Have you ever dreamed of traveling or working abroad?
What if I were to tell you that you already may have what it takes to embark on a life changing journey overseas, and that you were actually going to get paid to do it? Landing yourself a job with an teen tour company could set you up with a full air-fare, room and board, and even a job abroad, but of of course, there’s a catch. You have to willing to work for a majority of the time throughout your stay, without much time off. The teen tour industry, much like the booming study abroad industry, has also been on the rise since the ’80’s.
Teen tour companies range from grass-roots organizations specializing in eco-tourism and volunteer oriented programs, to others with academic or action adventure focuses. Generally, these multinational agencies will cover the cost of international airfare, housing, and even give you a weekly “educational stipend”. In all reality, the “stipend” is pretty much a paycheck. The reason many companies do this in reality is to evade the wearying amount of visa paperwork it would require to employ so many Americans in these locations.
Over the past couple of years, I have been blessed with the opportunity to work in both Barcelona and Costa Rica. My first stint came in 2012, where I worked as a lifeguard and photo instructor in the heart of Barcelona, for company called West Coast Connection. I was part of a team of ten other counselors. Our overarching responsibility was to maintain the safety and wellbeing of over seventy high school students from all over the U.S. Although we all held slightly different job titles, mine being that of lifeguard, we had the shared the responsibility of transportation of students to school in the mornings, organizing activities for the students outside of class, as well as looking after them and participating in these extra-curricular activities.
In Barcelona, our days consisted of 3 hours of Spanish conversational and grammar classes in a world famous language institute know as International House. These were followed by lunch, and then usual group optional activities. Optional activities included photography, cultural expeditions such as architectural walking tours and museum visits, to SAT preparation courses.
Our lodging situation in Barcelona was also quite accommodating. We stayed in a college residency with a very young and diverse demographic. International travel groups from France, Germany, Italy, and other European countries to name just a few. I was given my own room on the 7th floor. This spot was just high enough, and had a window wide enough, so that I could dangle my legs off the edge while taking in the view of Barcelona’s almost mystical cityscape, without any of the noise from below.
One of the greatest perks of this job was the free restaurant dinners we received on a nightly basis. Most nights, we would split the kids into groups of about 10-12, and then take them to separate restaurants. This was truly a unique experience, as it allowed for the us explore and get to know certain parts of the city on a more personal level, with a much smaller group of students. I will admit, although most teen tours average a group size of about eight to twenty, the beleaguering nature and inherent complications that came with trying to transport a group of seventy high school students to any single location posed the most difficult challenges. I personally, am obsessed with culinary culture. I also believe that one of the best ways to experience and a new nation is through its culinary tradition, so these were definitely some of the greatest learning experiences I personally had throughout my stay.
Another highlight of my experience was going to an Olympic exhibition basketball match between the U.S and Argentina. Although we didn’t smoke the Argentines like I thought we would, we still opened up a solid can of woop-ass on them ass as I saw stars like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwayne Wade repeatedly throw down over Manu Ginobli, putting him and his receding hairline to shame.
The month that I spent in Barcelona was undoubtedly one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life’s entirety. I got to spend a month in one of the most incredible cities in the world, with a handful of some of the most amazing people ever worked with, as well as many eager-to-learn and brilliant students who I also learned much from.
Up until now, I have made this job out to seem like it was really just a paid vacation, and in many senses, it very much seemed like one. But don’t get me wrong, this job was also very demanding at times. Keep in mind that when you travel abroad with any teen tour company, you will be pretty much on the clock 24/7 for the duration of your trip. The only time you’ll get “off” might be an hour a day for lunch break or some other times here and there, but there are usually no “scheduled days off for the most part. Another one of of the most challenging aspects of the trip was the sleep deprivation were forced to endure. Often times, we were expected to run on 4-6 hours of sleep a night for 5 nights a week, night in and night out. But I believe this was due to the fact that the trip coordinator was somewhat of a nut case who ran on only 2-3 hours of sleep a night, and just expected us to do the same. I didn’t suffer from nearly as much sleep deprivation for the other company I worked for 2 years later.
So, by this point you might still be asking yourself if you think you might be the right person for this type of job? Well, below I have posed a list of websites with the mission statements of just a few teen travel companies below. If you just do a general Google search for “teen tours”, you’re bound to get pages and pages of different companies offering these types of tours. The trick is to look for an organization whose ethos you can really get behind, and one that hopefully specializes in the types of programs you could see yourself running. To figure this out, all you need to do is read into what the company is all about, and if it seems like something you could get behind, go ahead and apply! But before you do that, here are just questions you might ask yourself before even applying to figure out if the teen tour industry might be right for you.
Do you have any experience working with kids? Do you enjoying working with teenagers?
Do you have any experience studying a foreign language? Do you a passion for language learning?
What other certifications/skillsets do you possess? In my case I know that my lifeguarding certification played a big role in helping me secure both of my jobs abroad. I also know many others who have been hired for their specific skill sets in video and film production, yoga teaching, SAT tutoring, outdoor education, and virtually every other capacity imaginable. There aren’t even any specific resume or major requirements. All they expect of you is to maintain a certain level of professionalism, open mindedness, and always put the kid’s safety and interests above your own.
Another important question to ask yourself before accepting employment with a teen tour company is whether or not you’re willing to give up drugs and alcohol for the duration of the trip? Most companies have a strict 0 tolerance policy, and although there are exceptions / ways around this rule, they are few and far between, and you may risk losing your job if you choose to violate it.
Can you get behind the ethos and mission statement of the company you’re applying to work for, or are you just in it for the free ride? Let me tell you from my personal experience, if you’re simply looking to travel and discover a new country or city on your own agenda, then the teen tour experience will probably not be very beneficial for you, and you’ll more than likely end up with a disappointing experience. The itineraries, for the most part, are already completely jam-packed, and leave leave very little time for spontaneous personal outings.
Below I have included some links to the companies I have either worked or consider working for. If you have certain preferences, such as what types of programs you’d like to lead (photography, adventure, language immersion, etc), then I’d highly suggest doing a more specific google search to narrow down the companies you’d like to work for based on your specific field of interest. Thanks for reading!
http://www.rusticpathways.com/employment
http://visionsserviceadventures.com/about/mission–
http://www.gobroadreach.com/application-for-employment.asp?type=seasonalhttp://boldearth.com/about/jobs
http://www.backroads.com/leaders/leader-qualifications.html
https://www.cci-exchange.com/jobs.aspx
http://www.teenagersabroad.com/index.html
http://www.languagevacation.com/