Becoming A Lifeguard

If you can swim, have stamina and are good in communicating, you may have the skills to be a lifeguard and add to your personal income. A lifeguard in the United States earns about $15:11 on average per hour.

What are the required skills to be a lifeguard?

Lifeguards generally possess hard skills, like swimming abilities, and soft skills, such as leadership and communication. Working on both is usually essential for achieving success in this field. These are some skills that can help you operate successfully as a lifeguard:

Swimming

The main requirement for a lifeguard is to have advanced swimming abilities. Besides being able to swim at a relatively high speed, lifeguards are also required to swim while holding another person’s head above the water while guiding them to shore. This usually demands multiple swimming techniques and the ability to control your breathing.

Strength and stamina

Lifeguards are sometimes required to rescue distressed people who are stranded at considerable distances from the shore. This means that having the stamina to swim for long distances and the strength to carry another person back to shore while swimming are essential for the role.

First aid

Since the main duty of a lifeguard is to assist people who are ill or injured, having basic first aid skills can help you stabilize an individual’s health condition until medical personnel arrives.

Orientation and navigation

While lifeguards who work at pools have a relatively small area to cover, those working at beaches generally require orientation skills to learn all the particularities of their assigned sector. They also require navigation skills to move quickly, both on the beach and in the water.

Communication

Lifeguards are also responsible for educating the public regarding ways they can stay safe while spending their time near bodies of water. This can include answering questions from swimmers and advising those who engage in dangerous activities to adjust their behaviors.

Attention to detail

Lifeguards may be required to supervise a large number of individuals, and their ability to spot even minor signs of distress can make a significant difference. Attention to detail can help them be proactive and avoid potentially life-threatening situations.

Flexibility

Some lifeguard jobs are seasonal and short-term, meaning that lifeguards require the flexibility to adapt to different work settings. This may include shifting from a beach lifeguard to a pool lifeguard or vice-versa.

Leadership

Having strong leadership skills can help lifeguards manage potentially challenging situations. This is particularly important in urgent situations, where they are required to rescue one or more individuals and make sure that bystanders don’t interfere with the rescue operations.

By Indeed Editorial Team