Looking to make the big bucks?

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
43,211
17,642
113
Petak Island
Florida. I know beach lifeguards here; they work for their particular county, but are most certainly not unionized.
I've known quite few in my time.

They generally don't do sh!t - essentially get paid to sit in the tower and twiddle their thumbs.

When the ocean moves a little bit, they put up a red flag.

When they get bored, they get punitive with surfers.

And when they should be enforcing general rules and regs they do dick - especially when it comes to dogs.

Nor is any other industry that I know of; the only unions I am aware of are the teachers union, and I' m not sure if they are unionized or just want to be.
Plenty of unions in Florida, and all over the East Coast.

They pull political strings too.
 

youcantbeserious

Billy Hamilton status
Oct 29, 2020
1,518
4,579
113
Location location
I can see now that I could have chosen a more lucrative career path.
I remember when this was not much more than a minimum wage temp job, at least on the East Coast

Big money for beach bums
The North Shore lifeguards who risk their asses and have an actual dangerous first responder job would be stoked to make a tenth of that.
 

Clayster

Miki Dora status
Oct 26, 2005
5,646
1,241
113
I've known quite few in my time.

They generally don't do sh!t - essentially get paid to sit in the tower and twiddle their thumbs.

When the ocean moves a little bit, they put up a red flag.

When they get bored, they get punitive with surfers.

And when they should be enforcing general rules and regs they do dick - especially when it comes to dogs.



Plenty of unions in Florida, and all over the East Coast.

They pull political strings too.
That may be true in the northeast, but I have to disagree with you about Florida. New York New Jersey, etc. are huge union states. Other than the teachers' union, other unions in Florida are small and represent a very small percentage of the work force.
 

GromsDad

Duke status
Jan 21, 2014
54,153
16,170
113
West of the Atlantic. East of the ICW.
I've known quite few in my time.

They generally don't do sh!t - essentially get paid to sit in the tower and twiddle their thumbs.

When the ocean moves a little bit, they put up a red flag.

When they get bored, they get punitive with surfers.

And when they should be enforcing general rules and regs they do dick - especially when it comes to dogs.
Pretty much nailed it.
 

elcalvo

Michael Peterson status
Mar 16, 2004
3,314
436
83
NE
Pretty insulting to call important first responders "beach bums"
Here on the East Coast, back when I passed the qualification test, we were pretty much all beach bums. We took the job seriously, but I never considered myself a "first responder". When I titled the link, I intended no disrespect whatsoever. I have tremendous respect and appreciation for all the men and women who sit up in the chair and sometimes risk their lives for the generally uninformed who get themselves into trouble. :bowdown:
 
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sussle

Rabbitt Bartholomew status
Oct 11, 2009
8,390
7,766
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Here on the East Coast, back when I passed the qualification test, we were pretty much all beach bums. We took the job seriously, but I never considered myself a "first responder". When I titled the link, I intended no disrespect whatsoever. I have tremendous respect and appreciation for all the men and women who sit up in the chair and sometimes risk their lives for the generally uninformed who get themselves into trouble. :bowdown:
it's one of those hours-of-boredom, seconds-of-terror gigs. certainly some beaches are a lot harder than others but's an awesome responsibility, wherever you do it. on my worst day at work, nobody ever died.
 
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mundus

Duke status
Feb 26, 2018
36,724
15,942
113
Did it for 15 years, pay was not great but as an LT not horrible. Got to work out as much as I wanted and train for races. Agree with Casa for the most part, but had some gnarly rescues short staffed in Sept really the only time a real lifeguard is needed.
 
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