Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers
Monitor recreational areas, such as pools, beaches, or ski slopes, to provide assistance and protection to participants.
Most important skills
- Monitoring
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Active Listening
- Learning Strategies
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Psychology
- Administration and Management
- Chemistry
What the work involves
- Rescue distressed persons, using rescue techniques and equipment.
- Contact emergency medical personnel in case of serious injury.
- Patrol or monitor recreational areas, such as trails, slopes, or swimming areas, on foot, in vehicles, or from towers.
- Examine injured persons and administer first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, if necessary, using training and medical supplies and equipment.
- Instruct participants in skiing, swimming, or other recreational activities and provide safety precaution information.
- Warn recreational participants of inclement weather, unsafe areas, or illegal conduct.
- Complete and maintain records of weather and beach conditions, emergency medical treatments performed, and other relevant incident information.
- Inspect recreational equipment, such as rope tows, T-bars, J-bars, or chair lifts, for safety hazards and damage or wear.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Social, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Less than a High School Diploma (39.2% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (50.2%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (45.7%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Higher on contact with others than 59% of occupations compared | 63% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 71% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 79% of occupations compared | 66% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 74% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Limited freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 94% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 60% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 80% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 90% of occupations compared | 61% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0.4%
- Contact with others about half the time: 11.35%
- Contact with others most of the time: 25.75%
- Constant contact with others: 62.51%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 13.64%
- Fairly important: 0.25%
- Important: 17.86%
- Very important: 15.45%
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2020
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0.23%
- Important: 6.88%
- Very important: 26.75%
- Extremely important: 66.13%
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2020
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 1.83%
- Very little freedom: 1.58%
- Limited freedom: 35.93%
- Some freedom: 33.98%
- A lot of freedom: 26.67%
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2020
Time pressure
- Never: 23.59%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 3.34%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 35.38%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 26.63%
- Every day: 11.06%
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2020
Conflict situations
- Never: 5.3%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 25.05%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 36.25%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 32.65%
- Every day: 0.75%
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 16.75%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 36.18%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 35.71%
- Every day: 11.36%
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2020
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 16.29%
- Fairly serious: 2%
- Serious: 2.07%
- Very serious: 19.1%
- Extremely serious: 60.54%
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2020
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O*NET-SOC 33-9092.00 · SOC 33-9092 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8