The Highest-Paid Lifeguard in L.A. Makes Over $500,000

[Demovictory9]

The Highest-Paid Lifeguard in L.A. Makes Over $500,000
Watching the beach while occasionally saving lives is a surprisingly lucrative industry in Los Angeles

Top-earning lifeguard Daniel Douglas was the top paid and earned $510,283—a healthy increase from his 2020 salary of $442,712. His title a a “lifeguard captain” has him earning more than your average lifeguard—and yes, L.A. lifeguards get benefits and OT.

The second highest paid, lifeguard chief Fernando Boiteux, made $463,517—an increase from $393,137 in 2020.

The auditors at OpenTheBooks.com found:

-98 L.A. lifeguards earned at least $200,000 including benefits last year,
-20 L.A. lifeguards made between $300,000 and $510,283 (but only two were women).
-37 lifeguards made between $50,000 and $247,000 in overtime alone.
Also, working at the beach pays way more than working at the pool, with a pool lifeguard earning a little over $45,000.

https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/the-highest-paid-lifeguard-in-l-a-makes-over-500000/

A nonprofit watchdog site Open The Books put "Baywatch on pay watch" (their words, not ours) by filing a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain data that listed Los Angeles County's highest-paid lifeguards. In the site's report, the county's lifeguard captain made $510,283 in 2021, the highest paid in the area, with nearly $250,000 coming from overtime pay.


The second highest-paid, the county's lifeguard chief, made $463,517 in 2021, Open the Books reports. Of the $463,517 in total earnings, the lifeguard chief made $0 in overtime but made more than $142,000 in benefits and more than $78,000 in other pay, the report reads.

The lifeguard chief made $391,971 in 2019 back when he was the county's acting chief lifeguard, which made him the highest-paid lifeguard in LA County at the time. The lifeguard captain earned $368,668 in 2019, which was the second highest-paid salary in the county at the time.

The report also reveals more than 90 lifeguards in LA County earned at least $200,000 and 20 lifeguards made between $300,000 and $510,283. The report also adds that 37 lifeguards made between $50,000 and $247,000 in just overtime

https://www.ktvu.com/news/la-lifeguards-500000-salary-2021

[underpants]

1. Well yeah, lots of overtime when you run in slow motion

[Initech]

5. You don't hassle the Hoff, man!

[greenjar_01]

6. ROFL

[underpants]

7. 👍

[MichMan]

2. If minimum wage was raised to $200 per hour everyone could earn that kind of money

[Johnny2X2X]

3. Good for them!

It's a high pressure job that saves lives. They should be earning good livings. Now let's get teachers' salaries doubled.

[MichMan]

8. If lifeguards are worth $500k, surely teachers, police and fire are worth $1 million?

[Demovictory9]

9. Librarians worth 2 million then

[Mysterian]

4. Those are ridiculous salaries

Why don't the taxpayers revolt?

[Demovictory9]

10. Dont know until these articles posted

[MichMan]

11. Those who managed the departments, processed the payrolls & issued the checks sure knew

[Leith]

12. They save people's lives

and they put a lot of training, strength, and effort into it. Imagine trying to save a person who is drowning: s/he can't breath air, there's nothing except the lifeguard to hang on to so the person grabs and hangs on hard which impedes the rescue effort. The lifeguard has to be vigilant and see things from a long distance that even those close to the victim miss.

Lifeguards earn every penny and they deserve respect and good compensation.

No, I have never been saved from drowning, nor do I know anyone who was. I must have read this somewhere and it stuck in my brain.