“I only really and truly fully relax on my own. Give me a sun lounger, a pool and a sea view, and I’m happy.”

Miranda Hart, Actress

Pros and Cons of Working as a Pool Guy

advantages and disadvantages of being a pool cleaner

You think about working as a pool guy but want to get more information before you finally make your decision? Great!

This article is exactly for you since I will show you all the pros and cons of being a pool guy in the following chapters.

Pool Guy Job Profile

Job DescriptionPool guys clean pools for clients and make sure that their pools look as nice as possible. They sometimes also fix minor things if small parts related to pools break.
Salary$34,000 per year on average, most pool cleaners make between $17,000 and $42,000 per year.
Job SecurityAlmost non-existent since you will be replaceable rather easily.
Job SatisfactionDecent if you love relaxed pool work.
Work-Life BalanceGood since you will often not work many hours.
Physically / Mentally Demanding?Neither physically nor mentally demanding most of the time.
Future OutlookPoor since many jobs in this industry will no longer exist in the near future.
RequirementsNone. Many pool cleaners do not even have a high school diploma and almost everyone can do this job.

Advantages of Being a Pool Cleaner

  1. You can enjoy the nice weather outdoors
  2. Working as a pool guy is not that stressful
  3. Pool cleaners don’t need to go to the solarium
  4. You can avoid classical office work
  5. You can avoid heavy physical work
  6. You don’t need a degree for becoming a pool guy
  7. Pool guys can become independent rather soon
  8. You can help your friends who own a pool
  9. You can make additional money on weekends and after work
  10. You can start your own pool-cleaning business
  11. Pool guys can start social media channels
  12. Good job for students or retirees

You can enjoy the nice weather outdoors

One advantage of being a pool guy is that you can enjoy the nice weather outdoors while people working in private equity and in many other fields don’t have this luxury.

Instead of just sitting in an office tower and staring at a computer screen all day long, you can work in a nice sunny environment and your work may actually not feel like work but rather like a long vacation instead.

Hence, becoming a pool technician can be great for you if you are the type of person who loves to spend his time outdoors instead of just sitting inside for many hours a day.

Working as a pool guy is not that stressful

As a pool guy, you will also be able to work in a rather relaxed manner.

While many people out there have to meet strict goals and figures to keep their jobs, you will not have the same level of pressure as a pool guy. You will also not have to meet strict time limits.

In turn, your workday will be much more relaxed and also the mental and emotional pressure that comes along with it will be significantly lower than for a person who works in a demanding job for long hours every day and needs to get many things done at the same time without any room to relax for a little while.

Pool cleaners don’t need to go to the solarium

Since you will be working outdoors for many hours a day, there will also not be any need to go to the solarium since you will get a nice tan in a completely natural manner.

This means that you can save plenty of money for the solarium and you even get paid while getting tanned at the same time.

You can avoid classical office work

Another benefit of working as a pool guy is that you can also avoid working in a classical office environment.

While some people like office work, the majority of people don’t like it at all.

In fact, working in those office environments often feels quite artificial and it can indeed be considered unnatural since we as humans just haven’t evolved like that for thousands of years.

Instead, we had been working with our hands in nature and by working as a pool guy, you can get back to the roots to a certain extent.

Consequently, a career as a pool guy can also make sense for you in case you just don’t want to work in a classical office job but rather want to work with your hands instead.

You can avoid heavy physical work

While being a pool boy implies some hands-on work, you will still be able to avoid heavy physical work that comes along with many other jobs.

For instance, a construction worker will have to lift heavy stuff all day long.

In turn, people who work in those fields will often experience serious health issues in the long run and may even have to quit their jobs due to those unpleasant things.

As a pool guy, you will have a significantly lower risk in this regard since you can avoid lifting heavy things on a regular basis.

You don’t need a degree for becoming a pool guy

Another upside to becoming a pool guy is that you don’t need a degree or any other form of fancy education to work in this field.

In fact, in many cases, you don’t even need a high school diploma if you are a reliable person who is trustworthy and also knows how to deal with clients.

Hence, a career as a pool cleaner can also make quite a lot of sense for you in case you currently don’t have a degree and rather bad job prospects.

Good pool cleaners will always be needed and working in this field may be the first step towards a better future.

Pool guys can become independent rather soon

Since you will not have to spend lots of money on tuition or other costs related to college, you can avoid the huge financial burden that comes along with college education.

In turn, you can also avoid student loan debt and the long-term financial consequences that come along with it.

Therefore, while many of your friends will need many years to pay back their student loans, you will be the one who will have more financial freedom and who will be able to become financially independent from your parents rather soon in your life since you can make money right after finishing high school or even earlier.

You can help your friends who own a pool

As a pool technician, you will also be able to acquire some knowledge about how pools work and if you have friends who have pools at home and faces some issues with them, you can help out your loved ones and fix those issues.

In turn, your friends will often be quite grateful for your support and will likely also help you in case you need help from them in the future.

You can make additional money on weekends and after work

While you may only work a few hours a day as a pool guy, you may be able to make additional money after finishing your official day job.

In fact, many pool cleaners work some extra hours at their families’ or friends’ homes to increase their income.

Hence, if you are the type of person who is willing to work long hours and who doesn’t mind putting in the work, you may be able to make a pretty decent income as a pool cleaner, even though your hourly wage will be rather low.

You can start your own pool-cleaning business

If you are really ambitious and also have some entrepreneurial spirit, you will also be able to start your own pool-cleaning business sooner or later.

In fact, it is pretty easy to start a business in this field since the upfront costs are rather low and you don’t need expensive machines or other equipment that would cost you lots of money.

You can also just work in this field for a pool-cleaning company for a few years, gather some experience and then offer your services to rich private persons in your area.

Chances are that you will not only be able to work more independently, but you may also be able to make much more money if you are willing to work hard on expanding your business.

Pool guys can start social media channels

Since many people have pools at home and need some advice on how to keep them clean and tidy, you will also be able to build a huge audience in this field on social media.

For instance, you could start a YouTube channel or share your ideas on various other social media platforms.

You could also start a blog around pool-cleaning and what you have learned from your job.

Opportunities are almost endless in this regard and if you learn a little bit about digital marketing, you will soon be able to make some extra money and some people are even able to make much more money from those digital channels than from their actual day job as a pool cleaner.

Good job for students or retirees

Working as a pool guy can be especially nice if you are currently a student or retiree.

Those groups of people are often quite flexible regarding their working hours and also often urgently need money to finance their lives.

Hence, if this is true for you as well, working as a pool guy can make quite a lot of sense for you since you can trade some time for some extra money which can help you with your finances to a certain extent.

As you can see, there are many advantages to a career as a pool guy.

However, we should not forget to also talk about all the downsides that come along with working in this field.

Therefore, I will also show you all the problems with being a pool guy in the following chapter.

Disadvantages of Working as a Pool Guy

  1. Pool guys have poor job security
  2. Unclear future job prospects
  3. You often only have short-term contracts
  4. Pool guys are replaceable
  5. Hard to plan for the future
  6. Banks will not grant you a mortgage
  7. Pool cleaners have a rather low social standing
  8. You also have to work outdoors during bad weather
  9. Pool technicians don’t make much money
  10. You need many different clients to make a living
  11. You may need a second job
  12. Old-age poverty may become a serious issue
  13. Pool guys will not learn many hard skills
  14. You will have to do unpleasant cleaning work
  15. Difficult to switch fields
  16. Clients can be difficult
  17. Problems in the job market once you get older
  18. You may have to worry about losing your job all day long
  19. Lack of perspectives may lead to mental issues

Pool guys have poor job security

One disadvantage of working as a pool cleaner is that you will have a rather poor job security.

In fact, many pool cleaners change their jobs quite frequently and will also get fired on a regular basis, even though they might do great work.

This means that you will never know how long you will be able to keep your job and this can be really annoying and frustrating since this constant insecurity can greatly lower your overall quality of life while digital marketers and many other people who are in high demand don’t have to worry much in this regard.

Unclear future job prospects

Pool guys not only have rather poor job prospects right now, but also their future job prospects will be rather questionable as well.

In fact, many tasks pool cleaners do right now will be automatized in the future and this means that many people who currently work in this field will lose their jobs.

It will also be hard for those people to find a new job since the demand for human work in this field will just decrease in the long run.

You often only have short-term contracts

Pool cleaners often also only have short-term contracts or even work without a contract.

This means that you can basically lose your job from one day to the other and you will never know if you are able to pay your rent or other basic expenses.

Pool guys are replaceable

Another downside of being a pool guy is that you will be replaceable pretty easily.

Since you will not need many skills to work in this field and will learn most of the things you need on the job, almost everyone can do the job and this means that you will have to compete in a fierce job market where other people will replace you sooner or later in the future.

Hard to plan for the future

Due to all this insecurity that comes along with working as a pool boy, you will also not be able to plan for the future.

While other people who have long-term contracts and a good education will be able to start a family or buy other fancy things, you will not be able to do so since you will always have to worry about money and it may also be hard to find a partner for a long-term relationship since you simply cannot provide the level of security potential long-term mates would search for.

Consequently, you may stay alone without a soulmate while most of your friends will live the American dream with their families, a nice home and so on.

Banks will not grant you a mortgage

While other people who have good secure jobs will also have a rather easy time getting a mortgage, you will face significant problems in this regard since many banks will not be willing to grant you a mortgage due to your insecure financial conditions.

In turn, you may not be able to afford to buy your own home but rather have to waste significant amounts of money on rent.

Pool cleaners have a rather low social standing

Another problem with working as a pool guy is that you will also have a rather low social standing.

While your friends may become doctors, lawyers or work in other prestigious jobs, you will be the one who will often be belittled regarding what you are doing and this means that you will also often have to deal with snarky comments in this regard.

Hence, make sure that those comments don’t bother you and that you don’t care about your social standing before you decide to become a pool guy.

You also have to work outdoors during bad weather

While it can be nice to work as a pool technician during times of sunny weather, the opposite can be true in case it rains.

However, you will still have to do your job and work outdoors also during those unpleasant times to keep the pool clean and this can be really annoying, especially if you live in regions where bad weather is rather common.

Pool technicians don’t make much money

You should also not expect to make good money from your job as a pool guy.

Sure, if you are willing to work many extra hours, you may be able to make a living from what you are doing.

Still, you will likely not be able to afford any luxury and if money and social status are really important to you, you should definitely not become a pool guy but rather work in a different field instead.

You need many different clients to make a living

You should also not underestimate how hard it is to actually make a living from working as a pool technician.

In fact, many pool guys only work part-time in this field since they simply don’t have enough clients and this will often not be enough to cover their bills.

You may need a second job

Many pool guys also need a second job to pay their rent and to pay for other basic things for their daily life.

If this is the case, you will barely have any leisure left to spend on your hobbies or with your favorite people.

Instead, you will be working all day long and this can be really annoying, especially if you are the type of person who loves leisure much more than work and a good work-life balance is really important to you.

Old-age poverty may become a serious issue

Since you will just not make good money from your pool technician career, chances are that you will also not be able to save and invest enough money for retirement.

In turn, you may get into serious financial trouble once you get to retirement age since you may no longer be able to cover your expenses and if you are not able to pay your rent anymore, you may even lose your home and may end up homeless in the streets.

Pool guys will not learn many hard skills

Another issue with working as a pool guy is that you will also not learn many hard skills.

Sure, you will learn all about keeping pools clean and how to fix minor things that may break.

However, you will not learn many other skills that are valuable in the job market right now and this can lead to serious problems, especially if you get fired one day and have to find a new job.

You will have to do unpleasant cleaning work

Pool guys also not only have to do the nice work.

Quite often, pool cleaning is not the nicest of all activities since you will often have to remove rotten leaves or even poo from the pool and if you are a rather sensitive person, this can be really problematic for you since you will just not be able to enjoy this job in general.

Difficult to switch fields

Since you will not learn many valuable hard skills during your pool guy career, you will also have serious difficulties in case you don’t want to work in this field anymore and want to work in a different field.

Companies will often not be willing to employ you since you simply lack important skills that are needed for working in a different industry and you may therefore become trapped in the pool cleaning industry for a long time.

Clients can be difficult

While some clients will be nice, others can be annoying and demanding and some of them may even try to bring you down, especially if they had a bad day and need some scapegoat to blame.

Hence, you should also have a stable mindset to deal with those things to make sure that those comments don’t bring you down.

Problems in the job market once you get older

While young and good-looking pool guys or gals will have a rather easy time finding a job in this field, it can get much harder for you to find a job once you get older.

In fact, pool work is mainly done by young people and this means that you might experience trouble once you reach a certain age.

You may have to worry about losing your job all day long

Due to the constant job insecurity, many pool cleaners also worry about losing their jobs all day long and this will just not be healthy at all and will also greatly lower your overall quality of life.

Lack of perspectives may lead to mental issues

Many pool guys are also just desperate since they urgently aspire to a career in a different field but simply don’t know how to get out of the rat race.

In turn, they often develop mental problems sooner or later.

Top 10 Being a Pool Guy Pros & Cons – Summary List

Being a Pool Guy ProsBeing a Pool Guy Cons
Pool cleaning is not that stressfulPool guys don’t make good money
You can work in the sunMany pool cleaners need a second job
You can work for many different clientsOld-age poverty is rather common
Pool guys can make some extra moneyDifficult to switch fields for pool guys
Good job for students or retireesProblems once you get older
You can avoid classical office workClients can be difficult
You can avoid heavy physical workYou are replaceable
You can help out your loved onesPoor future job prospects
Pool guys can start their own businessRather low social standing of pool guys
You can leverage social mediaYou have to search for new jobs quite often

Should You Become A Pool Guy?

Now that you know all the advantages and disadvantages of being a pool guy, it is on you to decide whether you still want to work in this field or if you rather want to go for an alternative career path instead.

If you still want to become a pool technician, you should also get detailed information on the salary, career prospects, future outlook, educational requirements, work-life balance, duties and job satisfaction of pool technicians.

Also make sure to check out the following articles:

Advantages and disadvantages of a career as a travel agent

Advantages and disadvantages of a career as a correctional officer

Advantages and disadvantages of a career as a translator

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_pool_service_technician

https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/number-of-businesses/swimming-pool-cleaning-services-united-states/

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people about the different career paths that are possible in our current state of the world. In my opinion, people often make the mistake to choose their profession solely based on how much money they can earn from it instead of doing what makes them really happy.

This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of how a fulfilling career could look like. I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Master’s degree in Economics. However, I’ve quit pretty soon after that since I haven’t found true meaning in my job.

Now I can do what I really love to do and I want to enable as many other people as well to go this exciting path towards happiness instead of money.

I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice.

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