My friends who were lifeguards received pretty thorough training, I think.<p>The certificate takes 6 months of study and includes a full first aid education, as well as water-specific first aid, what does drowning look like, how to swim against a rip tide, how to tow someone who is either dead weight or thrashing or larger than yourself. They have to be able to swim 1 km with a time limit. They have frequent training drills and go for refresher courses every year or two. And the pay is quite a bit better than normal kid jobs pay. Think 10-12 per hour for a grocery store or fast food job, and 17-19 per hour for lifeguarding.<p>I only know two or three friends who have done it, but they are fairly impressive people, to me. I can&#x27;t speak for all lifeguards of course, but I always felt pretty happy with the supervision of my 17 year old friend Michelle, for example, when the 6 kids in my care at summer camp were splashing in the lake.