Tips for a 16 Year Old Wanting to Work at Summer Camp

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS | More

Right, so you’re sixteen. Maybe seventeen. You’ve heard about Camp America from someone who went, watched a few YouTube videos about it, and you’re thinking: could I actually do this?

The short answer is: almost, but not quite yet — and this episode explains exactly what you need to know so you’re not wasting a year and a half being frustrated, and instead use that time to set yourself up properly.

The Minimum Age for Camp America

Camp America requires applicants to be at least 18 years old by the time they depart for camp. You do not have to be 18 when you apply — applications open months before departure — but you must be 18 by the time you actually get on the plane.

So if you’re 16 now and turning 18 before the summer departure window (roughly May to June), you’re technically eligible to apply in that cycle. If you won’t be 18 in time, you’re looking at the following year.

This is actually not as gutting as it sounds, because what you do in the meantime matters.

Use the Time to Build Your Application

The Camp America profile system asks about your skills, experience and qualifications. The stronger this looks, the better your placement. Sixteen and seventeen is genuinely ideal time to be building it.

Things worth doing before you apply:

Get a First Aid Qualification

St John Ambulance and the Red Cross both run courses for under-18s. A first aid certificate is one of the most valued qualifications you can have on a camp application. It takes a weekend, it costs relatively little, and it will improve your placement options meaningfully.

Swimming and Lifeguarding

If you can swim confidently, look into your local pool’s lifeguarding or swim teacher training. Waterfront roles at camp are always in demand and well-compensated relative to other positions.

Scouts, Sports Coaching, Youth Groups

Any structured involvement with younger children or young people counts. If you’re already doing this, keep going. If you’re not, joining something now gives you 12-18 months of genuine experience to point to.

Learn a Skill

Camp activity specialists are recruited for specific skills: archery, horse riding, climbing, drama, music, art, photography, tennis, watersports. If you have a genuine interest in any of these, pursuing it now isn’t just fun — it directly makes you more hireable.

What About Camp Leaders and BUNAC?

Camp Leaders and BUNAC have similar minimum age requirements to Camp America. They’re all operating within the J-1 visa framework, which has its own age requirements. The bottom line is the same across the main agencies: 18 is the floor.

The Practical Upside

People who go to camp at 18 or 19 — right after finishing school or in a gap year — consistently describe it as one of the best decisions of their lives. You’re old enough to handle the responsibility and young enough that the whole thing feels completely wild and new. The timing is actually pretty good.

Use the time between now and then to build the application. You’ll go in stronger, get placed in a better role, and have a better summer for it.

 

Read my hilarious books on how summer camp was for me: 

Book 1: There’s No Place Like Summer Camp Book 2: Camp America: Second Summer Shenanigans