Avid4 Adventure Journal

4 Reasons Why You Should be Working for Avid4 Adventure

Written by Sarah Schupp | April 6, 2018

Are you considering joining our team? 

As a member of the Avid4 Adventure staff, you’ll spend your days doing the outdoor activities you love—climbing, kayaking, mountain biking, backpacking—all while inspiring a new generation of intrepid adventurers and outdoors enthusiasts. It’s crazy fun, blissfully tiring and endlessly rewarding—no wonder our staffers tell us it’s the best summer camp job they’ve ever had.

Here are a few of our favorite reasons to work for Avid4 Adventure this summer:

1. Awarded "Best Place to Work" by Outside Magazine

Each year, Outside Magazine recognizes the top 100 companies in the United States that help their employees strike the ideal balance between work and play. Avid4 Adventure was recognized as one of the Top 100 Best Places to Work in 2017According to Outside, "Some companies go beyond kegerators and ping-pong—from unlimited vacation time to powder days, these are the places that know how to treat their employees." Avid4 Adventure was ranked #3 for our perks, which include an annual paid month-long sabbatical to travel, in addition to an annual all-expense-paid trip to Moab to hike, bike, and climb in the desert (see more perks below).

 

2. Seriously Awesome Perks

We want our staff members to be able to live and breathe the outdoor lifestyle they teach. That’s why we offer competitive pay, which increases as you spend more time with us and earn more certifications, and a whole batch of awesome perks designed to support staying active all year long. We believe that this is more than just a summer camp job; it's about developing outdoor professionals and stewards. Here are just a few perks that along with that...

  • Pro Deals!
    • As a part of the Outdoor Education industry, our staff are eligible for major discounts on outdoor gear after 30 days of employment with several top companies like Outdoor Research, Diamondback, Smartwool, Big Agnes, Kelty, Scarpa, La Sportiva, Yakima, Chacos, Smith, Yeti, etc.
  • Free access to Avid4 gear!
    • We pride ourselves on using high quality gear for our camps. We provide all staff with access to use our gear during non-camp hours.
  • Reimbursements!
    • Public Transportation – all staff are eligible for public transportation fare reimbursement to and from work.
    • Up to $50/year on race registrations for any races that involve our core sports – biking, climbing or paddling.
  • Volunteer hours!
    • If you have a non-profit you love that supports our mission and you volunteer for more than 5 hours in a year, we will donate $25 the organization.
  • Professional Development!
    • Live Smart(er) is a way of life here. Throughout the year, we offer multiple professional development opportunities for our staff to gain more knowledge in our core sports and business-related topics through field training days, webinars and optional meetups after camp.

Returning Staff are eligible for even more perks... including: 

  • Adventure Grant
    • Each year, Avid4 Adventure awards an Adventure Grant to one returning staff member by providing an opportunity of a lifetime: one roundtrip ticket anywhere in the world plus an additional $500 stipend for their dream adventure! Last year our winner, Katie Riley, chose to travel to New Zealand to hike, bike, paddle and ride horses through it’s National Parks.
  • Ethan Gillett Scholarship Fund
    • In 2016, we began a scholarship fund after losing one of our dear staff members that truly embodied the Avid4 Adventure mission. The fund honors his passion for the outdoors and continuous education. Each season, we award one of our returning staff with the tuition for an AMGA SPI certification course and one returning staff with tuition for a Wilderness First Responder course.
  • Specialized training certification reimbursement
    • Avid will reimburse returning staff $100/year on certifications for advanced climbing, paddling, biking or Leave No Trace.

 

Ready to apply already?

 

3. Fantastic Training and Support

It is not a requirement that you are expert in all of our sports, but we are looking for a solid foundation in several of them and experience in the backcountry. Our pre-camp staff training (and yes, training is PAID!) covers many of the skills you will teach throughout the summer. Topics will include:

  • Youth development strategies
  • Risk management
  • Learning age group characteristics
  • Team building
  • Facilitation skills
  • Leadership techniques
  • Adventure sports teaching
  • Backcountry skills and much more!

Of course, staff training is also about bonding and having FUN, and becoming oriented to one of our incredible camp locations you’ll call home for the summer. Throughout the summer, team development continues through regular meetings to discuss areas for program improvement and strategies to ensure campers grow and have the most intentional learning experience at camp as possible.

4. Unbelievable Community and Culture

Joining our staff means joining a community of insatiable outdoor adventurers. All year long, our team’s communication channels are buzzing with plans and invitations for climbing expeditions, camping trips, day hikes, bike races, happy hours and all kinds of other cool stuff—all from like-minded outdoors addicts, ready for their next adventure. Here are the Core Values the Avid4 Adventure Team lives by: 

  • Live Fun
    • We believe that being outdoors creates joy. We support kids and teens, their families and our peers to adventure exuberantly out in the world.
  • Live Environmentally Connected
    • We create environmental stewards. We walk our talk by minimizing the environmental impact of our programs, teaching Leave No Trace principles and environmental consciousness.
  • Live Truth
    • First we listen. We notice other people’s uniqueness, goodness and successes and speak of them. We express gratitude. We have meaningful conversations.
  • Live Smart(er)
    • We are committed to training and development. We track and advance campers’ skills and support our staff to develop technical outdoor and business expertise.
  • Live Gratitude
    • In times of success and through times of challenge, we remain grateful.  We say “Thank you!” for things both large & small. We try to value all areas of our lives and bring a sense of gratitude to all aspects of work and play.
  • Live Empowered
    • First we ask, “What would you do?” We are confidence builders. We trust others to make good decisions, give them opportunities to lead and encourage positive risk taking.
  • Live Balanced
    • We bridge the passion we have for work with the passion we have for the outdoors, community, family and ourselves, deliberately allocating meaningful time for each.
  • Live Community
    • We create connections. We work, play and volunteer together, inspiring growth through shared adventure.

We bring adventure to both campers and staff alike. You could even say we’re Avid4 it. We treat our staff like family, and we’d love for you to be a part of it. Check out our California summer camp jobs, and see if it’s a great fit for you!

What our Staff have to Say about Working for Avid4 Adventure:

  • “At the end of the day when it’s all said and done, everyone is there for to serve the kids. It doesn’t matter what position you are your end goal will always be making kids smile and giving them the best summer experience possible.”

  • “I like how Avid4 builds a community within each camp and geographic area. The emphasis on work/life balance means that staff are empowered to work hard at camp and then go play with their friends (fellow staffers) afterward. From equipment sharing to happy hour to Director of Fun activities, Avid4 supports the best kind of relationship building, which fosters the love of outdoor education and adventure that staff come in with – it is nurtured rather than exploited, and that makes Avid a truly wonderful place to work!”

  • “I got to instill in kids something that I had to discover on my own at a much later age. I get to pass on my passion for the outdoors to youth at such an early stage in their life, which is an extremely exciting aspect of working for Avid4 Adventure. Also the skills clinics we’re a sweet opportunity for me to develop my skills.”

  • “I absolutely love that Avid4 Adventure has core values that the company actually tries to uphold throughout the year. They aren’t just written down, but you really live them throughout the summer.”

  • “I really appreciated getting paid extra for camp because of my certifications. That made it feel that Avid4 valued me. I also appreciated getting to borrow gear for weekend use, I definitely took advantage of that. Also the reward of seeing kids ride bikes for the first time. I never got tired of seeing parents freak out over their kids pedaling a bike!”

  • “The best aspect of working for Avid4 Adventure was the community and family I developed within Avid. It was difficult moving to an area where I did not know anyone, but Avid quickly helped me feel comfortable and at home with new friends.”

Your best job ever is just a few clicks away. Use the drop down menus below to search positions by team and location or scroll down for our full list of openings. Click on any job title to see a detailed description, including information about how to apply. Interested in multiple positions/locations? You only need to fill out one application and we can chat about all jobs! Click here to learn more.