Lifeguarding Swimming Pools in Retirement

[DanR691130]

Hello Everyone,

I work for a national swimming pool company that trains and provides Lifeguards to over thousands of communities. We have seen a slight increase in retirees that work for us as Lifeguards or Pool cleaners. 

I have taken on a project that explores advertising and recruiting to Seniors as Lifeguards and Pool Service Techs. This would be seasonal work in the communites that are close to home. The pay is generally $8-$11 per hour.

I have a couple of questions for the group...

1. Do you think retirees would have an interest Lifeguarding at local swimming pools?

2. Where do you think is the best place to advertise and recruit for this work? AARP? Churches?

3. What challenges do you think we would encounter if we hired seniors as Lifeguards?

Any help you can offer is appreciated. Please let me know your thoughts. 

Thank you for your time.

Dan

[DanR691130]

How many of you reading this post feel they could fulfill the physical requirements for getting a swimming pool Lifeguard certification? 

• Swim 300 yards (freestyle, and or, breast stroke). That is 12 lengths of a junior olympic pool. 
• Retrieve a 10 pound brick in 7-10 feet of water
• Tread water for 2 minutes using legs only. 

[JessicaS821339]

Hello,

I find this very interesting. Lifeguarding can be quite the rewarding experience. Although the pay would probably not be substantial enough for someone who is looking for a full-time job as a way to make ends meet, this would however be a great opportunity to stay active while earning a little extra money. One challenge that I foresee is sitting in the hot sun for several hours at a time. Do you know how long the shifts typically are, and how often lifeguards receive a break? I would also be curious to know if the hours are flexible, or if I would need to commit to a certain time of day/number of hours per week. I do find a summer job as a lifeguard very intriguing and would love to know more information. 

[dk19512909]

Interesting! I lifeguarded when young and have actually been considering, as a senior, doing this again. Not sure about the cleaning part, arthritis gets irritated. As for life guarding, lots of us seniors are in better shape now than when we were young because of all the rec centers and emphasis on exercise! As for the pay, I wouldn't mind the 8-11.00 range because it would just be something I'd do to have fun and keep me busy. For those that are dependent on money for making ends meet, it just wouldn't be enough. Not sure if you are talking full or part time. Full time in the sun and heat may be a challenge for some of us. However, as lots of seniors seem to be always cold, there may be some who would want to be out there all day. 😄

Good luck with your research, hope you hire a few of us! We have a rep for being extremely dependable and conciencious!