Will AI replace Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers?
AI reaches little of this job’s work.
17/100
Low exposure
More exposed to AI than 29% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 0% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 25% of the work
What the job involves
Monitor recreational areas, such as pools, beaches, or ski slopes, to provide assistance and protection to participants.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Within reach(3)
- Patrol or monitor recreational areas, such as trails, slopes, or swimming areas, on foot, in vehicles, or from towers.
- Warn recreational participants of inclement weather, unsafe areas, or illegal conduct.
- Complete and maintain records of weather and beach conditions, emergency medical treatments performed, and other relevant incident information.
Out of reach(12)
- Rescue distressed persons, using rescue techniques and equipment.
- Contact emergency medical personnel in case of serious injury.
- Examine injured persons and administer first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, if necessary, using training and medical supplies and equipment.
- Instruct participants in skiing, swimming, or other recreational activities and provide safety precaution information.
- Inspect recreational equipment, such as rope tows, T-bars, J-bars, or chair lifts, for safety hazards and damage or wear.
and 7 more
Also called
Beach Lifeguard · Ski Patroller · Lifeguard · Pool Lifeguard · Life Guard · Beach Attendant · Marine Safety Officer · Ocean Lifeguard
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics