In order to work for the County Parks, you must be at least 16 years old before the summer starts and a resident of Milwaukee County.You will be expected to complete two classes. The first class is an in-water training course. This FREE course teaches you all the skills needed to pass the Civil Service examination that takes place at the end of the session. After you pass the Civil Service examination, you will be expected to complete First Responder training. There is a $165.00 cost associated with this course, but you will be paid for 40 hours for attending this course if you complete the summer with the Milwaukee County Parks.
What if I have Red Cross certification?
We are now accepting Red Cross certification in place of taking our in-water training class.Please CLICK HERE for more information about this. You will still be expected to take the First Responder course, though, since First Responder training goes above and beyond the first aid training offered by the Red Cross. Please contact the Aquatics Office at 257-8098 or [email protected] to submit your certification and sign up for First Responder traning.
How much do you pay lifeguards?
First year lifeguards will make $9.86 an hour in 2009, with pay raises awarded for each consecutive summer you work. There is also an increase in pay available if you hold current certification in either Water Safety Instructor (WSI) or CPR Instuctor. CLICK HERE for a current list of lifeguard pay rates.
Do I get to pick where I work? Where will I work?
All lifeguards are given a choice of 5 locations that they would be interested in working at and 5 places where they would not like to work at. You will be assigned to one pool location that you will work at for the entire summer.
Assignments are given out based on seniority and performance on the skills tests. In addition, the top 10 scoring lifeguards (on the in-water skills test) out of all the first-year lifeguard training classes will be given their first choice. All efforts are made to give lifeguards one of their 5 choices, but we cannot make guarantees based on the fact that some locations are more popular than others. The following is a list of locations that will be staffed in 2009:
Bradford Beach - 2400 N. Lincoln Memorial Dr.
Cool Waters (Greenfield Park) - 2028 S. 124th St.
Hales Corners Pool - 5765 S. New Berlin Rd. (Hales Corners)
Holler Pool - 5151 S. 6th St.
Jackson Pool - 3500 W. Forest Home Ave.
Pelican Cove (Kosciuszko Park) - 2201 S. 7th St.
Schulz Aquatic Center (Linclon Park) - 1300 W. Glendale Ave.
McCarty Pool - 2567 S. 79th St. (West Allis)
Noyes Indoor Pool - 8235 W. Good Hope Rd.
Grobschmidt Pool - 2500 15th Ave. (South Milwaukee)
Pulaski Indoor Pool - 2701 S. 16th St.
Sheridan Pool - 4800 S. Lake Dr. (Cudahy)
Washington Pool - 1859 N. 40th St.
Wilson Pool - 4001 S. 20th St.
How many hours will I be scheduled each day/week?
Due to the fact that our work schedule is related to the weather, we cannot guarantee a set amount of hours each day/week unless you are assigned to one of the indoor pools. A typical work schedule at the outdoor pool consists of 7-8 hour shifts over the course of 5-6 days a week. When weather conditions are out of the ordinary, you may be expected to work more or less hours. Also be aware that the hours and shifts at Cool Waters and the Schulz Center may be somewhat different due to the different schedule that they follow.
The tentative 2009 hours for open swimming are from 12:00-4:30pm and 5:30-7:30pm. Cool Waters and the Schulz Center will have different hours.
Do I have to work the whole summer?
When you accept a position as a lifeguard, you are accpeting a position for the whole summer. This means you are expeced to work until Labor Day. Exceptions to this rule are made for those who participate in high school sports, those who attend college out of state, and those who start school before Labor Day. You will be excused from your position for the remainder of the summer if you are able to show proof of fitting into one of the exceptions.
If you do not work the entire summer, you will not be eligible to receive certification cards from Milwaukee County. You will also not be paid for the training hours you completed earlier in the summer.