How is the job of a lifeguard?

Question

What's the pay/benefits like? How do they usually spend their day at work?

Answer 1

From what I hear from my brother's girlfriend, being a lifeguard can get pretty boring... unless you like to daydream a lot, or if your employer allows you to read while you're up on your post.

The benefits depend on where you work, really. If you work for YMCA, for example, you get free membership for as long as you work there- but you get paid a little over minimum wage.

If you work for a beach, I'm just going to assume you only get free access to the beach whenever you're working. I dunno about free access whenever you want. I believe you still get a little over minimum wage- if not... maybe $10 an hour.

If you work for a theme park, like Wild Waters or something, you get free tickets to the park for you and a few friends pretty often, and you get to wear a tag that can get you in the park for free whenever you desire to go. You get paid better- probably around $10-$12.50 an hour- depending on how long you've worked there and what state you're in.

Lifeguards usually spend their days sitting on a bench- if you work for a beach or a place like YMCA- all day long. If you work for a theme park, you'll probably be stationed somewhere like a wave pool, at the bottom of a water ride making sure kids don't drown or stay there too long and get hit by other kids coming down, or at the top of the ride telling people "Please wait" and "Okay, you can go now" all day long.

I'm not sure about benefits like health, dental, vision, or anything like that (if any lol), but I do know that if you work for a theme park you do get employee discounts on everything.

If you're CPR certified, and a strong swimmer, the rest is cake.

Answer 2

Pay and benefits vary. Since most lifeguards (at least at pools) are part time benefits for pool lifeguards are rare (I don't know about beach lifeguards). The pay is usually a little over minimum wage at pools and water parks and I think it is significantly more at a lot of beaches.

The majority of their day is spent "on guard". This is where they are located at the side of the pool sitting, standing or walking and are constantly scanning their zone (the area of the facility that they are responsible for). This can be a challenging task as a guest that needs help is not necessarily obvious and scanning can be trying. To be a good lifeguard you must resist any urge to daydream, read, talk to patrons or other guards and always keep your eyes on the water.

Being a lifeguard is much more than working on your tan and knowing how to rescue someone. You have to prevent emergencies, scan your zone, recognize emergencies and respond to them in an appropriate manner.  

Other typical dutie of a lifeguard include providing first aid when needed and enforceing  rules politely and consitantly. Other duties that you might have could include: cleaning up the locker rooms, bathrooms and/or the deck, making sure patrons  use slides, divingboards etc. at safe intervals, cleaning the pool, checking chemical levels,  and (with further training) teaching swim lessons.

In a pool or waterpark setting (I don't know about beaches) you will usually rotate from station to station and at some point usually after about an hour (times vary greatly) you will get a break from scanning duty.