Why You Should Become a Lifeguard

Lifeguarding is a job that’ll earn you more than just a paycheck and a tan your friends will envy all summer long. If you want a summer job where you can make friends, help others, and develop critical life skills, then lifeguarding could be for you. 

Lifeguards are essential to any community— especially in cities like Boston, where families often rely on nearby parks and community pools for greenspace, recreation, and a place to beat the heat. Not only do more lifeguards allow more pools to remain safe and accessible in the hot summer months, they also play an active role in educating people about water safety. By explaining and reinforcing the “pool rules,” lifeguards ensure we all learn to engage in watersports and activities properly, without risking lives.

When you work as a lifeguard, you get the satisfaction of going to work every day knowing that you will actively impact peoples’ lives.

Becoming a lifeguard can be a fun part-time summer job or develop into a lifelong career in public safety or emergency medicine. Either way, the skills you obtain through lifeguard training and experience can help you succeed in any job you want to pursue. Think about it— lifeguards must be responsible and alert, plus able to assert themselves in situations where people’s lives are at risk. They have to be able to communicate effectively with many different people multiple times a day. And in emergencies, they are trained to make quick decisions and stay calm under pressure. 

In other words, if you know how to be a lifeguard, you know how to be a leader. Who wouldn’t want that on their resume? 

Let’s be honest. There’s a lot more to enjoy about lifeguarding than your average summer job. Besides the fresh air and sunshine, you get to work with a team of people who help each other out from everyday routines to life-threatening emergencies. Through all this teamwork and camaraderie, you’ll probably make some of your closest friends— and get paid to hang out with them. 

Summer. Job. GOALS.

Admit it, they are. No one knows whether it’s the self-confidence that comes from their life-saving abilities, the physical fitness that comes from regular training and exercises, the privilege of being a role model for kids and a hero to all, or if they just look better in a pair of dark sunglasses. Lifeguards are simply cooler than the rest of us. We admire them, we appreciate them, and we aspire to be like them. 

So what are you waiting for? Join the squad today! 

INTERESTED IN BECOMING A LIFEGUARD?

Boston Centers for Youth & Families has positions open for lifeguards. We offer full-time year-round and seasonal positions. If you have questions please contact one of our aquatics managers for more information.

BCYF periodically offers training to become a lifeguard. If you are interested in learning about training when we offer it, please complete this form. You will be contacted by a member of our aquatics staff when there is information to be shared about upcoming courses.