More Than a Summer Job: How Camp Experience Builds Real Career Skills

These days, college students and young professionals feel more pressure than ever to land a “real job” or a resume‑building internship. Where summer camp used to feel like an escape, many staff now worry they might be falling behind if they spend their summer at camp instead of a cubicle.

But here’s the thing, camp isn’t just relay games, smores, and messy nights, it builds real-world skills that employers value. Working at camp isn’t a detour from professional growth, it’s an opportunity to develop leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, and communication skills, experiences that often exceed what a traditional internship can offer.
With a Jacobs Camp internship, you don’t have to choose between spending your summer at camp and building your resume, you can do both. Instead of running errands or making coffee like at a typical internship, you’ll be learning and contributing in meaningful ways. Our internships don’t replace being a counselor, they enhance it. You’ll gain hands-on experience while dancing at song session, leading bunk night, and making a real difference in campers’ lives.
Even top leaders recognize the value of camp experience. John Chidsey, CEO of Subway and a proud camp alumnus, says: “Spending a year or two doing something like this [working at summer camp] teaches you things you would never learn in the corporate world, and those life skills I would argue are as important as anything you would learn in a corporate internship … you really need both to be a successful person.” (check out his full quote from an article published by the camp he attended here)

At first glance, summer camp might just look like a fun place to spend your summer, but Jacobs Camp is a real nonprofit with a BIG impact. Behind the Jacobs Magic, staff can be part of professional teams and departments that operate just like those in any other organization.

From administration, finance, marketing, and operations to hospitality, logistics, and facilities management, there are opportunities to develop real professional skills. Camp also supports a variety of educational and creative practice areas, including STEM, outdoor education, Jewish education, dance, gymnastics, performing arts, music, podcasting, photography, videography, social media, coaching, and more. Staff can also gain experience in medical administration, working alongside doctors and nurses. And that’s just scratching the surface, Jacobs Camp offers so many ways for staff to learn, lead, and grow in areas that directly connect to their career goals.

At the end of the day, whether managing people or data, companies need employees who can solve problems and bring people together.

Working at camp provides exactly this kind of preparation, Camp DOES prepare people for the real world.

Join us this summer! Explore our internships here!