lifeguard

pool manager

head lifeguard

aquatics manager

pool attendant

American Pool Enterprises Inc.

1. A typical day of work first consists of dealing with any pool issues or emergencies and prioritizing those issues. For example if a pool filter was leaking overnight and the property manager is complaining the water level is too low, then responding to and dealing with that issue first. Then planning out my day by prioritizing which fourteen pools I need to oversee that day.

2. I have learned the value of leading by example. As a supervisor when there are tasks that lifeguards need to complete one of the best ways to gain the respect of the staff is to work with them and show them how to practically complete those tasks. I have learned that to simply delegate a task is not the always the most effective way to lead. The balance of being friendly with follow through with those I supervise is a good method to manage.

3. The management overall is understanding, attentive, and hands on. If there is a situation that requires immediate attention regional managers were always very responsive and would help us walk through the situation. Management often provides specific feedback without being condescending.

4. Co-workers are cooperative, helpful, and hard working. If I need assistance with an issue that I’m not able to presently solve because I’m lifeguarding at one of my pools there is always someone who can help me by taking a leaf vacuum to one of my pools. Some of my co-workers were international lifeguards and I learned how to engage and interact with them according to their culture.

5. The hardest part of the job is being a team player because I would get pulled from my area to go and work in another area many miles away from the fourteen pools I was responsible. Therefore, realizing that not everything during the course of the day is going to occur according to plan. There are times when lifeguards call out of work or arrive late and as a supervisor I need to act immediately to insure the pool opening on time. Being able to deal with change by quickly adapting is a major part of the job.

6. The most enjoyable part of the job is the autonomy to plan my day, prioritize issues as they occur, and problem solve. American pool has been a great company to work for as I have been employed with American pool for over six years.

During my time as a lifeguard I was subject to long days in the heat with no shade and no breaks. They send you to the most disgusting pools and you are stuck there all day by yourself. God forbid you ever get sick, you are made to feel like a jerk for not going to sit in the sun for 10 hours with no breaks while you are throwing up. They even had the president of the company call me and tell me I cant be sick and I needed to go to work. I would call them all the time and tell them that the pool had no chlorine or the ph wasn't right and they would always say someone would be out, but no one came for days and they told me not to close the pool, even when it was cloudy. When the manager actually did show up to the pool, he doesn't even say hello unless he wants to hit on you and make you feel uncomfortable. Sometimes he would come with this tall blonde fat guy (his father, or boyfriend maybe?) and they would make corny jokes and distract me. The other manager looks like he belongs in an episode of the jersey shore, he was better than the other guy, but he had no clue what he was doing and never fixed any problems with the pool. You could not even enjoy 1 day a week off in peace without them calling you and attempting to bribe you to go and work like an hour from your house on your only day off, they even offered to have someone come to my house and drive me there. If you didn't do it, they would have different people call you all day long. I submitted a vacation request when I was hired, they called me every day of my vacation to ask me to work even though they knew I was away with my family. They hired me and everyone else I know who worked there as close to minimum wage as possible, when I finally saw a raise it was for .10 cents an hour! Not that it mattered because my paycheck was never right anyway. When they hired me, they explained this bonus that you get at the end of season, I saw no bonus, neither did any of my friends who worked there. This company was awful, I would never work for them again and I wouldn't suggest anyone else work there either. The only plus side I can think of to this company is that they will hire anyone who applies, they will train you, and there is never a shortage of work because even on your days off they will harass you to work and apparently if you don't drive they have people who will drive you to work.

Where do I even begin? Worst job I've ever had. I worked 30-40 hours a week for this company. My hours consisted of 11:30 - 8:00, 10:30 - 7/8, and 12:00 - 8:00. Your whole day is gone working for them so on my three days off was the only time I had time to get anything done for school and internships. Usually the night before or the day 3-4 people would text me and ask if I could work everyday I had off. If you didn't answer right away, even when I was working another person would text me. They text and ask me to work at different pools all the time and switch where I was originally working. I've had to drive 40 minutes for a $10.50 an hour job… 
I've been stuck at the pools in extreme thunder and lightning storms and texted asking to leave an hour early because I almost got hit with an umbrella and no one was there and they ignore your texts. If you ask to switch any days they ignore those texts also even though it says you can ask 2 days in advance to switch. The whole reason I took this job was because they said they would work around my schedule. You literally have to beg to get days off and even so they won't give you off because they are so understaffed. They do not care about their workers at all and would try to work you 7 days a week if they could. I worked every Saturday of the summer and they would never give me a full weekend off my entire summer vacation. 
Not only that but I've been working in 105 degree heat and I can't even swim in the pools because the chemicals in the pool are so bad it is unswimmable. The one pool I worked at was green and brown and I spend 2 1/2 hours working in the heat vacuuming it because the guards the worked there before me did nothing. They had to close the pool the text day because it was so bad. Almost all of the pools I work at I won't even touch the water because it is so gross. 
They also make you take your half an hour break even though they have to know we don't take a break because we aren't going to kick everyone out of the pool to take a break. So even though I'm working that half an hour I haven't been getting payed for it all summer.

I have been working with American Pools for 5 years now as a lifeguard. I have experienced the best and the worst with this company. This job is a great job for high school kids and college kids who are only available to work in the summers. The hours are long (pools usually open around 10:30 or 11:30 and close at 7 or 8) and the weather can be brutal. When I first started lifeguarding 5 years ago, the management would schedule me at many different pools wherever they needed coverage. Now, I have a main pool that I work at 4 days a week, although they will ask me to switch pools sometimes. ASK FOR GAS MONEY!! If they are scheduling you more than 30-40 minutes away from your house, they will 100% provide you gas money for your travels. Some pools are busier than others, if you work at a pool that is slow then you will have an easy and boring day (bring a book and watch Netflix), if you have a busy pool then you will have a more stressful day of constantly scanning the pool and enforcing rules. CLEAN THE POOL EVERY DAY, vacuum one day a week at minimum, but brush and skim the pool every day! The major complain you will get from residents is that the pool is dirty, and trust me if you clean the pool (even the bare minimum) they will love you and request you back every year. Supervisors are a hit or miss. Some years my pools supervisor is great and on top of everything, other years the supervisors could care less and I would rarely see them. If you don't like the pool you are assigned to, contact the office and they most likely can relocate you. The office/management can be somewhat unorganized, but they really try their best and I honestly feel bad for them due to all the lifeguards and pools they are trying to manage. Bring sunscreen, a hat, enough water, and food, jump in the pool when its too hot, check chemicals and clean the pool every day, be nice to residents and health inspectors, bring something to keep you occupied while your pool is slow and you will be fine. In my experience, I have enjoyed working as a Lifeguard at American Pool and will miss it when I leave.

- Typical day at work : Making/answering phone calls, handling employees calling out/quitting, scheduling employees for shifts, scheduling interviews, misc. resolving employee conflicts, and going to recruitment events (fall/winter/spring).
- Workplace Culture : This company has a lot of growing to do in regards to how they treat their employees. I've witnessed staffers yelling at their employees and treating them with such disrespect. I was deceived when I took this job about their expectations for work hours. They told me normal 8-5 business hours and some weekend shifts, which I was okay with. But, they did not tell me that I am to essentially respond to all issues  as it pertains to me at all times. Over the past summer season, there was a time when people actually slept at the office because of the amount of work that needed to be done since management only cares about the work you do and not you. Work life balance is non-existent. The stress of coming into work every day with their pressures of finding employees to staff a facility when there are little to no employees available to work the shift(s). Call-outs and people quitting / displaying inappropriate company behavior are a commonplace. When I asked questions about my role in the company and how to properly handle situations in accordance with company policies, other team members were communicative about what they were. 
-The Most Enjoyable Part of the Job : Being able to build employee relationships on my own and provide the quality customer service employees needed. Going out to recruiter events was fun since it was out of the office and you get to meet new people and potential hires.
- Save yourself the time, money and trouble by looking for other BETTER companies who respect their employees to work for.

Beware as a teen lifeguard. Right off the bat, payment level and quality is inconsistent, the number on the contract is higher than your initial payment as a teen, sometimes even if you're at their supposed age margin. Scheduling seems helpful at first, with most of the summer preset, but quickly fails. The website went down for a month and a half, leaving only the scheduling managers as options for requesting time off. This management will frequently badger guards for more shifts, be difficult or unresponsive when scheduling time off, and refuse many requests even when made completely in line with outlined parameters. You can ask for time off for 1 day a month in advance and get turned down, which is not the image they present. Shortstaffing makes everything worse. The company will do everything to retain employees short of actually paying them more and when it loses too many it will shortstaff individual pools, leaving the remaining guards to work longer hours with less breaks and (somehow) less pay. The details of the work change day to day as well. Random stipulations in training contracts get brought up months in and will make life just that little bit harder out of no where. Managers will straight up remove guards and add positions to pools on a whim if patrons complain that they think too many guards get break, demonstrating that they care less about employee wellbeing than the uneducated complaints of a couple guests. Pay raises are sneaky and usually done by manipulating guards into taking extra shifts in lieu of the actual bonuses and raises promised in the initial details.

I worked as a lifeguard after getting certified and it was honestly a really nice summer job. If I was still certified, I would work here again,. A typical day of work comprised of going to the location you were assigned to, unlocking the pool, vacuuming the pool, getting the pool deck set up, signing the residents in a log-book, monitoring pool chemicals, communicating with residents, monitoring the pool deck and pool. There wasn't much opportunity for learning, you just did the same job every day, did what a lifeguard is supposed to do. Barely saw management since I was in a location off-site from management, a pool manager or a inspector would pop in every once in awhile to check on the pool chemicals and to inspect the pool, but otherwise saw them a few times the whole summer. Hardest part of the job was honestly the heat of the summer being outside, bring water with you, stay hydrated, take a few snacks with you. There lots to enjoy about this job, the residents are generally nice, its nice being outside and interacting with people, it was a fun summer job. Although when you are a singular lifeguard, you have a 30-minute break, but its really difficult to take that break if you're by yourself cause its really hard to close the pool deck while you have 20-etc. amount people at once during an 8 hour break, you would have to kick everybody off the pool deck if you want to take a break and leave for your 30mins, bring lunch/snacks and LOTS of water! You have to tell people to get out of the pool when you run to the bathroom for a bathroom break of course. 

As a teen who has worked for American pools Nanuet for 3 years I can say this was the worst experience ever.  Since I am a teen my direct manager does not return calls, emails or any communications.  They have lost my certifications every year even though I do them in their sessions.  For three years I was I had to keep Memorial Day open to work and I turned down other opportunities only to have manager take me off the schedule and not tell me, only finding out when I show up for work. I have been trying to speak with mgmt at the Nanuet office for three weeks and not once has anyone returned a call or email. The mentality at the office is like a frat house, with young managers more concerned with hanging out and partying than their employees. Due to the unresponsiveness of the staff I paid to be trained outside of their organization and was hired immediately by another lifeguard provider. I tried to tell American pool in person in their office and also via telephone but not one manager could be bothered to speak with me. I Even tried upper mgmt and received the Same lackadaisical attitude of no response. The company doesn’t care about its teen employees and will take advantage of a young employee at every opportunity. When I did work for them I handed in multiple employee tax forms and never once did they process the forms and never took taxes out. Like I said teen = non person at American pools. Horrible horrible place to work

You don't want to work for APM in the Philly area. You will be overworked and underpaid. I think they start you at a lousy $8 an hour. Barely minimum wage. Building managers are usually unpleasant and show no respect to the lifeguards. Also if you are at a small pool you have to work there all day by yourself! You get no breaks and have to be there for 9.5 hours. Time slows to a crawl.
Also the management in Montgomeryville couldn't care less, and you can here them laughing in the background when they assign you to a pool. If you step out for a bite to eat and they find out about it, they will dock your pay. You have to stay there all day and order in food. Request a larger two guard pool, at least you will get some breaks and not starve. Management couldn't care less about this. Also they get these immigrants, probably undocumented workers, to work at their pools because they can't get any students to work for such low wages. Someone should file a complaint to the proper authorities, because they are in violation of labor laws by not allowing a break during the day. If you are foreign and can't speak English than this might be the job for you. If you are a college student with half a brain, look elsewhere. The money is not worth you time. Management couldn't care less if you starve and get heat exhaustion/stroke from being outside all day long by yourself! Someone should file a class action lawsuit against them.


Overall, the pay is decent if you have experience—around $15–$16.50 an hour. If you're just starting, expect closer to $14 an hour. Not bad for a seasonal job, but that’s where the positives mostly end. Management was a major issue. The staffing manager was fired within the first few weeks of the season after messing up countless employee schedules. I was scheduled to work over 60 hours a week and spent weeks trying to contact someone to fix it. Communication is extremely poor. Scheduling is a nightmare. Instead of posting schedules biweekly, they assign your shifts for the entire summer, and if you need time off, you have to text one person who’s in charge of hundreds of guards. Getting a response takes forever, and may never come. Shifts lack variety—most are 11 AM to 8 PM with little flexibility, making it hard to have any sort of social life. Expect to sit in the heat at an empty pool for hours. Most residents don’t show up until later in the day. If you’re assigned to a less desirable neighborhood, you might never see your supervisor. Leadership rarely checks in, and there’s no real support throughout the day. Management doesn't seem to care about employees. They’ll call you in on your day off constantly. The company is poorly run, and I’ve seen a huge number of lifeguards quit this season. IIf you’re desperate for summer work, this might be an option, but be ready for poor management, bad scheduling, no work-life balance, and minimal support. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it, and that's why I left. 




Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Lifeguard 1324 salaries reported	$17.67 per hour
Pool manager 3 salaries reported	$20.67 per hour
Head lifeguard 2 salaries reported	$16.50 per hour
Aquatics manager 55 salaries reported	$750 per week
Pool attendant 7 salaries reported	$17.01 per hour

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