where you get to inspire future engineers and build their confidence and that they have the capabilities to accomplish great things in the future. 

A typical day working with Play Well was always a guaranteed blast. We taught engineering concepts to kids using Lego building blocks through classes, workshops, and camps. I learned to work with kids with special needs and how important having open dialogue with parents. The management was always shifting, however every one of my managers at Play Well was always as accommodating as they were able to be. The workplace was always busy, filled with children playing and learning. It was constructive and fun, however there was always the air of responsibility of watching over 15+ kids for a few hours at a time. The most difficult part of the job was working with children that were having difficulties integrating themselves into the programs, or children that would be generally disruptive. However I later found that one of the most enjoyable parts of this job was the rewarding feeling of working with these children, getting them involved, and seeing them actively engaged, learning, and having fun.

It's exciting, tiring, challenging and rewarding to work at play well, sometimes all at once. I will say that it's taught me a fair bit about classroom management and teaching. 

The culture is exciting, plenty of super geeky like-minded individuals who gab after company functions about everything from comic books to obscure lego sets of the mid 90's. 

Management is good for the most part, but there is always room for improvement. It just really depends which region you wind up working for. 

The hardest part of the job for me was the stress of finding other hours for employment during the school year ( off season for this company). 

My absolute favorite part of this job was connecting with kids and sparking their problem solving skills into high gear with fun challenges.

This is a great job for someone looking for part time hours. You get to teach fun projects to kids and often spend the majority of the 90 minute classes/3 hour summer camp sessions playing and building with kids.

There's always an opportunity to advance, but most positions will require relocating to another site unless you choose to remain as an instructor. 

Pay is plenty fair at nearly $20, including payment for travel time. 

The hours are tough, though. Most classes are after school, so you'll work around 2-5, which makes it tough to find another part time job before or after. Days are flexible, though. Summers have the possibility of full time, but it's not unheard of a camp cancelling due to low enrollment and then you're out of a job for the week. Most good managers will try to find something for you to do, at least! 

You'll likely never see your coworkers, except for the occasional large event or training sessions.

Play-Well has a lot of great people who come from all different backgrounds. Science, retail, LEGO fanatics, you name it, they are all passionate about something.
The company is DIY and can be a little unstable, about 80% of their employees are part time and there are no benefits for part timers.
They have 4 centers for kids, but they are not well taken care of and the budget for new things is not very much, so a lot of stuff gets put on hold.
The company itself is constantly trying to better itself, but puts people in positions too quickly, then they barely know what to do with the positions they have created.
The curriculum is amazing and the kids are super adorable, but unless you are an instructor, you won't really know what it is you are selling to the customer.
This company is fun, but a little unorganized.

It was a fun place to work, but they will not provide support when you need it. Clearly an example of when a company is struggling, so they underhire and expect one person to do the job of two. 

Hiring situation is bad, could not keep instructors because of pay and hours being too low. That stress is passed on to the area manager, as you are essentially expected to teach every day that an instructor cannot cover. (Regularly 5 days/week). 

I was regularly working 50+ hour weeks while being paid for 40 and still unable to keep up with the workload. When I started asking to bring in a second manager, or otherwise take a demotion because the stress was too much, they instead fired me on the spot. 

From talking to veteran managers, it is clear that this didn't used to be the culture, but it has definitely taken a turn since COVID.

What is the best part of working at the company?
This is a rewarding position, getting to work with and see the children grow through the course of a week.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part was being responsible for up to 15 children for 3 hours at a time.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Each week I travelled to different locations around. For the most part I was the sole instructor, but there was usually helping hands around if it was needed. Little problems popped up quite frequently but my manager was always very timely when I reached out to her.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Drive to a school or community center with many bins of Legos, setup and teach for two 3-hour lego sessions generally with 2 build projects each.

A typical day involves driving to a school and teaching the students basic concepts in engineering and physics with Lego products. I learned a lot about how to help students as well as educate them in a fun way. I had some really good managers and some really poor managers Some really cared about me and my improvement in the company, whereas others paid little to no attention to the maintenance of my area. The hardest part of my job was the long commutes and sometimes terrible traffic days. The best part was working with kids and being able to see them learn and grow.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Tutor 148 salaries reported	$22.38 per hour
Camp counselor 98 salaries reported	$20.09 per hour
Area manager 8 salaries reported	$58,214 per year
Instructor 8 salaries reported	$17.31 per hour
Regional manager 6 salaries reported	$34.77 per hour

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