guest service agent

security guard

guest experience manager

warehouse associate

retail sales associate

Vancouver Aquarium

 There are a great many departments there and your experience will relate directly to your leadership.  There are some good managers who will fight for employees but they are few and far between. A few legacy staff were elevated to the director level in the last few years. The new directors, while in vital roles within the facility prior to their elevation had rarely stepped outside of their relatively small area of expertise during their time there. While some of them had been there for decades prior to their elevation they had remained insular within their small areas of expertise in that time. Outside of that small area they did not have an understanding of the culture of the departments they were put in charge of, they had very few people skills, and they took a nearly robotic approach to the staff.

  When these new directors took over their departments we (the staff) were viewed as mindless automata there to tick a box, treated like Jellyfish. Our accolades and history within the organization meant nothing to them. Shortly after they took over there was an elevation of junior staff into management positions while the people with years of experience and dedication to their departments were ignored. I have heard claims that some of them were openly insulted by the directors or even demoted with out justification. Which brings me to the HR department.

The HR Department takes a strong top down approach, as in they protect people at the top of the hierarchy from the people beneath them.

Getting hired you'd better be willing to bargain for your wage because they will absolutely low ball you and once you're hired you'll be locked into a percentage increase per year which will be far below inflation. In case you are young and don't understand what this means it means that your quality of life will steadily drop over the years that you work there. There are people with 25+ years experience making under $20/hour.

There was an attempt to unionize recently however most of the staff didn't understand, or didn't like, that they would need to take ownership of it so it failed.

That's why I say you'd better be passionate, because if you're not doing something you love you won't be able to ignore the stench the place will leave on you. Oh, did I mention that it smells like fish poo?

Working for the Vancouver Aquarium as a Sales Associate can be fun as well as very stressful.
The environment is positive and friendly, yet there were some downsides I did not expect prior to working there.

Depending on the team, sales targets can be incredibly high, you won't have many weekend days off (which I guess is expectable in a Retail position) and sometimes it can get extemely loud.

Something else I found a little disappointing was that staff will usually be given short-term contract roles which will be renewed over and over, rather than a casual contract or regular PT/FT - so if someone is looking for a long-term perspective this might not be the right place, depending on their role. 

Besides that you get to work with super nice and cool people, there's fun events and great food in the restaurant to which you get a staff discount! 

The HR Manager cares a lot about each employee and does a great job. 

Generally speaking I'm sure in every department you'll be able to find friends - whether you're a part of their team or not. 
People usually work really close together, everybody is very supportive and it can be a great opportunity to learn more about our oceans and marine life.

This workplace used to be a more positive environment when there was stronger support across both the Gift Shop and Photo departments. Unfortunately, management changes in recent years have caused the environment to decline significantly. The work culture has become unwelcoming, with reduced hours and little to no support for staff. Management often seems more focused on advancing their own careers than genuinely caring about their team or fostering a healthy atmosphere. Communication between departments is poor, and the company’s priorities appear to center solely on profits, as reflected in overpriced products.

Additionally, the use of animals for profit raises ethical concerns. HR is also not particularly helpful, as their primary focus seems to be protecting the company’s interests rather than supporting employees. This can lead to dismissive treatment of staff, even in complex cases involving issues such as immigration.

Overall, this is not a healthy or supportive workplace. If you are considering this job, I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere for a more positive, employee-focused environment.

The Vancouver Aquarium is supported by its employees and their love of what they do. They have to be, because the paychecks for most positions leave a lot to be desired, and the disparity between the "lower" positions; i.e., engineering, animal care, volunteer leadership, interpretting, etc.; and "upper" executives is no secret. This is tolerated largely in part because of the Aquarium's location, its type of work, and as mentioned, its employees, who are some of the best people one might ever hope to work with. It's a terrible shame that they're taken advantage of in such a way, but who isn't these days?

There is an increasing amount of red tape involving many of the jobs at places like the aquarium, and you should not expect to rise in ranks without the appropriate degree to back it up. No amount of hard work or dedication will secure you advancement. You need the paper. Not disparaging their policies, but that is the truth of it.

There is some drama like in any workplace, but in general, you'll be treated well. The cafe discount could be more generous, however.

If you’re looking for a short-term job and can handle busy environments and a lot of people (can get up to 6000 people in one day), it’s a great place to work. During the summer you’re always busy, and there’s a lot of moving between different sections so that you’re not spending the whole day doing one thing. The people who work at the Aquarium are amazing, all associates are really fun people and all the supervisors are dedicated to keeping the place running. 

Management, however, has had a slow decline over the past few years. Managers will claim to be on the side of the employees and then cut hours to save on wages, not act on any feedback given and generally not provide support even after multiple people saying that they need it. Good work is not rewarded outside, and poor work/slackers aren’t reprimanded which creates a bad environment for the other people pulling the weight. Communication between managers to supervisors and between other departments does not exist. 

Essentially: great for a short term fun job, don’t put your energy into it long-term because you won’t get anything back. 

The Vancouver Aquarium is a great and dynamic place to volunteer, with each shift cleanly laid-out. As a Gallery Educator, I learn something every day regarding the animals and the organization every single time I volunteer. The management and staff are welcoming and flexible, far nicer than what I first expected when joining. The hardest part about volunteering there as a Gallery Educator, I believe, is being able to communicate perfectly. As a fluent English speaker, it can be difficult to word my sentences to maintain guests' interest and be informative at the same time. That being said, I really enjoy volunteering there. They provide you with everything from discounts to volunteer jackets and lockers. Seeing the animals and staff every shift (especially the sea otters and dolphins) make my day.  I have volunteered at large social events, in kitchen environments, etc, but I honestly do not think I have had a better volunteer experience elsewhere.

Some management seems good but knowing some are almost active terrorists tells me it’s, unfortunately probably rotten all the way to the top. Always remember HR IS NOT YOUR FRIEND OR ALLY!!! HR is there to protect the company from liability not to protect your rights as a worker. Pay is subpar but many people are willing to make that sacrifice to be part of a good organization doing good things. It isn’t worth it. One of the worst jobs I have ever had as far as environment and management. It was very disappointing as it was basically my dream job and I made many sacrifices to take it. If you are passionate you might luck out and have a good manager, or be a good manager, and have insulation from some of the bad but if you take the job make sure you have a viable exit plan just in case. One thing to note is there was never any sign of animal neglect or mistreatment. Just the people - NEVER the animals. 

Absolute joke of a place to work. If you value yourself at all, don't even try to apply. I cannot stress enough how poor management is within every single department. Even trying to deal with HR to get any sort of help has been a living nightmare. Almost every day you can find a co-worker hiding somewhere having a mental breakdown. And for what? The pay is so low you still need a second full time job on top of this one! Not to mention you never get ANY sort of recognition for your hard work. Instead, you're told your best isn't good enough and to try harder or else. And don't even expect to have any sort of a work life balance! 

Please reconsider ever working here. I fought my whole life to get a job here as I've always loved the place and what it stands for. Now I have regretted my life choices since my first week. 

Pros: 
- Good people to work with
-Definitely a place to work in the summer, and not during the off season
-Can visit the aquarium with your ID and also have friends/family
-Gain a lot of customer service 
-Retail managers are nice and caring...

Cons:
- Pay was meh. It's a non-profit organization
-Was under contract so it made me feel like I had to always find a back up job, in case they decided to drop the bomb
-Seniority goes to animal encounters, and shifts (if it's low season) 
-After working for a certain period of time, you want to leave. This is when you "peak" while working there. There's not much room to grow


Day at work:
- You switch every 30 minutes between working inside and outside. Outside at the green screen you greet people and usher them to take a photo. Inside, you try to sell guests their photos. 
-If you're lucky, you get trained to do animal encounters. This mostly goes to seniority though.

The place is great for students and young people and the environment and animals make it fun to want to be there. as an employee though; if you want to advance at all that you have to keep proving yourself, and even still won't achieve much unless leadership likes you. Favoritism and culture of gossip and cliques is a thing, as well as unfair incentives from management. Overall a good place, but since new ownership and American owned now- it shows and pay needs to be higher for Guest Experience. Gift-shop gets paid the same wage and in guest experience employees do way more work. 5/10 is my overall rating. 2/10 for management at the time, lacking awareness for employees needs. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Guest service agent 10 salaries reported	$19.85 per hour
Security guard 5 salaries reported	$25.00 per hour
Guest experience manager 6 salaries reported	$20.08 per hour
Warehouse associate 3 salaries reported	$22.00 per hour
Retail sales associate 4 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour

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