Throughout high school, I worked as a camp counselor in the summers. It was a really fun job with adequate opportunities for growth as a high schooler. I began as a volunteer the first summer for no pay. But I understood that if I did well, I could come back the next year and be paid. So, the next summer I was an assistant counselor again, however was paid minimum wage this time. Then I became a lead counselor the next three summers, each year increasing my pay by $1 an hour. By my last summer, I was making over $16 an hour for a few weeks of work. I loved being a camp counselor and felt a lot of security in my position because I had so much experience and was trusted by our supervisor and the other counselors. By the time I was a senior in high school, I definitely wouldn’t have done that job as a volunteer anymore because I needed to support my adventurous lifestyle. That being said, if the pay rate had remained the same at minimum wage, I would have been okay with that because alternative job opportunities would have paid the same. And, I really enjoyed being a counselor for the kids, my coworkers, and the activities we did.
Swift, Michelle (2022) Week 1 Lecture 1 Introduction to Compensation
