The main responsibilities and duties of a lifeguard are:

  • Monitor the water activities of swimmers
  • Prevent water accidents
  • Rescuing swimmers in distress
  • Perform first aid
  • Make sure that users respect the beach/pool regulations
  • Instruct users on the correct behavior to adopt during water activities
  • Teach swimming lessons (if enabled)
  • Maintain life-saving gear and equipment

How to Become a Lifeguard? Training and Requirement

Regardless of previous schooling, to practice the profession it is necessary to attend a lifeguard course, following which the lifeguard certification near me will be obtained. The training usually includes rescue techniques, concepts of medical first aid, BLS ( Basic Life Support ), and practical resuscitation tests. The course also explores many other aspects related to the lifeguard profession: professional responsibilities, bathing ordinances, meteorology, seafaring knots, and water treatment in the swimming pool. There may also be a specific training course for rescuing children or for supervising disabled people in the water.

The exam to obtain the lifeguard license includes a practical exercise, in which one must demonstrate one's swimming ability, over various distances and with different styles, as well as the ability to carry weights in the water (for example, it may be required to recover a weight from the bottom).

Depending on the specific regulations for each country, there may be different types of lifeguard licenses, dedicated for example to swimming pool rescue, internal waters (river, lake) o,r open waters (sea, ocean). The lifeguard must periodically renew the licenses in his possession, and keep in training to stay in adequate physical shape.



Skills of a Lifeguard

Lifeguard jobs require these skills and abilities :

  • Excellent swimming skills
  • Athletic training and physical endurance
  • Knowledge of water rescue techniques
  • Knowledge of first aid elements
  • Ability to operate rescue boats
  • Ability to act promptly in an emergency situation
  • High level of attention
  • Communication skills
  • Sympathy and availability
  • Lifeguard job opportunities
  • Lifeguard career

Once you have obtained the patent, you can practice the profession of a lifeguard in various different contexts. If you are looking for a seasonal job for the summer period, there are many jobs offers for lifeguards in bathing establishments. If, on the other hand, you want stable and continuous employment, you need to look for work in indoor facilities (such as indoor pools in fitness centers, spas, hotels....), which need lifeguards all year round.

Career prospects are different: some become chief lifeguards, coordinating the activities of various lifeguards, or those become managers of a swimming pool ( Pool Managers) or an aquatic facility. Or, you can take advantage of your skills to become a swimming and aquatics instructor, aqua instructor, and animator specializing in aquatic ludic-recreational activities. It is also possible to dedicate oneself to a specific category of people, such as newborns, the disabled, the elderly, or those who have to undergo a course of physiotherapy/rehabilitation.

Furthermore, the physical preparation necessary to carry out this profession is an excellent starting point for those who wish to pursue a career as a fitness instructor or personal trainer .