Pros
Very relaxed and fun environment. People working there legitimately care about their employees. Management is very understanding of summer counselors and their needs. They understand that many of the people working there are not looking for a lifelong career but just summer employment and treat their employees accordingly. However, there is opportunity to continue working in child care if you enjoy the field. Some employees are perusing degrees in early childhood education while they continue to work at the YMCA. The YMCA is very caring about the needs of poorer families and you feel like you are making a legitimate difference in the lives of families that are in need of help.
Cons
Very disorganized management. Everyone is doing their own thing with no real guidance from the leaders of the local YMCA, instead being forced to run every idea and request through the Beverly YMCA. Further confused by being a member of the YMCA of the North Shore. As a result you end up having a large excess of red tape whenever you want to accomplish anything. They need to work on streamlining the entire process to make it easier and less time consuming to accomplish basic tasks such as budget and payroll. However, still a great place to work and this is just a minor complaint.