I want to be a lifeguard when i grow up "The $392,000 Lifeguard: 'Baywatch' as Union Shop - Being a lifeguard isn't easy, but in Los Angeles it can be lucrative. Auditors at OpenTheBooks.com found 82 county lifeguards earning at least $200,000 including benefits and seven making between $300,000 and $392,000. Thirty-one lifeguards made between $50,000 and $131,000 in overtime alone."