Camp America/AmeriCamp etc any good?

dowie said:
If everything is free and you're paying for flights and visas yourself then what is the fee there for? It just seems rather odd or rather a good scheme by these camps, aren't they supposed to be paying you?
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They pay you at the end - between $800-$1200. I don't entirely understand it but figured why not.
 
They pay you and it just about covers the amount of your flights etc. The camp basically get a councillor/leader for the cost of food and lodgings. I think you need CRB etc too. It's a good thing to do if you can spend the time!
 
Incredible experience
I would suggest Camp America
They are more expensive but they support you much more if you happen to need it
Also as for a first time going they just take care of everything.
We had a late flight on arriving and a hotel paid for by CA and transfers to where your camp pick you up from. Those with other companies had to pay for a hostel and their own transport to the pick up points

CCUSA is another one where you book your own flights etc who a lot of friends went with, you’ll earn more money but you are on your own

I had a friend who traveled after, had an internal flight cancelled which meant she missed her scheduled departure from JFK
She called up Camp America and they rescheduled her flight at no cost
You won’t get that elsewhere
 
MonsterMoshi said:
Incredible experience
I would suggest Camp America
They are more expensive but they support you much more if you happen to need it
Also as for a first time going they just take care of everything.
We had a late flight on arriving and a hotel paid for by CA and transfers to where your camp pick you up from. Those with other companies had to pay for a hostel and their own transport to the pick up points

CCUSA is another one where you book your own flights etc who a lot of friends went with, you’ll earn more money but you are on your own

I had a friend who traveled after, had an internal flight cancelled which meant she missed her scheduled departure from JFK
She called up Camp America and they rescheduled her flight at no cost
You won’t get that elsewhere
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Thank you for that.
Did you work every day?

It's something that I'm thinking 'you get what you pay for'.
Earning lots of potential money is no good if the experience is stressful and fails.
At the end of the day the money I get at the end cancels out what I pay initially giving me 3 months in the USA.

It says you get 30 days at the end to yourself. Are there any restrictions?
 
My brother did it about 10 years ago. 3 months working as a Councilor and then did 3 months travelling, had a blast. If you want any specifics I can ask him

- GP
 
When you're round the Camp fire spinning yarns just don't mention....

You know who out loud

"Mad Man Marz"
 
GhostlyPea said:
My brother did it about 10 years ago. 3 months working as a Councilor and then did 3 months travelling, had a blast. If you want any specifics I can ask him

- GP
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If you could ask him how many days he worked each week and if there was anything to do when not working?
Cheers
 
giphy.gif



EDIT: Beaten to it!
 
helpimcrap said:
If you could ask him how many days he worked each week and if there was anything to do when not working?
Cheers
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That one I actually know already. He worked 6 days in 7 but had evenings free. most of the time on camp the councilors just hung around together and chilled, but one of them had a car so they were able to drive out in to town. I guess that's going to depend very much on which camp you go to and where though

- GP
 
helpimcrap said:
Thank you for that.
Did you work every day?

It's something that I'm thinking 'you get what you pay for'.
Earning lots of potential money is no good if the experience is stressful and fails.
At the end of the day the money I get at the end cancels out what I pay initially giving me 3 months in the USA.

It says you get 30 days at the end to yourself. Are there any restrictions?
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Yeah it works out about that financially
Camp pay will there or ther abouts pay for your flights fees etc
You should budget for your traveling however. More below...

We had a day off a week except for during staff training week
Depends on your camp but generally you can hang around camp (days by the lake etc), head off with your new American friends (they usually have cars), or camp will put on trips (theme parks, city visits etc)

Your J1 visa allows you 30 days travel throughout the USA. Only restriction comes if you wish you travel to Mexico or Canada as you may run into issues with immigration as the visa technically is invalidated when you leave the US. There is plenty of information online about it.
You can book your flights to return any time in that 30 days

My camp was in east Pennsylvania so I stayed for 2 weeks after camp and visited NY and Washington staying in hostels. I’d recommend not making fixed plans but having an idea of what you want to do. You will find lots of people on camp have similar plans and it’s good to travel with new friends
 
MonsterMoshi said:
Yeah it works out about that financially
Camp pay will there or ther abouts pay for your flights fees etc
You should budget for your traveling however. More below...

We had a day off a week except for during staff training week
Depends on your camp but generally you can hang around camp (days by the lake etc), head off with your new American friends (they usually have cars), or camp will put on trips (theme parks, city visits etc)

Your J1 visa allows you 30 days travel throughout the USA. Only restriction comes if you wish you travel to Mexico or Canada as you may run into issues with immigration as the visa technically is invalidated when you leave the US. There is plenty of information online about it.
You can book your flights to return any time in that 30 days

My camp was in east Pennsylvania so I stayed for 2 weeks after camp and visited NY and Washington staying in hostels. I’d recommend not making fixed plans but having an idea of what you want to do. You will find lots of people on camp have similar plans and it’s good to travel with new friends
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Brilliant, thanks for the detail. I'd love to do Canada whilst there as that is one of my dream places however I could go to Alaska couldn't I? That's an American state?

I'm getting more and more sure i'll give it ago from what people are saying. I'll never get another chance when I qualify and fingers crossed I've got my finances sorted until end of uni so I have spare cash.
 
helpimcrap said:
I pay them£850 for flights/VISAs etc. Everything is then included and I get about $900 at the end and a month free to travel before flying back or something?
Minimum wage is whatever America is?
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It is illegal for an employee to pay for a work visa, this has to be paid by the employer.


Minimum wage varies by state, most decent states it is around $10 an hour.
 
It's not going to be good pay wise but might be fun. Age bracket would be around 18 to 23 I reckon most common. I know a few people that went to teach sports and enjoyed it.
 
The Craig said:
It's not going to be good pay wise but might be fun. Age bracket would be around 18 to 23 I reckon most common. I know a few people that went to teach sports and enjoyed it.
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I'm 36 so i'll be the old man putting them to bed and checking the camp fire is out lol.
 
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