OC Lifeguards making $200k

L.A. County Lifeguard
Photo by David McErlean

Want to make over six figures a year hanging out at the beach? Some Southern California Lifeguards have found a way to do just that.

More than half of Newport Beach full-time lifeguards earn more than $100 thousands and retire with 90 percent of their salary after 30 years of service. Newport Beach lifeguards aren't the only ones bringing in the big bucks.

The Orange County Register reports that Los Angels County and other Orange County cities have similar pay scales for their lifeguards.

"In 2009, at least 55 L.A. County lifeguards earned more than $100,000 in pay, excluding benefits, according to the state Controller's Office web-bases database on public employee pay. Twenty-eight "Ocean Lifeguard Specialists" were paid more than $100,000 in wages alone, as were 25 lifeguard captains. A lifeguard chief was paid $195,035 - again, not counting benefits," reported Brian Calle with the OC Register.

The lifeguard salaries and pensions are to big for some counties to pay out. To beat down the long term cost of beach safety, Orange County has outsourced lifeguards to patrol their beaches. The private lifeguard company US Ocean Safety is a private lifeguard department for hire.

Lifeguard responds on beach goers caught in rip current
Photo by David McErlean

"The county of Orange hires a private company to provide lifeguards at its beaches, including larger locations, such as Salt Creek Beach, Aliso Beach and Capistrano Beach, and smaller beaches, like Table Rock in Laguna Beach. At the very least, outsourcing gets taxpayers off the hook for lifeguard pensions, which even Newport Beach City Manager David Kiff called "unsustainable," Calle reported.
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These high salaries might seem like gross over payment for lifeguards, but think about what lifeguards do. Beach crowds are getting bigger every year with the ratio of ocean people going down. This means that lifeguards have to save more people from drowning every year.

In summer 2010, Lifeguards across the United States watched over 308 million beach goers. Of those they rescued 56 thousand of them. They also talked to 5.5 million people before they got into a situation that needed rescue, according to United States Lifesaving Association Stat Book.

To add to their duty, lifeguards made over 4 thousand boat rescues involving over 10 thousand people, made 325 thousand medical aids, 1 million law enforcement actions and found 12 thousand missing kids.

California Lifeguard rescues girl out of rip current
Photo by David McErlean

Lifeguards helped a total of 8,372,170 people in summer of 2010. With over 8 million people saved, only 25 people died in guarded waters throughout the United States.

So ask yourself, are those 8 million lives worth the extra money?