16yo DS is working at a summer camp

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lifeguarding

He’s late for this. But if he has his certification, he may be able to get part time work subbing for others.

maybe not - I saw Martin Luther King Pool in Silver Spring is hiring lifeguards.

He's definitely not late. I'm a teacher who has managed pools for 20 years and I can tell you most pool companies would hire him today if he's certified. Most companies run lifeguard training courses all summer because college kids tend to leave by mid August and we need high school aged guards to keep us going through Labor Day weekend. Visit the Red Cross website and use the "Find a Course" search function to locate a training course and get him certified. It's good for two years so even if he doesn't work this summer he will be ready for next spring and won't have to juggle school and long weekends of training for a month.

My DS is interested in lifeguarding next summer when he is 15. He is tiny though. Are there certain height/weight requirements? I'm just trying to picture him hauling an unresponsive adult from the bottom of a pool.

I'm the teacher from previous post. I'm also an American Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor so glad to answer your questions about the requirements. In order to take the course, participants must pass the following pre-requisites before the start of class -

*300m continuous swim (12 lengths of most pools) using either freestyle or breaststroke. The swim is no longer timed so students can take as long as they want but must demonstrate comfort in the water and absolutely cannot stop to rest. They can use goggles for this part of the test.

*2 minute tread - students will be in the deep end and with their hands tucked under their armpits, will tread water for two minutes using only their legs. Students must be able to keep their head above water during these two minutes and cannot use their hands at all.

*10lb brick retrieval - students will swim 20 yards and surface dive down to 7 - 10ft of water to retrieve a 10lb rubber brick from the bottom of the pool. They will push off the bottom with the brick in both hands. Once they surface, they must swim back to the starting point on their backs with the brick in both hands. They may only use their legs to kick back to the starting point. When they return they will place the brick on the pool deck and hop out without using stairs or a ladder. They will have 1min and 40 seconds to complete this part of the test and may not wear goggles.

It has been my experience that if the participants can pass this pre-req test they are usually successful with the rescue skills taught in the course. There are no height/weight requirements and many guards that I train are petite females. The rescue skills all require the use of the red rescue tubes which is why you should see the guards at your pools wearing their tubes strapped across their chests at all times. Once they learn the skills, it's not hard to pull someone up from the bottom of the pool using the tube. Some skills will be easy to learn but yes, those submerged skills and backboarding require a lot of practice to get comfortable with. There is also a good amount of studying and reading required to pass the written tests in the course. A lot of kids who fail the lifeguarding course aren't successful because they don't put in the studying required to get an 80% or higher on the written tests.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lifeguarding

He’s late for this. But if he has his certification, he may be able to get part time work subbing for others.

maybe not - I saw Martin Luther King Pool in Silver Spring is hiring lifeguards.

He's definitely not late. I'm a teacher who has managed pools for 20 years and I can tell you most pool companies would hire him today if he's certified. Most companies run lifeguard training courses all summer because college kids tend to leave by mid August and we need high school aged guards to keep us going through Labor Day weekend. Visit the Red Cross website and use the "Find a Course" search function to locate a training course and get him certified. It's good for two years so even if he doesn't work this summer he will be ready for next spring and won't have to juggle school and long weekends of training for a month.

Agreed. My DD wasn't old enough for a lifeguard training course until August last summer, and after she completed it, the course instructor said anyone over 16 (she wasn't) could immediately apply for a job at the pool. One of her friends did, and got a job.

My DD's working as a lifeguard at a summer pool, and one of the guards has already been dismissed for too much horse play, and another quit because the work ended up being more than she could fit into her schedule. My DD's pool isn't hurting, but they would not be averse to hiring another lifeguard either.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lifeguarding

He’s late for this. But if he has his certification, he may be able to get part time work subbing for others.

maybe not - I saw Martin Luther King Pool in Silver Spring is hiring lifeguards.

He's definitely not late. I'm a teacher who has managed pools for 20 years and I can tell you most pool companies would hire him today if he's certified. Most companies run lifeguard training courses all summer because college kids tend to leave by mid August and we need high school aged guards to keep us going through Labor Day weekend. Visit the Red Cross website and use the "Find a Course" search function to locate a training course and get him certified. It's good for two years so even if he doesn't work this summer he will be ready for next spring and won't have to juggle school and long weekends of training for a month.

My DS is interested in lifeguarding next summer when he is 15. He is tiny though. Are there certain height/weight requirements? I'm just trying to picture him hauling an unresponsive adult from the bottom of a pool.

When I was a lifeguard years ago to get a job with the city you had to "rescue" an adult who was pretending to drown. The guy I had to rescue was 200+ lbs and fought me hard the whole time. It was intense. But a friend here (NOVA) told me the actual class is easy. The water test will vary by the place that hires.

Lifeguards really should be good swimmers. It's a no joke job. But pool guarding is much easier than open water.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son—age 12—started his first 'working job' this summer. He's mowing area lawns for $40 a yard. He's also walking dogs. He's already made over $500.

$40 a YARD? Good for him but that's way expensive.

Really? I charged $25-30 35 years ago.

There are so many lawn service companies now, it brings down the price. We pay $25 a mow, as do many of our neighbors, in McLean with a lawn service company. It's a decent size yard - but not big by McLean standards. I once thought I would try and help out the local teens by hiring one of them to do the yard. He wanted $50.00 and used my mower. I thought it was a little high, but I said OK. After he was finished, his mom emailed me and said it took longer than it should b/c the mower was too small for the yard (now, this is a regular size mower BTW) and the kid wasn't here any longer than maybe 1 hour, 15 minutes (pushing it to say 1 1/2 hours). She thought he deserved more money! I didn't even know what to say - and no I did not give him any more money. After that, I went with a lawn service company and never looked back.

This one must depend on the size of the yard. We pay the mowing company $50 a mow for 1/3 acre. We got a few quotes and this was the cheapest.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lifeguarding

He’s late for this. But if he has his certification, he may be able to get part time work subbing for others.

maybe not - I saw Martin Luther King Pool in Silver Spring is hiring lifeguards.

He's definitely not late. I'm a teacher who has managed pools for 20 years and I can tell you most pool companies would hire him today if he's certified. Most companies run lifeguard training courses all summer because college kids tend to leave by mid August and we need high school aged guards to keep us going through Labor Day weekend. Visit the Red Cross website and use the "Find a Course" search function to locate a training course and get him certified. It's good for two years so even if he doesn't work this summer he will be ready for next spring and won't have to juggle school and long weekends of training for a month.

My DS is interested in lifeguarding next summer when he is 15. He is tiny though. Are there certain height/weight requirements? I'm just trying to picture him hauling an unresponsive adult from the bottom of a pool.

My 16 yo is working at the snack bar at our community pool. He's one of about 50 kids so not many hours. They start hiring at age 14/15. I would have encouraged him to get a job a few summers ago if I had known they hired so young. Apparently, it's not that unusual. The young lady who took our order at District Taco is 15.

+1 for movie theaters. That was my first job (aside from camp counseling, which he is probably too late for) and it was great.

Where do you live? It is not too late. Restaurants are hiring hosts, busser and foodrunners.
Please, just look at craigslist or walk into a restaurant. Don't pick the super fancy ones.
Our host literally just say:" welcome, how many?Inside or outside?" and walk the customers to the table. Next.
Bussers walk around with big tray and clean tables. Barely any training needed. Training is paid ofcourse and they will feed your kid also. Short term ok. We are in Georgetown, just walk in with your ID, wear black and good to go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lifeguarding

He’s late for this. But if he has his certification, he may be able to get part time work subbing for others.

maybe not - I saw Martin Luther King Pool in Silver Spring is hiring lifeguards.

He's definitely not late. I'm a teacher who has managed pools for 20 years and I can tell you most pool companies would hire him today if he's certified. Most companies run lifeguard training courses all summer because college kids tend to leave by mid August and we need high school aged guards to keep us going through Labor Day weekend. Visit the Red Cross website and use the "Find a Course" search function to locate a training course and get him certified. It's good for two years so even if he doesn't work this summer he will be ready for next spring and won't have to juggle school and long weekends of training for a month.

Ditto that! I loved lifeguarding in my teens: sunshine, hanging out in your bathing suit, some authority (no running! Off the ropes!), getting a tan and good hours that don’t conflict with your social calendar.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lifeguarding

He’s late for this. But if he has his certification, he may be able to get part time work subbing for others.

maybe not - I saw Martin Luther King Pool in Silver Spring is hiring lifeguards.

He's definitely not late. I'm a teacher who has managed pools for 20 years and I can tell you most pool companies would hire him today if he's certified. Most companies run lifeguard training courses all summer because college kids tend to leave by mid August and we need high school aged guards to keep us going through Labor Day weekend. Visit the Red Cross website and use the "Find a Course" search function to locate a training course and get him certified. It's good for two years so even if he doesn't work this summer he will be ready for next spring and won't have to juggle school and long weekends of training for a month.

Giant will hire some students as baggers. Depends on the state however. (law)

Fast food, if he has brain he can parlay into some decent college cash.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son—age 12—started his first 'working job' this summer. He's mowing area lawns for $40 a yard. He's also walking dogs. He's already made over $500.

$40 a YARD? Good for him but that's way expensive.

Really? I charged $25-30 35 years ago.

There are so many lawn service companies now, it brings down the price. We pay $25 a mow, as do many of our neighbors, in McLean with a lawn service company. It's a decent size yard - but not big by McLean standards. I once thought I would try and help out the local teens by hiring one of them to do the yard. He wanted $50.00 and used my mower. I thought it was a little high, but I said OK. After he was finished, his mom emailed me and said it took longer than it should b/c the mower was too small for the yard (now, this is a regular size mower BTW) and the kid wasn't here any longer than maybe 1 hour, 15 minutes (pushing it to say 1 1/2 hours). She thought he deserved more money! I didn't even know what to say - and no I did not give him any more money. After that, I went with a lawn service company and never looked back.

Mowing lawns--if there's already another neighborhood teen who has a monopoly, maybe ask that teen if he needs a helper?

pet sitting/house sitting while neighbors are on vacation

movie theaters

Non job ideas: volunteering. I don't know where you live, but near me there is a local farm that gives donations to food banks that needs volunteers