Milwaukee County seeks lifeguards for outdoor pools, $16.47/hour to start

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee broke a record for a second straight day Thursday, April 13, hitting 83 degrees. It was hard not to look ahead to summer, which is something Milwaukee County Parks has been doing for awhile.

Since January, Andrea Wallace, Milwaukee County Parks assistant director of recreation and business services, said they've been recruiting lifeguards.

"Currently, we’re at about 60 lifeguards," Wallace said. "We’d like to see at least double that for the summer."

This spring, Milwaukee County Parks is hosting free lifeguard in-water training, trying to find lifeguards to work at outdoor pools. The jobs aren’t just for swimmers new to the labor pool, though they can be.

"Our starting wage is $16.47," said Wallace, adding that there are potential bonuses, as well. "Not bad for a first-time summer job."

To be a lifeguard candidate, you must be 16 or older by July and be in good physical condition.

Milwaukee County Parks has more free lifeguard training classes coming up.

Wallace said recruiting lifeguards hasn't been easy.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

"There really has been a nationwide shortage of lifeguards," said Wallace.

Wallace said that's a big reason why they won’t be staffing lifeguards at Bradford Beach this season for the fourth year in a row.

At Bradford Beach Thursday, the focus was on making the most of the July-like day, with many all set to dive into summer even before it's here to stay.

"It is so nice to have such a good day in April," said Braiden Blank, who was at the beach with her friends, a group of college freshmen.

FOX6's Madalyn O'Neill: "Did you think you’d be jumping in Lake Michigan in April?"

"No. I would never think that in Wisconsin," said Kyle Juedis.

During the sneak peek of summer, someone snuck in to be interviewed: Coco the dog.

"He makes friends everywhere he goes," said David Crysdale. 

"I love Coco," said Blank. "Coco’s my favorite."

"It’s actually Captain Coconut," said Crysdale. 

It was all part of the fun at Bradford Beach, where people could drink it all in and dig into a whole lot of fun. 

"We started with a little bit of a hole," one group said. "Then we just kind of made it much larger."

Bradford Beach

"It gets me super excited for the summer," said Nathan Stegath.