SUWS Wilderness Field Instructor

The SUWS Adolescent and Youth Programs are located in the Bennett Hills of Southern Idaho. SUWS has been serving families and teens since 1981. SUWS provides intervention and treatment for youth ages 11-17 with self-destructive behaviors and decision-making patterns. As part of a broad treatment team, the Wilderness Instructor gains experience working with students with a variety of personal issues and histories.

SUWS uses a wilderness setting, primitive skills and backpacking as therapeutic tools. Using these tools, youth empower themselves to overcome their self-destructive behaviors, gain self-confidence, and leave the desert with the ability to have healthy relationships and make positive choices for their future. Students move through the program by mastering backcountry skills, demonstrating responsibility and integrity, and learning to take care of themselves, the desert, and those around them.

The SUWS Adolescent and Youth Programs are not boot camps. Graduates of the SUWS Programs leave our care with a strong sense of empowerment, are better able to sustain meaningful relationships and possess a higher level of personal integrity.

Wilderness Instructors are directly responsible for the physical and emotional safety of our students. Working and living in the field, instructors are guides and role models for the students, leading them physically and emotionally through the desert. Instructors work in pairs with groups of up to 8 students, supported by licensed therapists, and receive thorough training in all aspects of our program work.

Wilderness Field Instructor:

• Instructors provide the highest levels of safety for students and teach students to adhere to those high standards.
• Be out in the field for 14 days at a time. Instructors are in the field 24 hours a day. SUWS maintains a 4:1 instructor to student ratio.
• Participate in pre-course trainings, mid-course evaluation, and post-course debriefings. These include trainings on therapeutic strategies, hard-skills training, field safety, and logistics.
• Develop proficiency with primitive skills, such as primitive fire making, simple traps, no-trace camping, simple shelters, and bedroll construction.
• Work with the treatment team to interrupt student’s previous self-destructive patterns of behavior and identify their underlying, positive intentions.
• Empower students to take responsibility for their actions and consequences, make healthy choices, build and maintain strong relationships, and demonstrate community service towards others.

Benefits include:

Frequently Asked Questions
About being a Wilderness Instructor at SUWS

1. What are the Pre-Requisites for the position? Candidates must be 21 years of age and attend a pre-hire Seminar. Additionally, you must be CPR and First Aid certified before starting work. Experience in one or more of the following areas is a plus: experience with at-risk youth; experience with youth in a teaching or mentoring capacity; backpacking knowledge and wilderness skills; a background in experiential education; and a commitment to positive, pro-active communication.
2. Do I need to have adult CPR and 1st aid prior to the Pre-Hire seminar? No, but you will need these certifications prior to working with students. Wilderness First Responder certification required in order to be a Head Instructor. These medical certifications will need to be updated and renewed so they are always current.
3. What is a Pre-Hire Seminar?The pre-hire seminar is designed to give you a realistic understanding of the Wilderness Instructor and the SUWS program. Seminars include three days in the field and several days at our program base. Upon arriving at our base in Idaho, you will go into the field for several days, seeing first-hand how our program works. You will learn the primitive skills we teach, and will have a chance to interact with groups of students. You will also spend several days at our program base, receiving necessary training and completing group challenges. There is no pay for the Seminar. At the end of this hiring Seminar, you know if the job of Wilderness Instructor is right for you and we know if you have the potential to be a good instructor.
4. What kind of pre-employment screenings are necessary?You’ll need to pass a criminal background check and a drug test before being hired. Additionally, SUWS conducts random drug tests of all their employees.
5. What is the group size? A group of two instructors will have up to 8 students. If there are ever more than 8 students, a third instructor will be added to the group. Additionally, instructors work closely with a Field Supervisor, who is a Masters-level Therapist.
6. Will I have access to telephones or email while in the field? No, because instructors need to stay present with their groups while they are in the field. Special arrangements can be made for emergency situations.
7. Do I need to drive a vehicle while on shift? In the normal capacity of instructing, you do not need to drive, but there are some roles that require staff to drive vehicles (i.e.: transporting groups). SUWS conducts a “Driver History” evaluation, which verifies whether or not you can drive under our insurance policy.
8. Do I use my own gear? You do need to provide your own gear, but you can buy everything through SUWS at low cost. Instructors need to have gear that is equivalent to students’ gear.
9. How far are the hikes? This depends on the group you are instructing. On average, groups hike 5 days a week anywhere from 2 to 10 miles a day.
10. Do I need to know primitive camping skills before I start? No, we’ll teach you all the primitive skills that we use, including different fire making skills, simple traps, bedroll packs, and other skills. However, you will be expected to become proficient enough to teach these skills to students.
11. What is the typical work schedule? Instructors generally work 16 days on (including pre-course and post-course training days) and 12 days off. Instructors go in to the field on Wednesdays and come out two Wednesdays later. Instructors attend training on Tuesdays before going into the field Wednesdays. Additionally, new instructors attend training on Mondays for their first three trips. These trainings are always paid.
12. What is the weather like?Idaho mountain climate varies quite a bit. In the winter, temperatures can range from +50 degrees to below zero, with long periods of sunny and dry weather and equally long periods of wet, windy and snowy conditions. Summers are hot and dry, with temperatures ranging from 40 degrees at night to over 100 on a hot day. Elevations range from 3500ft at Base to 5800ft in the foothills.
13. What is the food like? Are there vegetarian options? We have a very basic, balanced and healthy diet. All instructors eat the same food as our students. The basic meal plan is oatmeal for breakfast, peanut butter on a whole wheat pita and dried fruit for lunch, and brown rice and lentils for dinner. Fresh fruit and vegetables are provided twice a week.
14. What do instructors normally do on their time off? Your obligation is rest and relaxation. A time in-between course is your time-off. A few instructors work a second job in a different field (in a coffee shop, working at the ski resort, etc), but most find that they need the time to rejuvenate from two very intense weeks of work. Many instructors also use their time off to travel, go camping, or visit friends.
15. Do you offer on-site housing? We offer pre- and post-trip temporary housing for 5 days before or after your trip in the “Tower”, an instructor bunkhouse. The Tower has private rooms, a kitchen, showers, laundry facilities, and a workout room.
16. Do I need to live in the area? No. Live where you wish. Many of our staff travel considerable distances to come to work. Some instructors live in small towns near Sun Valley or in Boise, Idaho. Many of our instructors travel from Missoula, Portland, or Salt Lake City.
17. Do you offer Benefits? We offer a very strong benefits package, including: health, dental, and vision insurance; 401k; accrued paid time off; CPR and First Aid recertification once you are employed; free WFR certification through SOLO for Head Instructors; and dozens of professional gear discounts.
18. What are the instructor levels and how do you advance? All instructors begin as Apprentices. Instructors progress by completing advancement workbooks and by working certain numbers of weeks on trail. Instructors can become Assistants after four weeks, Head Instructors after six weeks, Head II after 12 weeks, Senior Instructors after 20 weeks, and Master Instructors after 30 weeks. Each advancement comes with a pay increase. Occasionally instructors who come to us with extensive experience may move through the advancement process more rapidly.

To apply or for more information, please contact Alissa Cordner, Program Supervisor
acordner@suws.com or (208)735-4483.

SUWS employees are guided by the principles: Youth and Family, Growth, Teamwork, and Service

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