The view rivals the one enjoyed from the coveted corner office. The benefits include physical fitness and an ocean breeze. The perfect summer job? Maybe. Except the hours aren’t limited to warm summer days, and it is a job where the stakes run considerably higher than financial earnings and losses.
The duties of a San Diego beach lifeguard are far ranging. All full time guards are certified EMTs (Emergency Medical Technician) and may be called upon for boat rescues up to three miles from the shore as well as coastal cliff rescues. Most full time guards are also peace officers with full powers of arrest.
Specially trained guards assist in river and flooding rescues, marine firefighting and dive rescues and recoveries. Recent incidents handled by area lifeguards include an exploding scuba tank, a floating blue whale carcass and a directionally challenged harbor seal wandering yard to yard through an area neighborhood.
Clearly, this is not a job for those who value a routine existence. But it’s “ocean front” at no extra charge…
Updated from July 27, 2009.
Adventures in “US National Parks”
nice blog .keep updating……)
Good to know these.
Life guarding is all about keeping people safe and preventing the need for more drastic lifesaving measures.
You’ll know how to do everything, and that is what you’ll be paid for.
Good job!
Wow! You’ve just been all over California this summer!
No signs of tight speedos on that life guard! Shocking! What is that contraption behind him though? It looks like some sort of alien space craft!
It’s nice to hear a voice to the words Heather:) First time I’ve listened – I’m a little old fashioned at times:)
A lifeguard sounds like an interesting job to me! Anything involving sand and water shouln’t really be classified as a traditional job.
It takes special people to undertake these jobs, and thankfully there are folk out there who put their lives at risk to save others.
They are always appreciated by those who use the sea in many ways, and take comfort in the fact thet they are on hand should they ever be called to carry out the many difficult rescues the sea demands of them.
Not my kind of job but does sound interesting. I’d like to help the drectionally challenged seal find its way but picking out a dead whale carcus yuk.
Up until this moment all I knew about Lifeguards I’d learned from David Hasselhoff. I’d no idea some of them could arrest people.
Kiran and Rainfield: Thanks for the visit and comment!
Amer: You’re right that prevention is the optimal course for a lifeguard. Especially in those unpredictable ocean waters!
Trisha: It was a fun trip with an interesting mix of the urban and the outdoors. My first mountain biking experience at Mammoth Lakes was but one of the highlights I’ll soon be writing about!
Mrs. T: My apologies (and vast relief!) on the lack of Speedos… Yes, the lifeguard stands are odd-looking! They vary from beach to beach, and some even have the rescue slides (which wouldn’t be Speedo-friendly… trust me, it’s better for everyone).
~Glad you liked the audio! Because I voice professionally and have all the necessary equipment, it’s an easy add-on…
Fly Girl: An outdoor job like that would be wonderful(!) until the next emergency, I think.
Donald: You are well aware of ocean dangers. Your accounts of commercial fishing days in Scotland are gripping. Can’t wait to read the next one!
In Australia, most lifeguards at beaches in summer are volunteers (though there are some fulltime paid positions). The whole process sounds different, though as long as lives are kept safe, the method probably doesn’t matter so much.
Cate: Regular disposal of whale carcasses would be a deal breaker for me too, but it was an unusual situation that ultimately required towing the poor creature to a San Diego dump! Normally, the whale would have been fish food, but it had floated close enough to shore to be a hazard.
Delmer: Arresting powers could come in handy! Unfortunately, you aren’t allowed to make up any new laws to -for instance- prevent the people next to you from feeding enormous flocks of seagulls…
Mark H: That’s amazing that your country can staff such a demanding job primarily with volunteers. ~And laudable that there are so many willing to risk their lives free of charge!