Travel For Teens is a company that runs summer travel programs for teenagers and employs summer trip leaders to run these programs. There is a lot of information out there regarding what it's like to be a participant in these programs, but not a lot about what it is like to be the one leading the trips. To help shed some light on what it is like to work for Travel For Teens, I interviewed my friend Sam about her experience working with the company as a summer trip leader. To find out what it's like to be an instructor for their programs, the ups and downs of the job, what the pay is like, and more, keep on reading...
Note: Work experience will differ from person to person and is completely subjective. The information provided in this interview is solely based on Sam's experience working for Travel for Teens.
Photo credit: Simon Maage
Q: Can you give an overview of your experience working with Travel For Teens?
A: I [worked] one summer with Travel for Teens. They have trips running all around the world and I was based in the continental United States and Canada. [It was] all very road trip style trips where we drove a van to and from each location. I [worked] 44 days total but [each trip was] 11 days and they were all back to back. Sometimes we had 9 kids, sometimes we had 21 kids. [For the larger groups] we had two vans and a third leader would join us, but I had the same co-leader every time. So, you just get all these kids, and you go.
[Each 11 day trip had a different itinerary.] The first trip was Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, [and] a lot of national parks. Then we hopped on over to Canada and all the way across to the Canadian coast. Then we went down the west coast of the United States. I got to do different things, which is awesome. I saw a lot of really cool things I probably would not have seen if I did not do this. So that was super cool and unique.
Q: How did you find a job working with Travel For Teens?
A: I was looking for jobs online that had to do with travel and working with kids. There are a lot of companies out there, but you really have to dig for them. This one seemed super cool [because of] the amount of countries [they] go to. It is a super big company, their catalog of trips is enormous.
Q: What was the instructor application process like?
A: I applied in the late winter/early spring. The application process was one of the lengthier applications I've ever done. You filled out a long written application and on the application there is a spot to submit a video. You take a video of yourself, I think they wanted it five minutes long, and you tell them who you are, where you’re from, why you want to work for the company, what your [travel] experience is… That way they get to actually see you. Once you submitted that, they have two or three interviews with you. The first two were on zoom and the last one was a phone call with the director.
[The last interview] was really weird because he was picking his kid up from the bus or daycare or something... he was like, “hold on one second," and he would disappear from the phone call and I would hear him talking to someone for a second and then [he would] say, “alright, sorry about that”… So it was really not professional.
Photo credit: DuoNguyen
Q: What qualifications do you need to work for Travel For Teens?
A: They were definitely looking for summer camp type people, [and] people that had worked with kids before. They weren't necessarily looking for someone with a degree, so I think someone in college could [easily apply], but [the kids you lead] are all high school age kids, [so an age gap does help].
Q: What was your program placement and how do they assign their instructors?
A: You fill out a preference form, but I did not get my preferences at all. I think I ranked the USA as last and [that is where I was placed]. I got based in the continental United States [and Canada]. I got my assignment two days before staff training [and] I had to constantly reach out to them to ask for my assignment.
Q: What was the staff training like?
A: Staff training was two days in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. You meet a bunch of people there but it is very short, very quick. They didn't give us a ton of information about the day by day [routine] or exactly what you are suppose to do with these kids. It was more of, “you'll figure it out with your co-lead, just go do it." Me and my co-leader had a phone call for ten minutes talking about the trip before hand... I felt so unprepared.
Q: What was provided for you by the company?
A: All the accommodations and food was provided for me. Even if you have the same gender co-lead you get your own room. We did not have a budget per se... not a hard $10 for this meal or $20 for this meal. They did pay for my transportation to where I was starting the trip and back home when I had finished. They booked all the flights but they did not book them until a few days before I was leaving so it was very last minute.
Photo credit: Dino Reichmuth
Q: What does a day in the life during the program look like?
A: You wake up, get ready for the day, [and] get out to the vans a little bit earlier than the kids. The kids start coming out to the van to bring you their luggage and you start loading it up. If anyone is not out there yet you track them down and make sure they are awake. Then we all load into the van and find somewhere for breakfast. We would have stuff in the cooler, like granola bars and yogurt, for them to munch on as we drive.
We would drive to our next location [and] see things on the way... a national park if we are going through it, stop at a cool monument, or have a lunch picnic somewhere. It is very family road trip style and a lot of driving. Then we would get to our next accommodation, get them all checked in and go out to dinner that night. We would stay in hotels all the time, there was no camping aspect to this so it was pretty nice.
[Where we ate] would depend on which trip we were on. If we only had 9 kids, then it was easier to find places to eat dinner. When we had 21 kids we had to split up and each leader would go with a few kids. It is hard to pick something that works for your whole group. I think with their international programs [the company] books reservations for all of your dinners. On the domestic programs you were on your own [to find a restaurant], you did not have support. After dinner you go back to your accommodations. A few times we would star gaze or do something into the night. Then we would go back to our hotel.
Every single night [there were other trip leader responsibilities you needed to do]. You and your co-leader would take all the pictures, [the company] would give everyone a nice camera to take pictures throughout the day, and you would upload them every night. Sometimes they took forever to load so I would leave my computer open overnight to upload it. They want at least 200 pictures a day and you had to make sure every kid was getting in a photo. You had to get groups pictures, action photos… they had a very strict list… They were uploaded on [a website] the families can access while the kids are on the trip. You also had to punch in all your recipes for the day on an excel document [and] the trip director would write an email home. So even when all the kids are asleep, you are still up for another hour or two at least.
Q: Did you feel like you were actually traveling or just working?
A: It did feel like I could see the national parks [but we] didn't spend a lot of time in each location. I definitely wish I could have spent more time at these places but it is such a fast paced trip and there is so much driving that it is not possible to do that. Again, you are with all these kids and you have to do what the kids want. So if the kids did not want to do any hikes at all, then you are not doing any hikes at all. That is just how it goes. But I did get to see a lot of amazing things which I really enjoyed.
Q: How does Travel For Teens pay their instructors?
A: The pay was not good. I think, I am not one hundred percent sure, [that] I got less than $2,000 total for the entire summer. But I did not get paid a single cent of it until one month after my program ended. They did not do weekly or biweekly [paychecks], they paid you in one chunk. So the entire summer I did not have a source of income. Which was okay for me but would not be good for people in other situations and circumstances.
Photo credit: Matt Koffel
Q: What was the biggest perk of working for Travel For Teens?
A: I think the biggest perk is going to these places pretty much for free. I did domestic trips, so it was a lot of national parks. But they [also] do, Greece, Italy, Paris, Barcelona… lots of really cool and amazing places… You do have kids there so it is not like you are going there just for yourself, but they also would let you stay in that location a few days after your trip ended. [For example, if] you are done working on August 4th but you want to stay in Barcelona, they would still book your flight home but you could delay it by a few weeks or months or so. That is super cool.
Q: What was the most frustrating part of working for Travel For Teens?
A: I'd say the biggest downside of the job is the communication in general. I felt very unprepared going into my trip. I was so anxious. I have experience traveling and I have a bunch of experience working with kids. But going into that job with that company specifically... I felt so unprepared. They were just so last minute... at least with me and my assignment, my flight, all my info… it was a huge downside for sure. That made me not want to work with them again this summer.
Q: Is there anything you wish you would have known before accepting the job?
A: I wish I would have known that I would not have any days off. It was said during staff training that you might have a few days off between programs but the way that mine was run, there was no days off until the very end. [When one trip ended the next one started the very next day.] I think with some of the internationals ones you maybe have a day or two off in between… If you are doing one trip in Spain and another in France maybe you will have a week or so in between… but for mine I did not have a single day off and you were always with the kids constantly. No hours off either.
I did visit one friend [when we were in the area]. I talked to my co-lead and asked [if] I could go grab dinner with them. He said yes because we were just going to watch fireworks [with the kids and he could handle it]. So there is opportunity to maybe get an hour or two off if you advocate for yourself but it is not something structured unless you make it happen.
Photo credit: Jed Villejo
Q: Would you work for the company again?
A: I would not work for them again. I think [there are] a lot of [reasons] why I don't want to work with them. I did not totally vibe with my co-lead, it was a weird dynamic because we were both leaders but he was also the director of the trip, so he was in charge of the budget and [such]. But the main thing is the support.There was none. No communication, no support. It is very much the vibe of Travel For Teens to ‘go have fun, do whatever’… but that is not totally what I was looking for, so maybe that is why the company did not work for me. It certainly can work for some people, but me personally, it was a no.
Q: Who would you recommend the job to? What type of person would it work best for?
A: I would say someone who really wants to travel and go to these cool places but does not care how it is done. If you really want [travel] but you don't have the funds to do it, and you have the [necessary] experience like at summer camps... I would say totally apply. They are always looking for people because they run so many trips. I would not go back to them, but it could defiantly be a fun time if you go to a fun place with the right co-lead and the right kids.
If you are looking for more of a structured and enriching environment that will help you become a better leader then I don't think that it is the place for you. It is more of a glorified, "parents pay this much money and we will take their kid on vacation” kind of thing. There wasn't a service learning, team building, or leadership aspect… It was very much... you go [to a location] for the picture, and then you go somewhere else.
Q: What should someone put on their resume when applying for a job with Travel For Teens?
A: I would make sure [to add] any experience you have working with kids or in a fast paced job. I don't think they are necessarily looking for people super experienced with travel. I met people at staff training that had not traveled outside of the United States before and they were going to Italy… but a little bit of travel would help if you were to put that in your video portion of the interview.
Q: What advice would you give to someone thinking about working for Travel For Teens?
A: I think... If you are thinking of applying to this place, don't have your hopes up too high and don't take it too seriously. Just go there to have fun.
Conclusion
Travel For Teens is one of many companies that offer summer travel programs for teenagers and young adults. Everyone's experience leading with these organizations will differ from program to program and year to year. Thank you to Sam for taking the time to share her experience working with Travel for Teens. Hopefully this interview provided you with some insight about what it is like to work with this company. If you have worked with Travel For Teens, please share your experience as an instructor in the comments below.