Student Conservation Association reviews

Miscommunication from the organization to the parks they help. I arrived to my remote job to find out it was much less accessible than I was told by both the SCA and the park. I was told day one my position would not lead me to an actual job, and immediately was treated like I was expendable and almost worthless because my position was only 3 months. My adviser told me I shouldn't have even driven my car to the site because of the road conditions (after I had asked multiple times if my make and model would be suffice before I took the position.) I ended up having to leave early because of the job troubles, total lack of communication, and what I found to be unsafe work ethics. Months later I still owe the SCA money because I withdrew early. I got paid $85 a week to live in total isolation to "kickstart my career" and somehow I owe them money. It's a corrupt system when you are forced to volunteer just to even be worthy enough of a seasonal job that makes what should be the federal minimum wage.

The leadership was isolated in a rural part of the US and consequently was not able to embrace quickly enough the importance of having staff and policies/programs that reflected the urban communities it served. It's catching up in some ways but in many ways it was too late--and they lost a lot of the committed, innovative young professionals who reflect the diversity of our US cities and the youth we served.