Is full time work possible as Swim Teacher ?

[MadHighroller]

I was wondering whether anyone works full time as a Swimming Teacher ?

Is is possible to work full time ?

How many hours do you do a week ?

[Linny]

It depends on lots of things including -

How fit are you?
Are you restricted with your hours? (Most swimming lessons are outside the school day)
How much time would you need to/could you spend in the water?
How close is your local pool or are there several?
Do you want to only teach or would you consider other leisure work?
What is the scope for lessons that you could privately run outside of or even instead of employed work?
Would you be willing to work split shifts?
When would you do paperwork?

I am sure there are more.

I physically teach for over 20 hours a week, up to 30 leading up to the Summer, and would not find it difficult to find teaching work for 40 hours or more but I am not sure I could do it physically and be happy. I teach in the water for the vast majority oif the time and that is very demanding and draining. Having said that, I have friends who teach in the water for over 30 hours a week (supplementing pre-school and school lessons with private lessons) and some of them for considerably more but they seem to be for ever injuring themselves or falling ill whereas I am nearly never sick. I think that this is a symptom of the hours they are keeping (and our age as we are all over 40 ahem and more).

I am lucky because I work in a school for three full days a week and as the result get paid for admin and short breaks (non-contact time) and the hours are convenient for me. The rest of my teaching is during the school day too but because it is for the local authority I am only paid for the hours that I am actually teaching and sometimes there are stupid half hour breaks in the middle that I am not paid for but cannot do anything with. I put up with it because I don't need more income and want to keep my hours outside school hours free to do my voluntary job as a coach and to be a mum and housewife.

Your best bet if you need a full time wage and a full time job AND want to teach is to add to your skills (if you don't already have them) and work in a leisure facility doing things which aren't teaching as well as teach.

[MadHighroller]

I suppose I was wondering more, whether there is enough work to work full time.

I already work 38 hours a week have 2 kids and manage to swim 4 times a week(just).

I'm totally committed to this and really want to change my career now after 18 years, I've finally plucked up the courage. Just hoping there is enough work because i do need a full salary.

I will aim for part time to start with but want to do between 20-30 hours a week. I dont mind shifts.

One thing ? If you want to teach privately, how do you go about using public pools ? Are you allowed to teach on someone elses territory ??

[Tatter]

Some pools allow private hire of the small pool or some lanes, but almost all already have a resident swim school. Still worth an ask.
School pools are more likely to help you and the costs are usually lower than leisure centres.

I know an old club coach got a job with the council teaching primary school kids to get to 25m for the national curriculum. I think the hours weren't quite up to a full-time job, but more than part-time. He was the only one for a large town though, so I guess those sort of opportunities are rare.

[MadHighroller]

I actually have 4 pools within cycling distance from me (1 walking distance)
Plus lots of others a drive away. I'm not short of pools, but being in a Greater London Suburb where lots of children learn to swim and there are already lots of teachers too

I think our local pool uses their own teachers for the school curriculum lessons ??

Teaching schools would be ideal - I have emailed my local pool, with no reply as of yet. I may pop up there at the weekend and have a chat with the weekend teacher...

[hoghig]

I used to work full time as a swimming teacher, including 1-2-1s teaching classes and coaching I did around 30-40 hours a week. I found quite often there were big gaps between shifts, I'd finish the nursery kids at 12 and start again at 3.30 going until 9 or 10 some nights. I worked in two different pools and there were always hours available but sometimes it meant working 7 days a week.
I loved it, I did it for about 8 years, it was so rewarding and i miss it now, but I was constantly ill...I had a cold every couple of weeks as your surrounded by children especially if you teach in the water so you pick up whatever they have and I never felt like going swimming on my day off or after a shift. So if you're a keen swimmer expect that to change slightly! I've been working in an office with my husband for a year and a half now, I swim 5 times a week and run 2, I've had one cold since I stopped teaching!! Maybe just me but I feel so much heathier since stopping.

Not wanting to put you off as it is an amazing job and I loved every minute of it!! Apart from the parents who wouldn't let their children put their faces in the water lol!!

Katie