OCCUPATION: Junior Lifeguard Instructor

Name: Greg Roberts

Employer: City of Newport Beach

Thumbs up: “Being at the beach every day and at the same time teaching kids oceanography. A real bonus of the whole job is showing them to respect the ocean while building their self-esteem.”

Thumbs down: “I’m responsible for 600 kids. Even though it’s large, it’s a very tightknit group for eight weeks. Also the ocean is very unpredictable so it’s impossible to know what’s going to happen on any given day.”

Next step: Coordinator of the junior lifeguard program. “But I’m satisfied with what I’m doing. As coordinator, I would have to stay in the office all day.”

Advice: “Lifeguarding gives you the opportunity to save somebody’s life. If doing something for others is important to you, then lifeguarding is a way to attain that. The job involves everything from helping a lost child find his parents to doing CPR and reviving someone who would have otherwise passed away. You need to be physically fit, and a background in aquatics helps.”

Salary range: Lifeguards and lifeguard instructors earn between $7 to $12 an hour.

Fringe benefits: “As an instructor I get to dictate how I want to do the day. If the waves are good then we go body surfing. The weather conditions allow for a lot of flexibility.” Although full-time employees for the city, lifeguards receive no medical benefits.

Hours: Instructors usually work from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Lifeguard towers normally open between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. and close at 6 p.m.

Educational and training requirements: Age requirements vary in different cities, but lifeguards are as young as 16 in some areas after going through the junior lifeguard course or a similar program. A strong background in aquatics and an above average physical ability is an asset considering only one-fourth of applicants make the cut. After two years of tower duty, a lifeguard can become a junior lifeguard instructor. Lifeguards with four years’ experience can join the jeep units.

Size of work force: The local chapter of the U.S. Ocean Life Saving Assn. estimates that there are about 650 lifeguards and fewer than 100 junior lifeguard instructors on city and state beaches in the county.

Expected demand: The recession has affected hiring at city and state beaches, although the demand for lifeguards and instructors remains constant because of turnover. Demand has increased as more resorts at lakes and hotels are built in south Orange County.

Job description: Lifeguard instructors oversee the daily training activities of junior lifeguards, which involves providing lessons in oceanography, beach safety, swimming and running drills, rescue techniques and medical assistance from skinned knees to CPR. All the while the instructor must also serve as a lifeguard and role model to the class. “I’m sort of a big brother ‘water-proofing’ kids,” Roberts says.

Major employing industries: Beach cities, community pools, hotels and resorts. There are foreign exchange programs enabling U.S.-trained lifeguards to instruct or simply work overseas.

For more information: Call the marine department at the city hall in any beach city or the U.S. Ocean Life Saving Assn. at (714) 536-5281.