swim instructor

front desk agent

guest service agent

aquatics manager

general manager

Aqua-Tots Swim Schools

Like most franchises, of course dependent on ownership/ownership group. 

In my  experience, where I worked  is taking a concerning turn. There are also no clear expectations, or training.  Interestingly, this is not a lack of putting out new expectations and trainings for their managers, and more to do with the fact that they’ll give you an expectation or priority, then change it. In addition, they will not offer you as much support as you may go in expecting, if you are newer at management. Be advised that to step into managing with Aqua Tots, you’ll likely need a certain level of prior experience to stay afloat.

They are also very willing to remove support for in-school leadership, while never changing pay scale, while also deciding to double down on accountability. This is causing significant strain not only for managers of any sort (Aquatic or General) but is also trickling down to cause strain for teammates, families, and the facilities themselves. It can make it hard to believe in the value of “Relationships over Profit”, when you feel you are watching corners be cut to promote revenue, and typically at teammates expense. 

Another important item to note, if you intend on managing with this company, is the lack of work life balance. To elaborate, this isn’t just concerning teammates constantly reaching out to leadership, but in fact those above you reaching out during your time and days off. They will then brush you off, if this concern is raised. Your burnout is NOT the concern of upper management. 



TL;DR: The model presented by Aqua Tots breeds turnover on all levels of employment aside from the owner/owners themselves. You may find yourself feeling as if you don’t have clear expectations or the in depth training required for some of your job duties. However, you will also receive lots of important experience if you choose to learn and teach yourself day to day. 

Part time teammates looking to work within this company- ask VERY direct questions concerning your benefits and pay. Do not take them at face value if they offer you full time. This is not a job worth working full time hourly for.


For managers- this can be an incredible learning opportunity, but know that that will likely be the extent of it. While every job considers their employees expendable on some level, Aqua-Tots operates off of that mindset and runs its business accordingly. I have watched countless managers get fired, coached out, or pushed to a breaking point past being able to work. Understand that you will not be successful in determining if this is the job for you by listening to the words of your upper management/owner, but rather by watching their actions. Do not let them talk you out of your intuition. 

The skills you learn when working with kids, especially in the water, is something you’ll take with you for the rest of your life, but the company itself is not run well. Most people working here are teenagers or young adults, so the work environment can be fun during in-services or after hours during cleanup, but the work environment can be very toxic at times and the people who work there, including higher ups can be very petty and unwilling to communicate.

 I would recommend this job as a first time job for only a summer, but if you’re a swim coach/lifeguard looking for another job, I wouldn’t recommend it. Advancing is very difficult to do as there isn’t many options to advance in. 

I have some great memories working here and I’ve had a lot of laughs, but when it’s time to get serious, most people are unwilling and don’t treat this as a job. My favorite thing about this job was the kids, they were full of life and most were always excited to learn.

In my personal experience, communication was a rough point, with coworkers and managers often ignoring texts, intentionally or not. Often times coworkers and managers would open messages but never respond to them. This may not apply to every aqua-tots, but it was still a problem nonetheless. Often times gossip would be a huge issue, even managers joining in and gossiping about their employees to other employees.

As this was my first job and I was young when I started with little experience with children, it was very difficult at times. Oftentimes I worked with a class that had multiple children who had behavioral issues and if no managers were available to assist, we were left on our own in the water with them, resulting in a rough class that was spent trying to calm the kids down, rather than teach them to swim. I personally believe that could be very dangerous, as at times kids, who couldn’t swim, would jump out into the water and would need to be brought back to the bench where they could touch. There were times when I had to teach a class while holding a child either in my arms or on my back while they were screaming and clawing at me. As swim instructors, we couldn’t refuse to teach a kid, even if we felt we could not handle the child. I always felt that could lead to some dangerous situations where I felt I or another coworker would be unable to handle a child and something could happen to us, the child or even another child in the water. 

Take this review with a grain of salt, as this is my own personal experience with this aqua-tots, at a specific location, with specific coworkers, managers and children. 

I would say that working at Aqua Tots was an okay experience. At the beginning, I was excited to work as a front desk employee, but after a few months, I realized how much I was taken advantage of. I would work around 6 hours every shift with no breaks whatsoever. The entirety of this job surrounds working on a computer, making and receiving phone calls, and dealing with angry parents who are complaining about the company. This job is basically equivalent to one of a sales representative as the majority of the time you are making phone calls trying to get people to sign up for these overpriced swim classes. The management at the Costa Mesa location is not very helpful or good leaders. The mangers would constantly get distracted during your shift and would not be able to help you if you needed assistance. The managers leave early from all of their shifts and expect teenagers to close and lock up. Certain days, no managers show up at all. This leaves the work environment very chaotic with no leadership. Many times parents would come in angry wanting to speak with a manger, and no manager would be around to help them out. So, a normal front desk employee would have to deal with problems that are normally taken care of by a manager/owner. Besides the managers, I would say the workplace culture is okay as I liked the people I worked with. This job is very demanding and after a year of working there, I was barely making more than minimum wage. For the hard work put into making sales and dealing with angry parents, front desk employees do not get the compensation they deserve and rarely get raises. I would say the most enjoyable part of the job is seeing the kids everyday. When I worked in the water, I loved seeing the kids progress. However, the WSI position is also very demanding as you are forced to teach kids in a highly chlorinated pool with one 5 minute break in one 6 hour shift. The scheduling is different at this job as a person picks which days they work and those are their ongoing shifts forever. It is very hard for a person to change their schedule around as they will need to find a person to take over that shift forever. It is also very hard to call out fo a shift because managers expect you to find your own cover no matter what. Even if it is an emergency, you will need to find cover. The turnover here is very high as many people realized how undervalued they are, so this location is very understaffed. Because of this, it is almost impossible to find cover for a day off. Sometimes, employees get mad when you ask them for cover, so it makes it even more difficult to find someone to cover one of your shifts.  Overall, working at aqua tots is very mentally draining and I would not recommend it unless you are a very driven and hardworking person who is ready for a pay cut. 

I have worked in the food industry a majority of my work life, and I can easily say that this swim instructor job was the worst position that I have ever had, and that is saying a lot if you have also worked in the food industry. First off, they make it seem like the pay is so generous, but when you get to the nitty-gritty of your responsibilities, it is beyond under payment, especially for California residents, and they know it. They said this company is like “family” and we will learn that very soon during my first day of training. I should’ve taken that as the number one biggest red flag, because when any company says that, you know you’re in for a whirlwind of problems and feats. And I most definitely was. When training first starts, that is the max amount of hours you will probably ever get your entire employment there, meaning the highest paycheck. this is only about 19 hours your first week and 17 your next, so on. You do get paid every week, which was one nice thing. However, on my first day of co-teaching, they fired me. They explained to me that it was because of chronic tardiness, but they gave me zero contact information as to who to call or message when I was expecting to be late, whether that be because of traffic, personal issues, etc. They also have zero grace period for those with disabilities and/or other issues, which is completely mind-boggling in my eyes, considering the kind of job we were expected to do. If I am expected to come into my shift 30 minutes early, which is unpaid time out of my day, when there are other things going on in life (other jobs, school, family). I feel it is super important to have been told that prior to training, not just automatically expected. It feels as though this entire company, management and HR specifically,  puts on a façade for their employees. And in hind sight, that is not the most professional way to go about things, it is actually decently petty and unethical. Also, bringing me to the pool chemical room to fire me was really disrespectful.  I now am having to find a new way to support myself,  after I was given a false promise about a job I was super excited and happy to start. Just know that if you’re planning or wanting to work for this company, more so this Rancho location, you will be told a lot of things that are not necessarily true expected to do a lot more than what you’re paid for. Management and HR also act incredibly nice at first, then their real colors start to show during co teaching.  Just watch out, future employees, for your own sake!

For a water safety instructor, you start your shift 10 mins before your 1st class which is just about enough time for you to do a cleaning task & go over your class notes with your supervisors. Each class is 27 minutes with 1-4 students. Class starts with 2 mins of engagement then goes right into about 12 skills with 3 progressions per skill & different variations of progressions (up to 6/7 progressions per some skills). Each student has a specific progression for specific skills so you have to be very mindful of which individual is learning what & how specifically. The class ends at 26 minutes & there's 1 minute of play before exiting the pool. You're then left with ~2-3 minutes to give feedback (1 pro + 1 thing to work on) to each parent for every student before running back to start your next class at the next 30min mark. You have a 10 minute break about halfway through your shift which is often used for extra work time because your shift ends 10 minutes after your last class. The last 10 minutes are to update everyone's progress cards & do another cleaning task. Supervisors are always willing to jump into your classes to help with timing, progressing kiddos or giving feedback on safety or curriculum. Post shift, they offer showers with shampoo, conditioner & body wash as well as changing rooms. Culture wise, everyone is happy to answer questions just don't ask for help cleaning or anything more than the bare minimum because younger coworkers often don't care to help. Recently, they started a "Culture Committee" to help everyone work better as a team & it's mostly just a way to get you to talk to your coworkers more. They will set a company goal for you if they feel like you don't interact with your coworkers or ask for help enough. The hardest part overall is just working with crying kids, kids who don't respect safety boundaries & the parents that set them up to fail. The best part is definitely the staff room that comes with extra snacks & pick-me-ups & helpful supervisors/ management. Overall, the job is easy after training but expect to adopt a "just do it yourself" attitude & don't expect to be rewarded for doing your job if you aren't a favorite. 

When I started at tots it was a great environment especially given how short staffed we all were. Training was pretty non existent but learning on the job was fine given my background previously. 

Fast forward to present where changes are made without communication, accountability is an all time low and you aren’t even sure what you are working on is a priority because the second one thing is labeled top priority then next is thrown at you with no time to complete. SOPs are rarely accurate and not updated.

Brushing off the needs of the leaders and teammates for the sake of making profit is unfortunate given the HQ value of relationships over profits. 

The level of accountability amongst the higher ups is not where it should be. Core values and buzz words are used to make you feel invalided when bringing concerns and the confidentiality is non existent so be careful what you chose to say. The families are the best part along with the children! 

Working with the kids in the water is the most amazing part and being a part of changing lives. I wish the company had stayed small. It was for the best! You have no idea how you are paid bonuses until months into it and are doubted often as a leader. You as well could earn bonuses and not be compensated as they laid out due to their changes without notification. 

I had the most amazing owners who care dearly for the wellbeing of others. However, the team they have in front of leading their leaders do not align with what I thought we all believed in amongst the vision. 

A year ago this company was amazing. I had nothing but incredible things to say but changes were made and it has not been the same fun place to work since. I hope it changes for the better! 

A typical day at work for me at least has 8-10 classes. We do a 4:1 ration, but most days my classes are not full. We get a 10 min break halfway through our shift where we are provided snacks and time to do our aqua cards. At the end of our shift we do a cleaning task, finish our aqua cards and clock it. It’s a pretty relaxed environment and overall very positive. I have learned a ton from this job. Though I’ve been a swimmer my whole life, i learn new techniques and skills that even I can use, every single day. I learned how to better work with a team, and how to get help from a good support system. I’ve also learned many life saving skills that I will teach my kids in the future. Moving forward, our management team is truly amazing. They work tirelessly to help us improve our teaching skills and bring a super bright light to the workplace. Our managers make it super easy to come to them and I very much feel like I can talk to them about anything I need to. They’re super understanding and helpful, doing whatever they can to make aqua tots a better place for everyone . Our culture at aqua tots is truly one big family. I have made very many fast friends and am super comfortable with my co-workers. To be completely honest the hardest part of the job is learning the curriculum. We are given tons of resources and outlets, but for me it was really hard to remember it all. It’s also a very fast paced job, very “go go go” but it’s an environment I thrive in. To counteract that, the most enjoyable part of the job is seeing my kids improve and thrive. Watching them grow from parent tot-classes to the upper levels is so exciting for me, especially the kids i have from the time they’re super little to taller than me. Watching them light up when they graduate or finally achieve a skill is priceless. It is so worth all of the hard work.

Okay so basically, overall the company is actually not bad. It can be a little demanding at times but overall, the pay wasn't bad, the hours were okay, and the parents/families we served were amazing. 

However, there are also areas that need a ton of work. The two largest areas would have to be communication and training. 

Lets start with the first, communication: of which there was little (and what little there was, it often created confusion more than anything). Yes there were monthly news letters, however most of what was in there was never really explained. It would often come in the form of a list of changes, shout outs, etc. would often look like the creation of a high-school student rather than a CEO with all the numerous spelling mistakes, typos, and grammatical errors. There were instances were I was given direct orders to create Summer only classes by one supervisor and then told to get rid of them by another supervisor (after which several of them had filled). This however, is not my largest criticism. 

Now lets get to the training. It often happens that people are thrown into positions without getting fully trained. For example, my training for payroll consisted of how to report the hours to payroll and how to change punches. It did not include how to balance payroll with business needs; only getting a vague outline of 1 FD staff per 3 classes. It did not include any training as far as the pool staff is concerned and how to balance their hours and shifts with business needs. Then, 8 months down the line, there would be intense, belittling conversations about how ineffective your use of payroll is, but again, no further training. 

So, again, over all it wasn't bad. The pay was fair, the hours pretty good, and the families were great to serve. However, upper management needs to realize that if they want changes in areas to become more efficient, they need to provide actual training that does not include ripping people apart and leaving them to figure out the meaning behind it all.

You need to have energy and dedication for the job, working with kids is not easy and you are working on staying on time while also ensuring the safety of kids while finishing an entire curriculum and giving feedback to parents in 30 minutes back to back. You often have 7-9 classes a shift of varying levels with kids of varying personalities. It is not a easy relaxing job, you will be on your feet the entire time especially during the summer months. The first few months of working there after training can be intimidating and difficult, but with dedication you will fall in the flow of it!

If you are up for the challenge and have the dedication then the job is perfect. The work culture is great and positive, it is highly focused on uplifting and teaching each other and you definitely will develop friendships even if you are shy. You will develop relationships with kids and families, it’s definitely a great feeling when front desk will tell you how much parents and kids love you and how they only want you as the coach for their kid, another bonus is during holidays parents and kids may give you gifts! There are multiple ways to get extra money from covering coachs, getting evals to sign up, referring people to apply, along with a $500 bonus every 500 hours you work! Scheduling is also very flexible which is great if you are in school! They also want to see you rise through the ranks of positions and really push you to your potential! You have a single meeting (or more depending on your positions) each month thats a paid 2 hours on a Saturday with free food!

The job can definitely be tiring especially during the summer months, but I’ve been working here for 1 and a half years and honestly it is worth it. I see myself staying with the company for quite some time.

Aquatots is a great place to start working. The swim industry attracts highschoolers and early college students to their workplace, with AT being no exception. This makes it a little difficult if you're part of the older crowd and looking to make a work buddy, and also means there's a the typical teenaged drama and gossip among staff.

That being said, management is very lenient and understanding. They're willing to be flexible with you and help make a schedule that works for you and the location. The breakroom is usually well stocked with snacks and they keep a place for your belongings (though it could be bigger). 

This aside, swim schools are a very fast paced work environment. Their lessons are 30 mins, with you getting out of the pool after each one to walk your kids to the showers and out the doors to talk to parents about their progress. This is a job that requires good people skills, an ability to understand and anticipate the behaviours and patterns of children, and require patience + understanding. You're going to have difficult kids from screamers to cryers to runners, and for the most part, they get over that phase and realize the water is fun.

If you don't like children, or are trying to make a living with one job, this isnt the place for you. Each franchise has its own starting pay range and unless applying/starting a management position, you will not get benefits or a full time position (even if the hours match one).

The crowd of customers attracted are typically very kind and understanding and that reflects in the children as well. Do note that any job that deals face to face or phone to phone with people (adults) is going to have a few rude customers. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Swim instructor 534 salaries reported	$16.81 per hour
Front desk agent 101 salaries reported	$14.99 per hour
Guest service agent 74 salaries reported	$16.08 per hour
Aquatics manager 47 salaries reported	$44,447 per year
General manager 62 salaries reported	$52,094 per year

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