What do the lifeguards do outside their lifeguard job?
Basically, I’m interested to know, who are the lifeguards? I guess most of them are part-time. So what do they usually do when they are not working as lifeguards? What are the occupations of most of them? And how long (in terms of years, months) usually do they stay as lifeguard? Where do they go afterwards?
I’m a lifeguard and have worked in many different places like pools (outdoor and indoor) and beaches (rivers and lakes). I’m a 19 year-old student in University now but I’ve been lifeguarding since grade 9. 90% of the people I worked with were students either in high school or University. Some were pursuing careers in healthcare while others, like me, were pursuing careers in fields unrelated to lifeguarding. There were also some older lifeguards (30s, 40s) who did it full-time and part-time. I worked with a firefighter and a paramedic. I guess lifeguards are the same people you find working at any other jobs that don’t require a lot of education, just some intermediate to advanced training in swimming and standard first aid and CPR.
I lifeguarded while a high school and college student. Four years total. Then I got better job opportunities.
Several of my co-workers and supervisors from that job were school teachers, most of them special-ed teachers. Two were nurses, one was a volunteer firefighter, and one was a paid firefighter. One went on to become a grocery shelf stocker, one is now a waitress, and several are now in the military.
I continued college and got a part-time job as a AV tech.
References :
I’m a lifeguard and have worked in many different places like pools (outdoor and indoor) and beaches (rivers and lakes). I’m a 19 year-old student in University now but I’ve been lifeguarding since grade 9. 90% of the people I worked with were students either in high school or University. Some were pursuing careers in healthcare while others, like me, were pursuing careers in fields unrelated to lifeguarding. There were also some older lifeguards (30s, 40s) who did it full-time and part-time. I worked with a firefighter and a paramedic. I guess lifeguards are the same people you find working at any other jobs that don’t require a lot of education, just some intermediate to advanced training in swimming and standard first aid and CPR.
References :
The last 5 years of my life.