As a leader in the field of international adventure travel programs for teenagers, we attribute our continuing success to the quality of our staff and the strong relationships we build in pursuit of our mission. Below you will find more information about us and how you can begin your path towards an exciting and rewarding summer experience.
23 years of experience in the field of experiential education. Odyssey Expeditions offers international sailing, scuba and leadership training programs for teenagers and our mission is to provide incredible adventures that promote social, emotional and intellectual growth.
Over the years, we have taught thousands of teens to sail and scuba dive. All of our programs involve a combination of these sports along with water-sports, marine biology and ecology. These are the hard skills. More important are the soft skills that our students learn in the process of living and working together in small teams aboard a sailing vessel: Communication and leadership skills, personal effectiveness and integrity. Our philosophy is to educate, instruct and facilitate the development of both the hard and the soft skills, thereby arming our students with a new set of tools for the future.
Odyssey Expeditions is proud to attract and recruit the best in our field. Our summer staff consists of avid world travelers, highly qualified professionals, and fun and experienced facilitators and educators. All members of our team are dynamic, multi-talented and passionate individuals with an unending devotion and commitment to the safety and experience of our students.
The average age of our summer staff is 26. Almost all are 21 years or older. Most of our staff are U.S. citizens, though a wide range of nationalities are represented every year. We accept applications on a year round basis but begin our summer hiring process between January and March. Contracts vary in length from 7 to 11 weeks depending on the location(s) assigned. We seek summer staff for the following positions:
The role of an Odyssey Skipper goes far beyond that of simply piloting the vessel. Our skippers are primarily responsible for the safety of the students and work closely with the other staff aboard to oversee everything from cooking and cleaning to scheduling and support during the team building and leadership training. Our staff live aboard the vessels full time and so must be used to living and working in a close quarters type of 'expeditionary' environment. The words 'But I'm the skipper' do not apply at Odyssey, where roles are diverse. One minute you could be running the ski boat, the next teaching knots and splices. The position is not only fun and high paced but also carries an enormous amount of responsibility.
Odyssey Expeditions is a PADI 5 Star Facility. We offer certification courses to our students which run from the Open Water Diver Course through Divemaster and include a number of different specialties. The level of experience that an instructor has will determine which Odyssey Expeditions program they are likely to instruct. Our dive instructors live aboard the yachts full-time and will aid the skipper with all aspects of running the vessel and the program. This includes helping with the cooking, cleaning and sailing as well as the team building and leadership training. When the sails go up, the instructors do not go down! A lot of our instructors comment at the end of the program that actual dive instructing was a minor part of their job description!
Marine biology and ecology are part of all Odyssey Expeditions voyages. This course is very practical in nature and includes oceanographical, marine biological and geological elements. Our marine biologists live aboard the vessels and interact with the students on a full time basis. The position includes helping with all aspects of the program from sailing, cooking and cleaning, to filling tanks, running shore excursions in the dinghy and aiding in the facilitation of the team building and leadership training aspects of the program. Our marine science program includes PADI specialty courses, so we look to fill our positions with PADI instructors first and then PADI Divemasters if additional help is needed.
Odyssey offers compensation packages competitive within our field. Compensation is dependent on many factors including staff qualifications, experience, position and responsibilities, program location and duration. Compensation packages include round trip air tickets for US staff from a major airport to the program's starting/ending point (we offer a flight cost stipend to those joining us from other countries), staff apparel, room, board, and a temporary medical insurance plan. Most staff are afforded the opportunity to join us for multiple summers. Please contact our office at [email protected] if you have specific questions regarding compensation and benefits.
Our professional staff need to be the embodiment of the Odyssey Expeditions mission, philosophy, policies and procedures. We place high expectations on our summer staff, thus applicants should consider all of the following before applying.
If you think you have what it takes, not just the right qualifications but also the right outlook, motivation and commitment to our programs, we'd love to hear from you! To apply, Send full Resume including references and photo to: [email protected] If you have any questions before application, please e-mail us at [email protected].
Please note that our employment process is highly competitive. Upon receipt of an Application for Employment, Odyssey Expeditions is only able to contact potential candidates for interviews but you should feel free to follow up with us by phone or email.