Is being a lifeguard at a pool/water slide an easy job?

Question

For current/previous lifeguards: is it easy (besides of course a person drowning?) Do you think it's worth the pay? What would I need to do to become a lifeguard at a water slide? Plus any other stories experiences you'd like to share. I want to know allllll about lifeguarding! Thanks!

Answer 1

well i am a lifeguard and as one of the previous people stated we dont really get the credit we deserve. people think its so easy just sitting there all day. but its hard you have to pay attention every second which is very hard if you have long shifts. we have to prevent people from drowning having spinal injuries or getting hurt in general. is it worth the pay  sure saving someones life is worth anything.

for my pool we have to tell all the kids all the rules  ie. no running no flips no twists no jumping in the shallow end so goin in the deep end without a test. you have to have a swim cap.  and most of the time kids take our rules as suggestions. kids are always fallin getting hurt and u gotta clean up the blood and the wound. then parents always have questions and you cant ignorethem so you have to talk while watching.  kids are always running even if you tell them not to several times and once they fall and come to me bleeding ill say were u running and ill be like why do you think i told u not to. then they take off running.

there was a spinal injury a few years ago some kid was stupid off a diving board and lifeguards with the backboards had to go in and everything. then there was a blue choking infant.

the course will be about 30 hours spread out. you will learn first aid  cpr rescue breathing befibrilator choking how to save people in the water and out how to test chemicals and everything youll ever need to know. then there will be a three part test. written land and water

Answer 2

I guard at my college pool. Usually it's pretty boring. It's indoors and I usually only work 3 or 4 hour shifts. It can be interesting if there is a group using the pool for a team-building swim because sometimes we run the pool games (volleyball, water polo, etc.) but usually 3 hours is all I can take. You can't really talk to anyone if there are people in the water and especially if they are using the diving board. But you get used to telling the difference between "fun splashing" and "panic splashing". I also don't have to deal with young kids...just my college peers. So sometimes people come to the pool a bit tipsy and we have to kick them out. One guy last year got really loud and we had to get campus security.

I worked at a water park for half a summer a few years ago. That wasn't too bad because we shifted from the top of the slide to the bottom, or worked different slides sometimes during the day. Cloudy and cool days sucked, but the pay wasn't bad. I only did that for 6 weeks. It was pretty easy. I used to like the speed slides because the people were always funny when they had to pick the wedgies out of their butts or the girls that would freak out if their top came loose (which doesn't happen a lot like everyone thinks....sorry guys.)

I never had to deal with blood or p**p in the water on my shifts, but everyone else who did told me that sucked too.

Answer 3

I'm reminded of a woman who drowned in an indoor public pool with 4 lifeguards on duty. They were later caught lying to the police about what happened.

It's the teens who think it's easy that let things like that happen.

Other people's lives are in your hands. It's a huge responsibility.

Answer 4

People make it sound easier than it is.. You are responsible for so many people and their is a lot of responsibility. Things can get out of hand quickly and some people chose to ignore you. It's not all the joy people make it out to be. Its time consuming and nerve racking at times.

Answer 5

I am not a lifeguard myself, but I have several friends who are, and even though I know you don't mean it in a bad way, I wouldn't want to call their job "easy."

I think people don't give lifeguards the credit they deserve. People seem to think the job is just sitting on a high chair in a red bathing suit, but to be a good lifeguard, you have to be vigilant, eagle-eyed at all times because you never know what could happen. If you slack for a second, it could literally be life or death. You have to watch out for a wide variety of people, from screaming kids to frail older folk.

Obviously, you have to be a good swimmer, and probably will be trained on specific techniques for rescuing others (it's harder to pull a flailing person out of the water without getting yourself drowned than you think). You will have to be certified in first aid and lifesaving techniques. Many lifeguards have to maintain the pool, so they check the water, and do routine inspections. You have to also enforce the rules, so let's say you're at a water slide with a bunch of rowdy kids, it's your duty to keep them in line. And where there are a lot of kids there is (gross but true) a likelihood of having to deal with p**p and vomit on a regular basis. Sorry, it's true!

The lifeguards I know really do enjoy the job though. The best ones truly care about the people they watch after, and you can always tell who those are. Pay is going to depend on your area and your experience. I personally don't think they get paid enough considering all they do, but believe me, I appreciate it. Best of luck!

Answer 6

It was a great job, untill that little blue kid got me fired. *joke

Answer 7

I was a lifeguard this summer. It was really easy and you get to be outside. When i had to work inside it was really hot and boring. I got paid min wage. I wanna become a beach lifeguard next year cause i hear its alot more fun. So lifeguarding is a good job for like 1 months then after a while it gets really boring. I only had to jump in the water once in a 3 month period.