The city of Jacksonville is looking for certified lifeguards 15-years-old and up to work at city swimming pools this summer.Arthur Bedard, 32, who, until recently, managed a large pool and waterpark outside of Atlanta, got his first lifeguard job when he was 15.
He said one of the things he liked best about it was the flexibility. “You’d be up in the stand, lifeguarding and then you’d have some time where you could be down - you know, you could read or work on homework. I mean it was just a great place to meet other people my age; you’d work on a team with other lifeguards and it was a lot of fun.”
It’s also about being able to switch gears in an instant to deal with emergencies.
“Lifeguarding is, kind of, 95% boring and then it’ll be, like, 5% of, you know, things are happening all at once and you’ve got to blow your whistle and activate your emergency plan to let all the other lifeguards know things are happening. You’ve got to really be able to stay focused.”
The starting salary for Jacksonville lifeguards is $10 an hour.
Additional information, including upcoming dates for lifeguard certification classes, can be found on the city’s website. Those interested can also call (904) 255-4271 or email mailto:bealifeguard@coj.net.
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter at @cydwjctnews.
