Work for CWS

We are extremely proud of our passionate and experienced staff and instructors. Our instructors come from all walks of life and have a broad range of experience from serving in the military, to volunteering with local rescue squads, working in hospital emergency departments, and more.

Experience is crucial, but what really makes our staff stand apart from the rest, is our passion. All of our instructors are passionate about what they do, passing along their knowledge to others, and ensuring that our students walk out of a class feeling more confident about themselves and their new-found skills.

Positions Available

Why Work for CWS?

Katy Hart

  • Flexible, leaving you time for all your water and mountain sports needs!
  • Discounted certification courses.
  • Comprehensive staff training, second to none.
  • It’s more than work; it’s a lifestyle choice, with awesome co-workers… like me!
  • You get to see cool places & travel all over the U.S., teaching wilderness medicine!
  • Teaching courses pays $100-$220/day.

Hurdles to Hop, Skip + Jump Over:

  • Be at least 21 years of age.
  • Have taken a Wilderness First Responder or Wilderness First Aid course, taught by CWS, within the last 2 years.
  • Attend a CWS Instructor Fundamentals course.
  • Co-teach and be an assistant instructor until you are ready to teach on your own.
  • Be an outdoor professional or enthusiast (strongly preferred) – if retired you must have had two or more years of experience.
  • Have strong leadership abilities.
  • Have to be eligible to work all over the U.S. (like to travel?).
  • Excellent English language skills (multiple languages an asset) or so funny/cute no one notices you’re working on it.
  • Ability to make lesson plans (cheat sheets).
  • Own a reliable vehicle. Yes, your ’87 Volkswagen counts.
  • Be able to use a laptop & PowerPoint (or Keynote) and yes, we are serious.
  • Must have ongoing professional development and utilize opportunities such as Wilderness Medical Society and Wilderness Risk Management conferences.
  • Hold current certification in either Wilderness First Responder, Outdoor Emergency Care, EMT, Paramedic, RN, MD, etc. from a valid, licensing organization or agency.

Want to Become an Instructor?

To become a CWS instructor, you’ll need to complete our Wilderness Medicine Instructor Training Course (WMITC), an intensive 7 to 10-day in-person training in Northern Virginia.

Apply Now

– NOTICE –

In order to teach for Center for Wilderness Safety, all instructor candidates; regardless of which course(s) they wish to teach, must successfully complete an Instructor Fundamentals course. This course is designed to help give instructor candidates the key foundation needed to be an extraordinary instructor.

At the successful completion of the instructor fundamentals course, the instructor candidate will then be able to choose the courses that they wish to instruct, and work on learning course specifics. After he or she has successfully completed and passed the instructor fundamentals course as well as all cognitive and practical testing, the instructor candidate will be able to sign an instructor agreement with Center for Wilderness Safety. This agreement will authorize the instructor to be able to use CWS materials, offer courses on their own, and use the CWS name.

Upon completion of the Instructor Course, new instructors will have our ongoing support as CWS will offer to post instructor courses on our website, continual updated course curriculum to meet the latest in wilderness emergency medical care, and will offer many additional resources. By teaching a minimum of 2 to 4 courses per year, and attending annual staff training, our instructors are able to maintain their status as leaders in the field of wilderness medicine education and training.

Come Work for CWS