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Lifeguard Maximilian Greilmeier: Always keep an eye on the entire pool
Photo: private
The start of working life is exciting, exhausting - and often completely different than planned. In the series "My first year on the job", young professionals tell how they experienced this time. This time: Maximilian Greilmeier, 19, specialist for pool operations in an outdoor pool near Munich.
»When I started my training, I already had my future job in mind: the outdoor pool where I learned to swim as a child, where I later jumped from the three-meter tower and finally got my lifeguard badge.
There, in the Waldbad Taufkirchen near Munich, I am now the lifeguard.
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Staring at the water all day is harder than you think.
I am responsible for the safety of bathers, the 50 meter and non-swimmer pools must be supervised at all times.
Every second counts.
As a lifeguard, I'm not even allowed to go to the toilet, because if someone drowns during this time, I'm responsible.
If there are only a few guests in the water, it's enough if I watch the pool from my high chair.
When there's a lot of hustle and bustle, I prefer to walk around every five minutes to see every corner.
One exam per year
When the diving tower is open, I have to be extra careful.
It often happens that bathers are careless and swim under the tower.
In addition, people regularly overestimate themselves: they jump from a five-meter tower when three meters would have been enough and injure themselves.
I don't have a whistle, I call and wave, which usually works well.
I've never actually had to jump into the pool to save someone.
But once a year I take an exam, the practical rescue exercise, to show that I could do it at any time.
I then pull someone out of the water and then give first aid.
I am not only responsible for the safety of the guests, but also that the technology works.
That's why I make daily rounds in the basement, where the heating, the acid and chlorine systems and the filters are, and adjust the settings of the devices.
I also measure the pool water three times a day.
I mainly look at the chlorine and pH values: if they are too low or too high, the water is not being disinfected enough or it can irritate the skin of the bathers.
»Sometimes I feel like I'm in a giant water playground.«
Working in the basement is fun, with all the levers I sometimes feel like I'm on a huge water playground.
I'm quiet down there, listening to music.
It's a nice change from the noise and crowds around the pool.
About 70 percent of the time I do supervision, 30 percent engineering and other work, a good mix.
A big part of my job is cleaning things up: the filtration systems, the underwater vacuum and after a storm the whole tank.
In a small outdoor pool like mine, I'm also the man for almost everything: the squeaky swing, the dripping shower, the many molehills on the lawn.
This includes first aid for minor injuries.
As soon as something serious happens, I'll call the emergency services.
But with bee stings or abrasions I help with ice and plasters.
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Checking, screwing, turning levers: Greilmeier at work in the basement
Photo: private
The work is rarely stressful.
As a team, we share the tasks well.
It was different before I started work.
My colleague and my boss were just the two of us for a year.
They didn't have a day off in the summer and worked a lot of overtime.
Now they are glad that there are three of us.
But not all outdoor pools are like that.
Some could not open at all this season because the lifeguards are missing.
The fact that there is such a shortage of lifeguards is certainly also due to the fact that many have little idea of the profession.
They only see me while I'm sitting in my chair or walking around the pool.
All the technology behind the scenes remains invisible.
Lots of responsibility, little money
I am paid according to the collective agreement for the public sector and in the first year I get around 2600 euros gross per month full-time.
Because I work part-time, it's less for me.
After 15 years, the salary increases to almost 3200 euros according to the tariff.
For many, this is not enough for the great responsibility and irregular working hours.
Because there is a lot to do in the outdoor pool when other people are on vacation.
In the summer season I am already preparing the hours for the winter.
That's why 60-hour weeks are the rule full-time, mostly spread over six days.
Maybe you can manage to take a week off in the summer.
But that's not really possible, especially when there's a shortage of staff.
The outdoor pool is open from mid-May to mid-September, during which time I work part-time for around 40 hours a week.
Then I'll winterize everything by the end of October.
I am free from November to mid-March.
Then the cleaning begins before the bathroom opens again.
I think it's great to have so many months off at a time.
In the meantime I work as a waiter and build a few websites on the side.
If I want to look at Australia for two months, I don't have to cancel.
In winter I do my master's degree.
I could study with him at some point, maybe economics.
But now I want to enjoy my life for a few years and see the world in my free time.«
Have you just started your career yourself and would like to tell us about it? Then write to us at SPIEGEL-Start@spiegel.de
