Pros
- you get to be outside! - if you're at a single-guard pool you have a lot of downtime (kid you not I've gone a whole 10 hr shift without a single person coming to the pool) - if you have a good pool supervisor it's pretty chill - having a good scheduling supervisor also helps when interfacing with the main office - you don't really have to interact with the main office much once you finish training
Kontras
- main office is kind of annoying (as with anything corporate) - they make you pay for certification class - said certification class can be hellish (esp if you have annie as your teacher) - annie is the head of lifeguard training unfortunately (imagine the worst white woman possible, then multiply that by 2; she got in a shouting match with a 15 year old because the girl wanted to retry the test -- we're convinced it was racially motivated because she's generally been more aggressive towards black/brown students; also the people who have her as their scheduling supervisor heavily dislike her) - shift scheduling is very bureaucratized; you can't just put up your shifts and have someone cover them/swap shifts, you have to request off the days you can't work - rules about taking time off are kind of strict (there are specific weeks in the season where no one is allowed to request off unless it's for school or immediate family obligations)