Lifeguards are about average in terms of happiness.
At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, lifeguards rate their career happiness 3.2 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 49% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy lifeguards are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:
Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers
| Career | Satisfaction | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Firefighter | 3.8 | $29k |
| Tour guide | 3.6 | $24k |
| Recreation worker | 3.4 | $13k |
| Lifeguard | 3.2 | $2k |
| Funeral director | 3.2 | $31k |
| Fire inspector | 3.0 | $62k |
| Ambulance dispatcher | 2.9 | $40k |
| Probation officer | 2.9 | $39k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are lifeguards happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do lifeguards find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as lifeguards?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are lifeguard’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are lifeguards making the best use of their abilities?
Are lifeguards happy with their salary?
Lifeguards rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.1/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most lifeguards having generally positive views of their salary.
We asked lifeguards how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.1 out of 5 stars
2941 lifeguards
13% of lifeguards rated their compensation 5 stars
27% of lifeguards rated their compensation 4 stars
26% of lifeguards rated their compensation 3 stars
21% of lifeguards rated their compensation 2 stars
13% of lifeguards rated their compensation 1 stars
Do lifeguards find their jobs meaningful?
On average, lifeguards rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.8/5. While most lifeguards aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked lifeguards how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.8 out of 5 stars
2939 lifeguards
12% of lifeguards rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
18% of lifeguards rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
25% of lifeguards rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
24% of lifeguards rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
21% of lifeguards rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as lifeguards?
Lifeguards rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.9/5. The majority of lifeguards find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked lifeguards how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.9 out of 5 stars
3178 lifeguards
34% of lifeguards rated their career fit 5 stars
38% of lifeguards rated their career fit 4 stars
18% of lifeguards rated their career fit 3 stars
7% of lifeguards rated their career fit 2 stars
3% of lifeguards rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a lifeguard’s work environment?
As a whole, lifeguards rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.7/5. A solid majority of lifeguards enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a lifeguard.
We asked lifeguards how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.7 out of 5 stars
3175 lifeguards
27% of lifeguards rated their work environment 5 stars
35% of lifeguards rated their work environment 4 stars
23% of lifeguards rated their work environment 3 stars
11% of lifeguards rated their work environment 2 stars
4% of lifeguards rated their work environment 1 stars
Are lifeguards making the best use of their abilities?
Former lifeguards on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.8/5. Lifeguards tend to feel that they don’t manage to use their abilities to their fullest, when compared to other careers.
We asked lifeguards how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
2.8 out of 5 stars
3186 lifeguards
13% of lifeguards rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
18% of lifeguards rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
22% of lifeguards rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
26% of lifeguards rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
20% of lifeguards rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars