Working in summer
When school finishes for the summer, thousands of teenagers earn extra money by doing temporary summer jobs. We spoke to three young people who have had active, outdoor jobs and asked them about their experiences. This is what they told us:
Aaron, Australia Summer job. lifeguard, Sydney
I enjoyed my summer as a lifeguard. The beach was a great place to work and the views of the ocean were beautiful, but there wasn't much time to relax. lt's a serious job and someone has to watch the swimmers all the time. lt's hard for one person to concentrate for so long. That's why we always work with a partner. Each lifeguard watches for an hour then has a break. I'm proud to say that my partner and I rescued seven people this summer. As well as being very strong swimmers, lifeguards should be at least sixteen years old and have qualifications in first aid and water-rescue techniques. I did a training programme and learnt these skills before I started work. I'd recommend this job to anyone who lives near the coast The pay is average and lt can be stressful, but it feels great to rescue someone, and the 'office' is the best in the world!
Kuba, 19, Poland Summer job: windsurfing Instructor Mazury
I started windsurfing when I was twelve, so I'm quite good. Last summer I trained as an instructor and this year I got a job at the lake near our village. There are lots of tourists in the summer and most of them are beginners. They generally spend more time in the water than on the board! A few silly people went out too far into the deep water, but we rescued them with the boat. Most sensible people stay where the water is shallow, so they don't have a problem. Plus. it's much easier to windsurf on a lake than on the sea because lakes don't usually have big waves. lt's not a very well-paid job, but I think it's cool if you can do something you love - and of course, it's a great way to meet girls.
Yasmin, 18, lJK Summer Job: activity leader, Devon
This summer I worked at a children's summer camp as an activity leader. Lt was exhausting but fun. We organized sports, games and activities for the kids, many of them in the huge camp swimming pool. We also took the older children swimming in the river. lt was too dangerous for the younger ones though. In the evenings we organised discos and quizzes. Most of the time the kids were great and I worked with some lovely people and made some really good friends. lt is quite well-paid and you are so busy that you don't have time to spend any money. I lived for free in the camp accommodation. lt wasn't very nice but at least we didn't have to pay. All our meals were free too, so I saved a lot of money over the summer.