order to become a certified
10 Questions
with a
Lifeguard
A look into the pros and cons
of being a lifeguard
By Ashley Smart
With summer coming fast many
high school students are
looking for a fun summer job.
Many jobs that people flock
to for the summer are done
outside...whether that be;
working at a baseball field,
or reffing for games, but
there is one job that is
talked about a lot and
featured in many summer
movies for teens. That job is
lifeguarding. Since
lifeguarding is such a
popular summer job, I decided
to ask my friend Hannah
Olsen, who lifeguarded last
summer, what they thought of
the job. They gave me insight
to what the stressful parts
are, the perks you get with
the job, and the
certification process that
you have to go through in
lifeguard.
What made you decide to be a
lifeguard?
“I had grown up watching
movies with lifeguards in
them and I always thought it
looked so fun! I also had
many cousins who did it
during their summer breaks so
I feel like I always knew I
wanted to do it at least
once. And after last summer I
realized how much I loved it
and so I decided I am doing
it again this summer!”
Are there aspects of the job
that make you nervous? What
are they?
“Yes there are. For the most
part I’m nervous about it
coming down to me having to
make a save and then
completely blanking on all
the procedures. That would be
so horrible if it happened! A
smaller thing that makes me
nervous is that there is the
possibility of me being
audited at anytime.”
What does audited mean?
“Oh, that is like an
assessment where they test
you to make sure you are
still capable of doing the
job.”
How do you deal with the
nerves of the job?
“Well I don’t know if I
really deal with them cause
they are always there to some
extent, but I usually just
make sure that I am paying
attention and doing my job to
the best of my ability, and
then if an emergency or audit
happens then I will deal with
that the way that I was
trained to. I haven’t
actually had to make a save
or been audited yet, but I’ve
heard from people that have,
that you don’t really notice
the nerves until after the
situation is over.”
Have you had to make a save
before? What kind?
“Well like I said before, I
haven’t had to make a save
yet, but I wouldn’t be
surprised if I have to make
multiple this summer.”
How long does the
certification process take
and what is needed to be
certified?
“The certification takes
about a week. There is in
class time and in pool time.
In the classroom we learn
what the procedures are, how
to notice when someone needs
help, etc. In the pool we
practice and see how all the
things we talked about in the
classroom really play out in
real life.”
What are the pro’s and con’s
of the job?
“I mean some of the pro’s I
feel like are obvious...you
get to be in the sun all day
and get a nice tan, you get
to swim sometimes, and you
get to learn some really good
life lessons like CPR and the
heimlich. I don’t really feel
like there are many con’s to
the job, except that the
shifts are super long, at
least they were last summer,
at one point you could be
working up to 8 hours
straight.”
What are the most important
characteristics for a
lifeguard to have?
“Definitely having
responsibility! Also being
focused and a good
communicator. You need to be
able to take charge and be a
good leader/example to the
guests. There are a lot more
but I feel like those are
some of the really important
ones.”
Are there many guests who
complain or give you a hard
time?
“Yes, and a lot of times they
won’t agree with what you’ve
said to them, but we have
been told how to deal with
these situations, and to talk
kindly and explain our
policies. For example, if you
bring a guest to the pool who
doesn’t live in daybreak they
or you need to pay a guest
fee. Many guests will try to
tell you that the last time
they came they didn’t have to
do that. In that situation
you have to tell them “I am
sorry, and the last lifeguard
that helped you didn’t do
their job right, but this is
our policy and it has been
this for a long time.” You
want to be kind but stern.”
Are there opportunities to
get a promotion in the job?
“I don’t think that there are
during the season but once
you’ve worked there for at
least a season, you can apply
to be a headguard the next
season, and you get paid like
$2 more or something like
that.”
What are the weekly work
shifts like? How often do you
work? Is it hard to get time
off?
“Well at one point in the
summer the shifts were like 8
hours long, and then at
another point the shifts were
like 3.5 to 4 hours long. As
long as you didn’t work over
40 hours a week(if I remember
that right)then you could
work as many shifts in a week
possible. The pools are open
everyday of the week from
like 6-9. Except for sunday,
it’s a little different then.
I tried to work as much as
possible last summer, so if I
saw that I hadn’t hit 40
hours yet, I would pick up as
many shifts possible. I
didn’t find that it was that
hard to get time off. At the
beginning of the summer they
had you right down every day
you knew, as of that moment,
and they gave you that time
off. The rest of the summer
it was up to you to find
people to pick up or trade
shifts with. For the most
part my shifts would get
picked up easily cause I had
friends that were willing to
work them, but sometimes
there would be a day that no
one wanted to work on like
the Fourth of July.”