Available Summer Jobs
Explore the joys of a summer job in Door County with DCKT, where you can indulge in sailing, gardening, hiking, kayaking, kitesurfing, beach relaxation, drive-in movies, volleyball, dancing, reading, and adventurous exploration. We also offer housing options.
Consider our guiding positions, where we proudly conduct five times the number of Door County tours compared to all other providers combined. This means more opportunities for you to guide tours and earn tips. While other positions may offer a slightly higher hourly wage, the potential for tours and tips is significantly greater with us.
Earn college credit by joining our internship program, with preference given to students during the hiring process.
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16 Full Time Positions (30 – 50 hrs/week)
Internships availableStarting at $13-$18 + tips average anywhere from ($80-$250/tour) depending on group size ~1-3 tours per day per guide.
We do more tours than all of the other kayak companies in Door County combined. So when considering your future summer guiding position with one of them, consider how many trips you will do.
Kayak & E-bike Guide & Driver:
- Is a Naturalist
- Is interested in geology
- Loves outdoor recreation
- Is skilled in basic photography
- Prizes education
- Is a storyteller
- Is confident
- Is composed
Kayak Guide Time Frame
- Full Time Position: Arrival time (May 1-June 1) to End of Season (August 15 – September 15)
Priority is given to guides available till end of labor day or September 15
30 – 50 hours/week
Guide Benefits
Get Strong! Get Tan! Work outside! Meet fun, adventurous people! Benefits include access to company outdoor recreation gear on a space available basis (and according to skills), pro-deals on many brands of outdoor gear, free kayak trips for family/friends, time to learn how to kayak, garden, sail, and kitesurf and the chance to work with a fun, passionate, creative group of individuals.
Kayak Guide Job Description
We hire self-motivated, confident, creative, inspiring individuals! You possess strong leadership abilities in outdoor group situations. Full-time guides will lead tours multiple times per week (see our Guide Duties) in the local Door County waters. Guides give paddling instruction, lead safe tours according to company guidelines and provide interesting, funny, and informative narratives. Guides invoke laughter, insight, patience, strength, and flexibility in the kayaking guests.
6-8 hr. Shift Kayak Tour Guide Duties
- Arrive 1 hour before tour.
- Check that van has been left clean & stocked from previous tour with Kayaks/Paddles/PFDs.
- Stay tuned into local weather radio/web weather.
- Meet and Greet Guests! Don’t let them wander for a second. Welcome them with a large smile and enthusiasm!
- Remind them to be prepared (i.e. using bathroom, wearing appropriate clothing, leaving keys, and putting cell phone in a waterproof case).
- Answer any questions they may have.
- Convey paddling itinerary to guests using Navigational Map.
- Entertain guests between pickup/drop off (bocce ball, juggling, team games).
- Entertain people on the bus with ice breaker games.
- Facilitate ease of a quick & concise kayak setup with guest interaction.
- Give kayak/paddle lesson to guests.
- Guide or Driver (Launch Kayaks / give confidence to anxious guests / create wonder, respect and excitement using Natural Environment).
- Entertain kids with super soakers & adults with geology/stories/jokes.
- Photograph guests during tour using waterproof camera.
- Pack up and return to headquarters.
- Put away / clean / replace PFD’s / VHFs / batteries / camera and guide gear, & van.
- Thank and ask customers to leave us a review and join us on another experience.
- Log trip details on Blog / Facebook / Pinterest / Instagram.
- If you have time or if a trip is cancelled, work on a DCKT project.
- How to prepare for the Guide Position:
We realize that many of you do not have much kayak guiding experience or certifications. Past experience is not mandatory, but we will not hesitate to let you go if you are not confident in your abilities and confident in surprise scenarios in which you will engage during training. Fear not, start studying, reading, and watching YouTube videos about outdoor education, specifically kayak related, and start playing in your school pool now!
Our training program is intensive, the scenarios engage all your senses and any preparedness before will show during training. If invited to training, we will present you with some engaging readings, and ask you to bring something you love to share/teach at training.
Mandatory Preparations
- First Aid / CPR Certifications by training date.
- Be legally able to work in the United States.
- Read up on Door County, kayaking skills, & group leadership skills.
- Join our Facebook page.
- Continue to converse with us on Facebook, email, and Google chat.
- Sign up for a Gmail account.
Kayak Guide Training
“Kayak Guide Training Camp” takes place during the end of May/beginning of June (exact date dependent on the arrival of all guides). Training consists of sea kayak skills training, rescue training, and trip leadership training, trailer driving, reception, & ice breaker games. We also spend time learning about the local area and ecology. Guides will demonstrate their skills at the end of the training. Our first camp will consist of getting to know the basics of Door County Kayak Tours and some basic kayaking rescue and navigation classes. During the time between training camps, guides are expected to join tours and use what they have learned to explore our tour locations with a partner or group of guides.
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If you enjoy juggling, photography, creative marketing, socializing, Facebook, Instagram, writing, and talking, this position is for you.
Photography, Marketing & Communications Time Frame:
Full Time Position:
May to labor Day
Internship Position:
This can be flexible, dependent on internship requirements and if you have another job. Priority for internship positions will be given to those applicants willing to fulfill full time work.
Photography, Marketing & Communications Requirements:
Photography experience.
A major or direction towards communications, sales, business, marketing, or advertising.
Enjoy updating online communities (Blog, Facebook, Email).
Quick wits and humor is a must.
Ability to handle fast-paced environment.
Ability to prioritize and switch gears when needed.
Organized & creative individual.
Forward thinker who takes initiative.
Prior PR and event experience a plus.
Good writing and researching skills are a must.
Be a proactive, creative, intelligent, and persistent self-starter.
Be hard working, have tenacity, enthusiasm, and honesty.
Pay Per Click / Google Adwords / Analytics / SEO management a plus.Photography, Marketing & Communications Benefits:
Benefits include access to company kayaking gear on a space available basis (and according to skills), pro-deals on many brands of outdoor gear, free kayak and zip line trips, improving your kayaking, sailing, and kitesurfing and the chance to work with a fun group of individuals. Access to kayaks and equipment for personal and family/friend use. Academic credit for those seeking internships. Online / print published writings / photographs.
Photography, Marketing & Communications Duties:
This position entails all aspects of booking, selling, and capturing tour moments – from the second a potential customer finds out about our tours to when they arrive back at their home and are thanked for coming out with us. Day to day office administration, photography, advertising, marketing, networking, and events. The many details of this customer flow are detailed below.
Office administration:
Office staff will need to learn about the area and our program very quickly in order to sell our trips effectively. Behind the reservations desk, there are many detail orientated procedures. Telephone / online / walk-in reservation duties include providing program information and taking reservations with a simple phone script. Other office duties include word processing and other computer work, record keeping, brochure and photo mailings. You will need to be organized in order to keep the scheduling books in order and make sure that no trips are overbooked or double booked. When time permits, we are working on a graphics / videos / and other creative projects with all of our toys.
Field Program Support:
Facilitate communication of weather & pickups & drop offs between guides and drivers.
Advertising / Marketing / Journalist:
Develop and promote the domestic market (ie. locals and walk-in travellers) by maintaining public exposure to company literature (e.g. guerrilla marketing, posters, scheduled trip dates, and brochures) and by visiting local accommodation facilities (i.e. guest houses, hotels, resorts) on a regular basis to inform new arrivals of trip options. Create content to update to webpage / Facebook, work with web manager to update webpage daily. Maintain a personal logbook detailing work hours, guided day trips, events and any other pertinent information (e.g. weather conditions, stories, safety log). Host a trip blog, write stories for the local papers, submit entries to travel, adventure magazines, and newspapers. Develop ideas / programs to network with local ecological groups and nonprofits (Friends of Whitefish and Peninsula State Park, LNT, ACA).
Communications Wage: Starting wage for a communications/photography position is $12-$15/hr.
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We don’t give meaningless tasks to interns! This internship is in in-depth learning, experience, surprises, adventures and of coarse…school credit. If you need credit for a specific subject for an internship, but do not see it listed, let us know on the questionnaire, we are always looking for enthusiastic individuals with creative skills.
Internships for credit:
Internship positions may involve work in, education, environmental stewardship, marketing, advertising, journalism, photography, policy analysis, environmental regulation, advocacy, Tourism, Hospitality and outdoor recreation. 20-40 Hour Internship workweek. Time spent over 20 hours is not monetarily compensated, but is compensated in in-depth learning, experience, surprises, adventures and of coarse…school credit
Please educate yourself on Door County, Kayaking, local ecology and become prepared for a fun summer in the sun.
Colleges and universities frequently send us interns who are interested in pursuing a career as outdoor educators and/or administrators. Please let us and your education coordinator know if this opportunity interests you.