Hundreds of lifeguards to be hired to protect Long Island's state beaches

With summer on the horizon, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is planning to hire roughly 500 lifeguards to protect beaches across the region.

The office announced Thursday that hundreds of lifeguard positions are available at Montauk/Hither Hills, Wildwood, Orient, Jones Beach, Robert Moses, Heckscher & Sunken Meadow state parks. The state does not anticipate filling all the positions.

The state will hold a qualifying exam on June 12 at 7:30 a.m. at the Brentwood campus of Suffolk County Community College, and the final event of the new hire procedure will take place at the West Bathhouse at Jones Beach State Park. Candidates must provide their own transportation from SCCC to Jones Beach.

The exam consists of a 100-yard timed swim, a 50 yard cross-chest carry, a ¾ mile run and a 350-400-yard timed ocean swim. All components are timed with a score based on a candidate's finish time.

Candidates do not need prior certification but must be at least 17 years old, have at least 20/70 uncorrected vision in both eyes and not wear glasses or contacts. CPR rescue and first aid certification is preferred but not necessary at the time of hiring. Lifeguards will be paid $18.15 per hour.

A link will be emailed to all candidates who successfully complete both portions of the exam. Those candidates will be required to attend 40 hours of rookie lifeguard training beginning June 18 and continuing through June 22 at Jones Beach.

Dan Keefe, a spokesman for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said the state wanted to hire about 500 additional lifeguards for upstate New York and New York City. Roughly 300 candidates have already been identified.

"We have several qualifying procedures scheduled across the state and will add more as needed," Keefe said. "We expect all swimming facilities to open for the peak season, but some may need to reduce hours or restrict swimming sections if additional lifeguard candidates cannot be found."

Anyone interested in working as a lifeguard is encouraged to contact the park where they would like to work or visit through the state website at https://parks.ny.gov/employment/lifeguards/default.aspx.

With Joan Gralla

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.