How To Become A Camp Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a camp director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Camps provide educational, athletic, or cultural development for children while teaching new skills in a safe and nurturing environment. As a camp director, you'll get to build many wonderful memories for these children by putting their needs ahead of yours during the summer months or during other specialized training camps. In this role, you'll oversee the planning and day-to-day administration of recreation programs that are specifically tailored to the participants' needs. Some of your responsibilities will include designing camp activities, overseeing camp employees and campers, and overseeing budgeting and expenses.

Your main goal will be to provide a fun, safe, and exciting environment for all participants. Another important task that you'll need to fulfill as a camp director is to establish emergency rules and safety procedures for both campers and staff. You'll need to be prepared to handle any issues that arise, including camper behavior issues, parent complaints, and any safety and health-related issues.

To become a camp director, you'll typically need to have a Bachelor's degree in the areas of recreation, youth development, or liberal arts education. Additional training in camp administration is also helpful.

ScoreCamp DirectorUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $38,675

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.1

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.67%

Asian 5.57%

Black or African American 12.52%

Hispanic or Latino 14.53%

Unknown 5.57%

White 61.14%

Gender

female 53.99%

male 46.01%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress Level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.9

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.5

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a camp director

Explore camp director education requirements

Most common camp director degrees

Bachelor's

73.1 %

Master's

12.1 %

Associate

8.3 %

Start to develop specific camp director skills

Skills	Percentages
CPR	24.10%
Role Model	10.14%
Safety Procedures	8.66%
Kids	7.40%
Staff Supervision	6.58%

Complete relevant camp director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New camp directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a camp director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real camp director resumes.

Gain additional camp director certifications

Camp director certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific camp director certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for camp directors include First Aid, CPR and AED Instructor and Certified Professional - Human Resource (IPMA-CP).

More About Certifications

Research camp director duties and responsibilities

Manage coaches schedules, do payroll and accounting, make bookings for customers, and oversee daily operations.
Manage and supervise the development and execution of program, including fiscal oversight, funding initiatives, and new partnerships.
Administer support planning and logistics associate with summer program.
Team leader for ACA accreditation visit for camp that year.

Get camp director experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a camp director. The most common roles before becoming a camp director include camp counselor, internship team lead and teacher.

Prepare your camp director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your camp director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a camp director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Camp Director Resume templates

Build a professional Camp Director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Camp Director resume.

Apply for camp director jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a camp director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

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