Leslie Botts was 70 years-old when she started a new summer career of being a lifeguard. Botts loved swimming her entire life, and after retiring from her 30 year career as a special education teacher in 2007, she was looking for new ways to make money. She spent a year teaching yoga at a resort and found work as a substitute teacher, but it wasn’t until one of her friends became a lifeguard when she was in her 60s that Leslie decided to do it herself.

“I thought, ‘What the heck, I love the water, so I’ll give it a try,’ ” said Leslie, who now makes $14 an hour working at pools around Austin, Texas.

Many senior citizens all over the U.S. are becoming lifeguards these days. In decades past, these jobs were typically done by teenagers, but extracurricular activities and internships are now taking up too much time for summer jobs for many young people. On top of that, many teenagers just don’t think summer jobs are “cool” anymore.

“There’s been an ‘age twist,’ ” said Paul Harrington, a professor of labor markets at Drexel University in Philadelphia. “There’s this idea out there among teens that work isn’t such a cool thing anymore — and so who’s replacing them in the workforce? Older Americans, 55 and up.”

Pools everywhere have been trying to recruit senior citizens in the past few years.

“We’re starting to think outside the box: baby boomers, seniors, retired lawyers and accountants,” said B.J. Fisher, a spokesman for the American Lifeguard Association. “Employers are starting to look internally, too: Maybe that custodian who swims laps after work can get certified.”

Leslie loves her job, and she would love for more seniors to become aware of this opportunity so that they can be part of it too.

“Practically every shift I work, we are short employees,” Leslie said. “You look around and think, ‘Why isn’t anybody else working here?’”

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