lifeguard job description
Lifeguard Job Description
A lifeguard is a professional who overlooks the safety of people around him. The article will guide you with important aspects related to the job description of a lifeguard, the salary, and all the related information.
- The first and foremost basic requirement for becoming a lifeguard is the ability to swim.
- He should have a good physique and good presence of mind to work in emergency situations.
- He should be well aware of all the potential hazards that can take place over the swimming pool or the beach.
- He should have good public relation skills, leadership qualities, and quick decision-making skills.
- He should know all the lifesaving techniques that may be required after rescuing the victim.
- Many of the communities that hire lifeguards ask for a current Red Cross Advanced Lifesaving Certificate as a minimum qualification.
- This certification is a mandatory requirement, since it covers all the important knowledge that a lifeguard should know. Renewal of the certificate is necessary after every three years.
- As mentioned earlier, a lifeguard can be employed in any of the public or private water body, where people are allowed to swim.
- They are basically trained for ensuring the safety of the people inside the water bodies. The duties and responsibilities of a lifeguard can change with the type of water body he/she is patrolling.
- Some of the areas where lifeguards can be employed are hotels, beaches, public swimming pools, private swimming clubs, municipal recreation departments, etc.
- The basic duty of a lifeguard is ensuring safety of the swimmers. He must always wear the uniform provided to him/her and arrive at the workplace 10 minutes before the allotted time.
- Usually, lifeguards position themselves such that the whole pool area or the maximum beach area can be easily viewed.
- They are equipped with high intensity binoculars to view the activities going on around the beach or the pool area.
- They should know all the practical and theory knowledge of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
- The lifeguards employed for pools may have additional set of duties to perform, like maintaining cleanliness and quality of the pool water.
- They should be patrolling the water body area and warn the swimmers if they are not following the rules and regulations set by the committee, that owns the water body.
- A lifeguard should keep an eye on the facilities provided to the swimmers on the pool.
- If they notice any unsafe condition in the pool, they must report to the supervisor or the aquatic manager at the earliest.
- A lifeguard should also consult the aquatic manager when he/she finds scarcity of any important equipment, required for the rescue of a victim.
- Lifeguards are usually paid on hourly basis, thus, the average salary of the lifeguard depends on the number of hours he/she has worked.
- The salary of a freshman starts somewhere near USD 9 per hour.
- Moreover, the salary also depends on the type of water body that the lifeguard is patrolling. Some people work as lifeguards on seasonal basis, while some work as permanent lifeguards.
- The salary of these permanent lifeguards is more, as compared to the former.
- An experienced lifeguard can earn up to USD 25 per hour.