For a rising college junior, lifeguarding is not a “real” summer job/internship, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son goes to a cringingly expensive university (97K a year!) and for the 3rd year in a row, he will be a STEM camp mentor to middle schoolers on a military base. They like him, and always welcome him back.

He also, through dogged determination, got a valuable research opp at his university, with a professor he loves. It was a last minute thing, totally unexpected, after desperately searching for internships FOR MONTHS, and writing endless cover letters and cold-emailing many people.

He still has never had an internship in his life

But this is better. It shows that an employer is willing to hire him again and again. And the research thing with a famous person in his field is the cherry on top, because it's exactly the specific thing he wants to do in his future career. He will be able to name-drop and talk about his project in future job interviews.

No, this is not a bad look at all, OP. You clearly are looking for any excuse to diminish your niece's accomplishments.

+1 Just because something is labeled internship doesn't make it a great opportunity. Your niece may not have been able to find a paying internship (lots of college kids can't, and don't have the family money to take an unpaid internship), or she may just like being out in the sunshine for one last year until she has to do a 9-5 job.

Either way, I envy the OP with her faux concern for her lifeguarding niece being such a big "problem" in her life that she had to ask strangers on DCUM about it.

I'm asking out of both slight concern and to better understand the landscape for our own children as they prepare for college. Thanks.

Did you try talking to your niece about how her summer plans came about?

+1. That would involve too much social interaction for the judgey OP.

OP is right.

https://transmosis.com/landing-an-internship-has-become-way-more-important-and-complex-than-anyones-acknowledging/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Selingo has written extensively about internships being THE most important factor in post-graduation employment. Here is one of the CEO’s he interviewed on the topic of lifeguarding…

“You can’t spend your first couple of summers in college lifeguarding or working as a camp counselor anymore if you have a specific job in mind after graduation,” said Matt Sigelman, the CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, the company that provides real-time labor market data and has studied internship postings. “Those typical summer jobs are not going to position you for work after graduation.”

That single anecdote you cherrypicked doesn't mean that lifeguarding is bad if your other options are not to have a paying job at all. Jeff Selingo writes about the importance of real world work experience, regardless of the field.

Not everyone can find a paying internship in their field. Not in this economy. If OP is so "concerned" she can offer to pay for her niece's expenses so that she can take an unpaid internship like rich kids do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Selingo has written extensively about internships being THE most important factor in post-graduation employment. Here is one of the CEO’s he interviewed on the topic of lifeguarding…

“You can’t spend your first couple of summers in college lifeguarding or working as a camp counselor anymore if you have a specific job in mind after graduation,” said Matt Sigelman, the CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, the company that provides real-time labor market data and has studied internship postings. “Those typical summer jobs are not going to position you for work after graduation.”

That single anecdote you cherrypicked doesn't mean that lifeguarding is bad if your other options are not to have a paying job at all. Jeff Selingo writes about the importance of real world work experience, regardless of the field.

Not everyone can find a paying internship in their field. Not in this economy. If OP is so "concerned" she can offer to pay for her niece's expenses so that she can take an unpaid internship like rich kids do.

It’s not cherry picked, you just don’t like what the employment data show. The full article is also posted above, if you are interested in learning more (instead of attacking the messenger). And from the sound of it, OP’s niece isn’t lifeguarding as a default (after unsuccessful attempts in finding an internship). It was a choice that will put her at a competitive disadvantage after graduation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Selingo has written extensively about internships being THE most important factor in post-graduation employment. Here is one of the CEO’s he interviewed on the topic of lifeguarding…

“You can’t spend your first couple of summers in college lifeguarding or working as a camp counselor anymore if you have a specific job in mind after graduation,” said Matt Sigelman, the CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, the company that provides real-time labor market data and has studied internship postings. “Those typical summer jobs are not going to position you for work after graduation.”

That single anecdote you cherrypicked doesn't mean that lifeguarding is bad if your other options are not to have a paying job at all. Jeff Selingo writes about the importance of real world work experience, regardless of the field.

Not everyone can find a paying internship in their field. Not in this economy. If OP is so "concerned" she can offer to pay for her niece's expenses so that she can take an unpaid internship like rich kids do.

It’s not cherry picked, you just don’t like what the employment data show. The full article is also posted above, if you are interested in learning more (instead of attacking the messenger). And from the sound of it, OP’s niece isn’t lifeguarding as a default (after unsuccessful attempts in finding an internship). It was a choice that will put her at a competitive disadvantage after graduation.

Yes, it is a cherry picked anecdote, because you haven't shown actual data that shows that having a paid job such as a lifeguard will put the OP's niece at a disadvantage relative to having an "internship" (whatever that may mean, could be paid, unpaid, lifechanging or a waste of time) with respect to being gainfully employed upon graduation.

Feel free to share that data if you have it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Selingo has written extensively about internships being THE most important factor in post-graduation employment. Here is one of the CEO’s he interviewed on the topic of lifeguarding…

“You can’t spend your first couple of summers in college lifeguarding or working as a camp counselor anymore if you have a specific job in mind after graduation,” said Matt Sigelman, the CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, the company that provides real-time labor market data and has studied internship postings. “Those typical summer jobs are not going to position you for work after graduation.”

This quote is was originally published in The Washington Post on May 18, 2015. What was happening 11 years ago is not relevant to now.

So many college students are unable to stay off their phones, deal with an emergency, do grunt work, show up consistently on time, and interact with coworkers. They can't take charge like a lifeguard must do so that rules are followed. Lifeguards have the ability to tell a kid to knock it off and stop running, while dealing politely with annoying parents. And I will add again- to stay off their phones!

You can't just socialize all day as a lifeguard. Lifeguards know someone could literally die if they don't do their job. There aren't a lot of summer jobs with that level of responsibility.

I would much rather hire a former lifeguard over someone who had a cushy internship a relative or family friend got them.

[Anonymous]

Since the quote was from 2015, just looked up what the same guy is saying now in 2026:

"Computational thinking has to sit alongside, not displace, the core meta-skills cultivated by a liberal arts approach to education: judgment, communication, collaboration. These are the human capabilities that will keep us valuable and competitive in an AI-augmented economy."— Matt Sigelman, Core Thesis Presentation

Lifeguarding = judgment, communication, collaboration

Office internship in front of a computer = not getting those skills

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since the quote was from 2015, just looked up what the same guy is saying now in 2026:

"Computational thinking has to sit alongside, not displace, the core meta-skills cultivated by a liberal arts approach to education: judgment, communication, collaboration. These are the human capabilities that will keep us valuable and competitive in an AI-augmented economy."— Matt Sigelman, Core Thesis Presentation

Lifeguarding = judgment, communication, collaboration

Office internship in front of a computer = not getting those skills

This chart is from Dream School (also by Jeff Selingo) showing that the rate of underemployment is significantly lower for graduates who have completed an internship across most industries. The importance of an internship has only grown since 2016.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQyl-bDJNFvB5-rJ8rH7HHHi6sncnimxUc0r5yQ6ZGy0u4dKWz1uB5Kc5o&s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Selingo has written extensively about internships being THE most important factor in post-graduation employment. Here is one of the CEO’s he interviewed on the topic of lifeguarding…

“You can’t spend your first couple of summers in college lifeguarding or working as a camp counselor anymore if you have a specific job in mind after graduation,” said Matt Sigelman, the CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, the company that provides real-time labor market data and has studied internship postings. “Those typical summer jobs are not going to position you for work after graduation.”

Getting an internship as a rising sophomore or junior is pretty difficult. There are fewer internships available overall and the preference is for rising seniors. Not that it's easy right now for rising seniors either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since the quote was from 2015, just looked up what the same guy is saying now in 2026:

"Computational thinking has to sit alongside, not displace, the core meta-skills cultivated by a liberal arts approach to education: judgment, communication, collaboration. These are the human capabilities that will keep us valuable and competitive in an AI-augmented economy."— Matt Sigelman, Core Thesis Presentation

Lifeguarding = judgment, communication, collaboration

Office internship in front of a computer = not getting those skills

This chart is from Dream School (also by Jeff Selingo) showing that the rate of underemployment is significantly lower for graduates who have completed an internship across most industries. The importance of an internship has only grown since 2016.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQyl-bDJNFvB5-rJ8rH7HHHi6sncnimxUc0r5yQ6ZGy0u4dKWz1uB5Kc5o&s

The issue is that it could be that students who get internships have more connections, so they could have lifeguarded or done nothing and still gotten hired in the end with those connections. It is just so much harder now with AI in the mix to know. So much also depends on what internship and what job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since the quote was from 2015, just looked up what the same guy is saying now in 2026:

"Computational thinking has to sit alongside, not displace, the core meta-skills cultivated by a liberal arts approach to education: judgment, communication, collaboration. These are the human capabilities that will keep us valuable and competitive in an AI-augmented economy."— Matt Sigelman, Core Thesis Presentation

Lifeguarding = judgment, communication, collaboration

Office internship in front of a computer = not getting those skills

This chart is from Dream School (also by Jeff Selingo) showing that the rate of underemployment is significantly lower for graduates who have completed an internship across most industries. The importance of an internship has only grown since 2016.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQyl-bDJNFvB5-rJ8rH7HHHi6sncnimxUc0r5yQ6ZGy0u4dKWz1uB5Kc5o&s

The issue is that it could be that students who get internships have more connections, so they could have lifeguarded or done nothing and still gotten hired in the end with those connections. It is just so much harder now with AI in the mix to know. So much also depends on what internship and what job.

+1 Did the Selingo pusher never take a statistics class? Correlation is not causation. (i.e. That students with internships are more likely to be employed after graduation may have something to do with other characteristics of that student that are not related to the internship per se.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since the quote was from 2015, just looked up what the same guy is saying now in 2026:

"Computational thinking has to sit alongside, not displace, the core meta-skills cultivated by a liberal arts approach to education: judgment, communication, collaboration. These are the human capabilities that will keep us valuable and competitive in an AI-augmented economy."— Matt Sigelman, Core Thesis Presentation

Lifeguarding = judgment, communication, collaboration

Office internship in front of a computer = not getting those skills

This chart is from Dream School (also by Jeff Selingo) showing that the rate of underemployment is significantly lower for graduates who have completed an internship across most industries. The importance of an internship has only grown since 2016.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQyl-bDJNFvB5-rJ8rH7HHHi6sncnimxUc0r5yQ6ZGy0u4dKWz1uB5Kc5o&s

The issue is that it could be that students who get internships have more connections, so they could have lifeguarded or done nothing and still gotten hired in the end with those connections. It is just so much harder now with AI in the mix to know. So much also depends on what internship and what job.

+1 Did the Selingo pusher never take a statistics class? Correlation is not causation. (i.e. That students with internships are more likely to be employed after graduation may have something to do with other characteristics of that student that are not related to the internship per se.)

You don’t like Selingo’s take on internships. Got it. Please provide your source(s) that support your argument that working the same unskilled job in college (as in high school) is preferred by employers to actual internships?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since the quote was from 2015, just looked up what the same guy is saying now in 2026:

"Computational thinking has to sit alongside, not displace, the core meta-skills cultivated by a liberal arts approach to education: judgment, communication, collaboration. These are the human capabilities that will keep us valuable and competitive in an AI-augmented economy."— Matt Sigelman, Core Thesis Presentation

Lifeguarding = judgment, communication, collaboration

Office internship in front of a computer = not getting those skills

This chart is from Dream School (also by Jeff Selingo) showing that the rate of underemployment is significantly lower for graduates who have completed an internship across most industries. The importance of an internship has only grown since 2016.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQyl-bDJNFvB5-rJ8rH7HHHi6sncnimxUc0r5yQ6ZGy0u4dKWz1uB5Kc5o&s

The issue is that it could be that students who get internships have more connections, so they could have lifeguarded or done nothing and still gotten hired in the end with those connections. It is just so much harder now with AI in the mix to know. So much also depends on what internship and what job.

+1 Did the Selingo pusher never take a statistics class? Correlation is not causation. (i.e. That students with internships are more likely to be employed after graduation may have something to do with other characteristics of that student that are not related to the internship per se.)

You don’t like Selingo’s take on internships. Got it. Please provide your source(s) that support your argument that working the same unskilled job in college (as in high school) is preferred by employers to actual internships?

No one made that argument. Perhaps you can take a basic reading comprehension class along with a rudimentary statistics class.

[Anonymous]

I was an ocean lifeguard throughout college and grad school. I learned so many skills that helped me in my government role--crisis management, interagency communication (fire, EMT), communicating to the public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Selingo has written extensively about internships being THE most important factor in post-graduation employment. Here is one of the CEO’s he interviewed on the topic of lifeguarding…

“You can’t spend your first couple of summers in college lifeguarding or working as a camp counselor anymore if you have a specific job in mind after graduation,” said Matt Sigelman, the CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, the company that provides real-time labor market data and has studied internship postings. “Those typical summer jobs are not going to position you for work after graduation.”

That single anecdote you cherrypicked doesn't mean that lifeguarding is bad if your other options are not to have a paying job at all. Jeff Selingo writes about the importance of real world work experience, regardless of the field.

Not everyone can find a paying internship in their field. Not in this economy. If OP is so "concerned" she can offer to pay for her niece's expenses so that she can take an unpaid internship like rich kids do.

It’s not cherry picked, you just don’t like what the employment data show. The full article is also posted above, if you are interested in learning more (instead of attacking the messenger). And from the sound of it, OP’s niece isn’t lifeguarding as a default (after unsuccessful attempts in finding an internship). It was a choice that will put her at a competitive disadvantage after graduation.

Yes, it is a cherry picked anecdote, because you haven't shown actual data that shows that having a paid job such as a lifeguard will put the OP's niece at a disadvantage relative to having an "internship" (whatever that may mean, could be paid, unpaid, lifechanging or a waste of time) with respect to being gainfully employed upon graduation.

Feel free to share that data if you have it.

Oh my god what an annoying person. Everyone here is a statistician, but the second you post actual statistics and need nuance everyone is suddenly blind. Let’s say the data shows a statistically significant difference between those who find internships and those who lifeguard. What’s your next point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Comments here about OP are pretty harsh. Yes, having any job is better than sitting at home for 3 months. But lifeguarding (again) at this stage in college will put this student at a disadvantage when she graduates and enters the job market, absent family connections. Internships are an important stepping stone to future employment.

Disagree. Employers know their “internship” is some degree of being hand held at a company and given very basic tasks. They are going to treat the kid with an internship, exactly the same as any other- a new hire with zero experience.

Why are you putting sarcastic quotation marks around internship? Lifeguarding at a neighborhood pool is sacrosanct but every competitive corporate or public sector internship in an office is mock-worthy? You are not a serious person.