Skip to content
Singulariki

Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers vs Recreation Workers

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers and Recreation Workers on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers Recreation Workers
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$33,720
$35,380
Employment · BLS OEWS
143,590
309,640
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
6th pct
65th pct

At a glance

Dimension Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers Recreation Workers
Median pay $33,720 $35,380
Employment 143,590 309,640
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+5.8%) About average (+4.1%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 42,700 68,100
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 6th pct Moderate · 65th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 33rd pct · 20% of tasks 37th pct · 21% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — Augmentation-leaning (58.0%)
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No Yes

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Customer and Personal Service, Problem Sensitivity, Monitoring, Public Safety and Security, Speaking, Oral Expression, Far Vision, English Language, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Oral Comprehension, Speech Clarity, Active Listening, Learning Strategies, Deductive Reasoning, Speech Recognition, Education and Training, Critical Thinking, Coordination, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Information Ordering, Near Vision, Psychology, Reading Comprehension, Active Learning, Instructing, Written Comprehension.

Specific to Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers

  • Selective Attention
  • Flexibility of Closure
  • Medicine and Dentistry
  • Inductive Reasoning
  • Speed of Closure
  • Perceptual Speed
  • Time Sharing
  • Trunk Strength

Specific to Recreation Workers

  • Law and Government
  • Time Management
  • Administrative
  • Writing
  • Persuasion
  • Management of Personnel Resources
  • Written Expression
  • Fluency of Ideas

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Electronic mail software , Presentation software , Word processing software , Instant messaging software , Desktop publishing software .

Specific to Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers

    Specific to Recreation Workers

    Full profiles

    This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers or Recreation Workers — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

    More comparisons

    Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

    Sources for this page

    Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

    Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

    Cite this page
    Plain

    Singulariki. "Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers vs Recreation Workers." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/lifeguards-ski-patrol-and-other-recreational-protective-service-workers-vs-recreation-workers

    APA

    Singulariki. (2026). Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers vs Recreation Workers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/lifeguards-ski-patrol-and-other-recreational-protective-service-workers-vs-recreation-workers

    BibTeX 
    @misc{singulariki-lifeguards-ski-patrol-and-other-recreational-protective-service-workers-vs-recreation-workers,
  title  = {Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers vs Recreation Workers},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/lifeguards-ski-patrol-and-other-recreational-protective-service-workers-vs-recreation-workers}
}

    Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.