First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers Salary

Bureau of Labor Statistics title: First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers, Except Gambling Services

The median first-line supervisors of entertainment and recreation workers salary in the United States is $48,560 per year ($23.34/hour). Salaries range from $34,760 at the entry level to $79,060+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 103,190 first-line supervisors of entertainment and recreation workers jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 6.3% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median Salary
$48,560
per year
Hourly Rate
$23.34
per hour
Employment
103,190
jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile
$34,760
25th percentile
$39,400
Median
$48,560
75th percentile
$62,320
90th percentile
$79,060

Job Growth (2024-2034)

+6.3%
Faster than average

Annual Openings

13,400
jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

High school diploma or equivalent
+ Less than 5 years experience

First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for first-line supervisors of entertainment and recreation workerss.

First-line supervisors of entertainment and recreation workers run the daily operating floor at theme parks (Disney, Universal, Six Flags, Cedar Fair, SeaWorld), water parks, cruise entertainment operations (Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, Disney Cruise Line), health clubs and fitness chains (LA Fitness, Life Time, 24 Hour Fitness, Planet Fitness), YMCAs and JCCs, camps, event and festival production, ski resorts, and municipal parks and recreation departments. They supervise ride operators, attractions attendants, activity leads, group fitness instructors, aquatics staff, and event crew β€” typically 8-40 direct reports per shift. BLS median $48,560 with p10 $32,530 and p90 $79,890 across 103,190 jobs. Entry $34-42k as a shift lead at a gym or seasonal supervisor at a park; established $46-62k at a full-time area supervisor role at a theme park or fitness club GM; senior $65-90k+ at operations manager, ride area manager at Walt Disney Parks, or Regional Fitness Director at a national chain. Compensation is heavily seasonal at parks and camps (peak-summer differentials, night-shift pay, holiday pay) and bonus-driven at fitness (member retention and enrollment metrics).

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

Guest / member service recovery
Every shift produces some upset guest β€” a broken ride, a lost child, a locker theft, an overbooked class. Service recovery frameworks (Disney's HEARD β€” Hear, Empathize, Apologize, Resolve, Diagnose; Ritz-Carlton's 3-step LEARN model) are what separate a $48k supervisor from a $62k operations manager. Comp value on the fly (a fast-pass, a comped session, a refund) without escalating unless the incident is above delegation authority.
Ride / attraction / equipment safety and OSHA compliance
Every ride has a daily pre-open inspection (Pre-Opening Test β€” POT), a hourly cycle log, and a monthly maintenance calendar under ASTM F24 amusement-ride standards. Fitness equipment has daily walk-throughs; aquatic facilities have hourly water-chemistry logs under state health-department codes. Supervisors sign off β€” if an equipment issue is missed and a guest is injured, the supervisor is on the incident report.
Seasonal + variable-shift scheduling
Theme parks staff-up 3-5x from off-season to peak summer. Fitness clubs have 5am and 6pm demand peaks with slack midday. Camps run 12-16 hour supervisor days for 8-10 weeks. Master a scheduling platform (Kronos / UKG Ready, HotSchedules, When I Work, Deputy, Workforce.com), understand labor-cost-as-percentage-of-revenue targets (30-40% at fitness; 22-28% at parks), and forecast against expected attendance.
Incident management + written incident reports
A guest slip-and-fall, a fistfight in the parking lot, an ambulance call β€” every incident gets a written report the same shift. Photos, witness statements, timeline, staff response, comp offered. Reports feed into the venue's risk-management insurer and often into eventual litigation. Sloppy incident reporting is the #1 way a shift supervisor's judgment ends up in court testimony 18 months later.
Cash handling + POS reconciliation
Ticket booths, concession, retail, membership dues, personal-training packages β€” every shift closes with a POS reconciliation against register drawers. Variance investigations, deposit prep, and cash-office handoff. Point-of-sale platforms vary β€” Chapala, RTP One, Gateway, or Accesso at parks; MindBody, Mariana Tek, ABC Fitness Solutions, or Club OS at fitness. Fluency in your venue's system is expected.
Coaching + progressive discipline of hourly staff
Verbal coaching β†’ written warning β†’ final warning β†’ separation, documented at each step through the venue's HRIS. Attendance write-ups are 40-50% of supervisor documentation time at high-turnover venues (parks, gyms). Union rules apply at some venues (Disneyland has multiple unions; ski resorts have some union work). Learning the venue's discipline procedure verbatim is week-one training.
Programming + event execution
Special events (Halloween Horror Nights at Universal, ice-skating night at a YMCA, member-appreciation Saturday at a gym, event weekends at a park) require pre-event planning, day-of run-of-show ownership, staffing plus-ups, and post-event debrief. Supervisors typically own the day-of execution and hand the debrief to the venue's operations manager or event director.

How to Become a First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers

  1. 1
    Start as an hourly attendant, instructor, or crew member
    $12-18/hr at parks; $14-24/hr at fitness (personal-training earns higher). 6-24 months minimum to be considered for a lead or supervisor role. Every venue promotes from within for entry supervisor slots β€” outside hiring is rare below manager level.
  2. 2
    Move into a shift-lead, area-lead, or key-holder role
    $16-24/hr with lead-differential pay. Coach a small team (4-8 direct reports), open or close the venue, own POS reconciliation. This is where you build the resume for a full supervisor promotion in 12-24 months.
  3. 3
    Get promoted to full-time supervisor / manager on duty (MOD)
    $34-46k salary + benefits. First salaried role. Own a shift or an area (aquatics, rides, group fitness, membership sales). At parks this is a 4-day / 40-hour work week with weekend and holiday demand. At fitness this is 5-day / 45-50 hour week with 5am or 8pm opening / closing responsibility.
  4. 4
    Advance to Area Manager / Operations Manager / GM
    $52-85k at 5-10 years. Own a functional area (rides at a park, aquatics + programming at a Y, membership sales + retention at a gym), 15-40 hourly direct reports, and a full P&L subset. Fitness GMs typically carry $1-4M annual revenue with member-count and NPS targets.
  5. 5
    Grow into Regional / Director-level roles or corporate operations
    $85-140k at 10-20 years. Multi-location oversight β€” 4-12 gyms as a Regional Director, one full park area as a Walt Disney Parks Area Manager or a Six Flags Area Manager, or a cruise-line entertainment director on a ship rotation. Some pivot to corporate operations (Standards, Training, Safety) at HQ.

Career Progression

Shift Lead / Team Lead (hourly)
0-2 (post-attendant) yrs$34-42k ($16-20/hr with lead differential + OT) β€” below BLS p10 (this is the pre-supervisor hourly rung)
  • β€’Open / close the shift, cash-drop, POS reconciliation, key handoff
  • β€’Coach 4-8 hourly attendants β€” coverage, break rotation, guest complaints
  • β€’First-response on minor guest issues, escalate serious incidents to MOD or manager
  • β€’Complete daily safety walk-through and log per venue standard
Next: Full-time supervisor / MOD after 12-24 months of lead performance.
Supervisor / Manager on Duty (MOD)
2-5 yrs$40-55k salary β€” BLS p10 to p50
  • β€’Own a full shift or a functional area with 8-20 hourly direct reports
  • β€’Author schedules against attendance / revenue forecast; hit labor-cost targets
  • β€’Own written incident reports and progressive discipline for the area
  • β€’Lead pre-shift huddle; own guest / member service recovery within delegation authority
Next: Area Manager / Assistant GM at 4-8 years, once you've owned a shift end-to-end for 18+ months.
Area Manager / Assistant GM
4-9 yrs$55-72k β€” near BLS p50 to p75
  • β€’Own a functional area or a full shift at a large venue β€” 20-40 hourly direct reports
  • β€’Report against area P&L: revenue, labor cost %, guest satisfaction / NPS, safety incidents
  • β€’Own hiring, onboarding, and training for the area (2-4 new hires per week at peak season)
  • β€’Represent the venue at cross-department meetings β€” safety, guest experience, HR, marketing
Next: Operations Manager / GM at 7-12 years.
Operations Manager / GM (single location)
7-14 yrs$68-92k salary + $8-25k bonus β€” BLS p75 to p90+
  • β€’Own the full location P&L β€” revenue targets, labor cost %, safety incident rate, guest / member NPS
  • β€’Own hiring, discipline escalation, and separations across the venue
  • β€’Report to the Regional or the Owner / Franchisee on monthly performance and quarterly strategy
  • β€’Represent the venue in the local community β€” chamber, city parks commission, corporate partnerships
Next: Regional Manager / Director at 12-18 years.
Regional Manager / District Manager / Director of Operations
12+ yrs$95-165k salary + $15-45k bonus β€” above BLS occupation range (moves into 11-9013 / 11-9199 categories)
  • β€’Multi-location oversight β€” 4-12 fitness clubs, one full theme-park area, or a fleet cruise-entertainment portfolio
  • β€’Own regional P&L; monthly reviews with each site GM
  • β€’Represent the region at corporate β€” annual budget cycle, capital-improvement requests, brand standards audits
  • β€’Own regional hiring pipelines for GM and Area Manager promotions
Next: VP Operations, Regional VP, or corporate function (Safety, Training, Standards) at HQ.

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 16 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. Walk me through a major guest recovery you handled.situational
Use STAR with the venue's service-recovery framework. Situation: 'A family of 4 waited 90 minutes for a headline ride at Six Flags; the ride went 101 (industry term for out-of-service) 3 riders before them. Dad was visibly angry with two young kids melting down.' Task: 'De-escalate, keep the family, and comp fairly without opening the venue to a chain of similar comps.' Action: 'I used the HEARD framework β€” pulled them aside, listened without cutting in, acknowledged the specific frustration (90 minutes with two kids in the sun), apologized, offered a comped Flash Pass Gold for the rest of the day plus a food voucher, walked them to the front of the next ride opening. I documented the comp in the shift log with the specific reason.' Result: 'They stayed, spent an additional $80 in concessions, and the dad emailed the park a positive comment card by end of day.' Interviewers screen for whether you can name the framework, name specific comps offered, and name the paper trail β€” not just 'I was nice to them.'
Q2. How do you handle a ride 101 (out of service) mid-day at peak season?case
Structure: (1) Confirm the ride is 101 with the ride manager or maintenance; get the ETA (10 min, 30 min, day-out). (2) Update the queue signage and the app / wait-time display. (3) Deploy a queue attendant to communicate the ETA to guests already in line every 10-15 min. (4) Offer Flash Pass or equivalent to the guests in the queue who choose to leave β€” comp policy varies by park. (5) Log the 101 in the shift report; if the ride is down 60+ minutes, cascade to Guest Services so returning guests get a comped return-visit ticket. (6) Debrief at end-of-shift with the ride manager on what happened and whether the response worked. Six Flags, Cedar Fair, and Disney all have written 101 playbooks β€” hiring managers ask this to see if you know your venue's playbook cold.
Q3. Describe your approach to scheduling during peak season.technical
Structure: (1) Start from the attendance forecast β€” parks and gyms both publish 4-8 week rolling forecasts against last-year same-week plus adjustments for weather, marketing pushes, and holidays. (2) Set the labor budget target as a % of forecast revenue (typical: 22-28% at parks; 30-40% at gyms; 45-55% at community rec centers). (3) Build the schedule in your platform (Kronos, HotSchedules, When I Work) starting with the openers and closers, then filling mid-shifts. (4) Cross-train β€” every peak-season area supervisor should be able to flex staff across 2-3 stations. (5) Publish schedules 14 days out per most union rules and the fair-workweek laws in some cities (San Francisco, NYC, Seattle, Chicago, Philly). (6) Track daily labor variance vs. plan; adjust mid-week for a big rain-day (parks) or a canceled class (gyms). Interviewers screen for whether you know your specific platform and your specific labor-target.
Q4. How would you handle a written warning for an hourly employee with a pattern of no-call-no-shows?situational
Follow the venue's progressive discipline policy verbatim: (1) Pull the attendance record β€” dates, prior verbal coachings, prior written warnings. (2) Meet with HR before the conversation; HR typically wants to review the write-up before you deliver it. (3) Schedule a private 1:1 with the employee at the start of their shift. (4) State the specific dates, the specific policy violated (typically 'attendance point' or 'no-call-no-show' in the handbook), and the specific consequence at this step (usually final warning or termination if it's the third strike). (5) Ask the employee to sign the write-up acknowledging receipt (not agreement). (6) Document any employee response and outline the plan going forward. (7) Route the signed document to HR. If the employee is union-covered, follow the collective-bargaining agreement's just-cause language exactly. Interviewers ask this to filter for supervisors who understand discipline is a paper trail, not a conversation.
Q5. Why entertainment and recreation supervision β€” you could make more in retail or restaurant management.closer
The honest answer: recreation supervision is a service-industry role where the product is fun, health, or memory-making β€” not a bagged sandwich or a folded shirt. Every day is different (weather, guest mix, seasonal event). The career path leads to specialized roles that don't exist elsewhere (Disney Area Manager, Cruise Entertainment Director, Regional Fitness Director) with genuinely differentiated experience. Pay parity with retail / restaurant management is real at the entry-supervisor level, but the ceiling at $85-165k regional roles is competitive. Some supervisors leave for retail / restaurant chains for the higher entry pay; the ones who stay are typically drawn to the guest / member interaction and the seasonal rhythm. Interviewers ask this because turnover at the supervisor level is 30-40% annually in some segments β€” they want to hear you've thought about the tradeoff.

Resume Template β€” Shift Lead / Team Lead (0-2 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

Shift Lead / Team Lead (0-2 yrs)
  • β–ΈShift lead at [LA Fitness / 24 Hour Fitness / regional YMCA]; opened and closed the club 5 days/week with responsibility for cash drop and daily safety walk-through.
  • β–ΈSupervised a team of 6 hourly attendants (front desk, kids' club, group fitness support); trained 4 new hires from onboarding through first-90-day check-ins.
  • β–ΈCut member complaint response time from 24 hours to 4 hours by owning the front-desk feedback log and closing every complaint within the shift.
  • β–Έ$19.50/hr + lead differential + benefits + free membership + $2/hr overtime available. CPR + First Aid + AED certified.

What Gets You Rejected

  • βœ—No prior venue experience β€” every hiring manager promotes from within for supervisor roles. External hires at the entry-supervisor level are rare below manager and typically come from adjacent industries (retail, restaurant) with strong management resumes.
  • βœ—Cannot name your venue's service-recovery framework (Disney HEARD, Ritz-Carlton LEARN, or the venue's own SOP) β€” screens out of any Disney, Universal, cruise-line, or premium-fitness interview.
  • βœ—No CPR / First Aid / AED certification β€” legally required for supervisors at aquatic venues, camps, and most fitness clubs. Expect to be filtered out if the cert has lapsed.
  • βœ—Weak documentation instinct β€” supervisors who don't write everything down get burned in an incident-report cycle or a discipline escalation. Interviewers screen for whether you understand written trail = supervisor survival.
  • βœ—Rigid on schedule β€” recreation supervisors work weekends, holidays, and peak-season stretches. If you can't work Saturdays and Sundays, this occupation is not for you.

Salary Negotiation Levers

  • βœ“Specialty area β€” aquatics supervisors (Lifeguard Instructor + Water Safety Instructor certified) and personal-training supervisors (NASM-CPT + specialty certifications) command 10-20% premium over general supervisors at fitness and Y venues.
  • βœ“Peak-season differential β€” theme-park supervisors typically get 10-25% higher pay from Memorial Day through Labor Day; negotiate the peak-season rate explicitly at hire, not just the base.
  • βœ“Night-shift + weekend + holiday premium β€” every venue has some form of shift differential; confirm the rate in writing. Fitness clubs pay 10-15% for the 5am-open and 8pm-close shifts; theme parks pay 15-25% for night parades and holiday events.
  • βœ“Full-time salary vs. hourly β€” hourly leads earn OT (huge on peak-season 55-hour weeks); salaried supervisors get benefits and a promotion path. Understand which package you're negotiating; salaried FLSA-exempt supervisors do not earn OT.
  • βœ“Bonus structure at fitness β€” GMs at national chains have 15-30% of comp in bonus tied to enrollment, retention, and personal-training revenue. Negotiate the target payout AND the metrics, not just the max.
  • βœ“Cruise-line supervisors β€” cruise contracts run 4-9 month rotations with room, board, and often significant per-diem. Confirm the tax treatment (typically favorable for US flag ships).
  • βœ“Location differential β€” NYC, SF, LA, Boston, Seattle, Chicago fitness and rec supervisor roles pay 15-30% above BLS median for the same responsibility. Some cities have fair-workweek laws (SF, NYC, Seattle, Chicago, Philly) that impose scheduling premiums for last-minute shift changes.

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First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) β†’

Salary Map β€” Click a state for details

$36K
$63Kβ–  No data

Top Paying States

Washington
$63K
+30%
District of Columbia
$62K
+28%
Delaware
$60K
+23%
Maine
$59K
+22%
Colorado
$59K
+21%
Massachusetts
$57K
+17%
Hawaii
$56K
+15%
Alaska
$55K
+12%
Connecticut
$54K
+11%
California
$54K
+10%
Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.
StateMedianvs. National
Washington$62,900+29.5%
District of Columbia$62,090+27.9%
Delaware$59,790+23.1%
Maine$59,050+21.6%
Colorado$58,640+20.8%
Massachusetts$56,990+17.4%
Hawaii$55,700+14.7%
Alaska$54,530+12.3%
Connecticut$53,980+11.2%
California$53,620+10.4%
1–10 of 51

First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs. National
Kennewick-Richland, WA$69,820+43.8%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$68,020+40.1%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$65,820+35.5%
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA$65,390+34.7%
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA$62,900+29.5%
Kahului-Wailuku, HI$62,550+28.8%
Portland-South Portland, ME$61,760+27.2%
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT$61,190+26.0%
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL$60,850+25.3%
Greeley, CO$60,640+24.9%
1–10 of 303
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A first-line supervisors of entertainment and recreation workers earning $48,560/year would need 1227 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 1318 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
See all sports & celebrity salaries β†’
πŸ“ˆ See how first-line supervisors of entertainment and recreation workers salaries have changed over the past decade.
View First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers salary trend (2011–2024) β†’