Lighthouse keeper
Turn on the light, turn off the light, turn on the light, turn off the light, how hard can it be?
From the day that man first came up with the idea to light beacons ashore as a way to guide ships at sea, there were people whose job it was to look after those lights. From the days of wood burning fires, via oil light fires, to gas, and later electrically powered lanterns.
Job
The primary job of the lighthouse keeper is to maintain the light, the rotating lens mechanism, and the tower. To turn it on and off at the appropriate times.
In the past, this involved lighting a fire at the correct time, hauling the fuel (wood/coal) to and from the lighthouse. Tending to the light all night. When oil became a fuel source, this involved tending to the burners, trimming wicks, maintaining pumps, filling tanks. Winding up the springs that made the lenses go around at the correct speed. Gas burning lights burned cleaner, and more consistent even, making the job of the keepers a bit easier.
When electricity was introduced to the lighthouses, the attention shifted from the lights, to the generator placed in the bottom of the tower. Where possible, later, lighthouses became connect to the mainland's power lines. Leading to further automation of the lighthouses and the abandonment of them all together
Additional jobs
Besides taking care of the light, lighthouse keepers also had/have additional duties. Making weather observations, and relaying their observation to the local or national weather organisation for making weather forecasts.
Counting the ships that pass, for the statistics. If no ship ever passes, why build a lighthouse there?
Also, Wildlife observations, due to the isolated position of most lighthouses, they were ideal to keep an eye on wildlife, such as nesting or migrating birds. But also counting sightings of marine life such as orcas
If the lighthouse is so equipped, the lighthouse keeper might also be responsible to signal storm warnings. This can be in the form of flags or day-signs at day, and coloured lights at night.
The meaning of the flags/day-signs/lights differs per lighthouse, due to its location and local weather systems. The information of what each signal from a lighthouse means a good sailor can find in the relative documents.
In modern day, some lighthouses have also become (radar equipped), radio stations to relay information to and from ships. And sometimes they also function as VTS operators, guiding and organising shipping trough routes that have some form of danger such as shallows, strong current, or approaches to big harbours.
Automation
The popular idea of an old man living alone in a lighthouse is one of fiction. Although lighthouses manned by single people did exist. Most manned lighthouses had a whole family living in or near them.
With the advancement of technology, lighthouses became electrically powered. The light, the mechanism to turn the lenses around. Greatly simplifying the job of the keepers. And not long after, some towers became automated, forgoing the need for a human present at all times. Only a visit once in a while to check or clean was necessary. And with the passing of time, most lighthouses have become unmanned. Only those used to guide shipping by means of being a VTS are still permanently manned.
Most lighthouses stand empty, only electrodes move to turn the light on and off. And maybe get a visit once a year, to wipe the dust off the lenses and clean the windows.
Other, more easily reachable, have had their accommodation turned into tourist housing, where people can enjoy their time.
Biologists have taken over the lighthouse housing in some special cases, to keep on observing and studying the local wildlife.
Modern devolpment
As a money saving measure, more and more governments are turning their lighthouses off. And selling the property to private people. That way, they don't have to pay anything anymore for maintenance. Because light houses are not necessary anymore to guide shipping. Or so they argue. This is a mistake, which in the future will cost people their lives. GPS is a system that works great, but it is controlled by the military of one nation. They can turn it off, or even worse, introduce an error. What will happen then? If all the "old" systems to check a ship's navigating equipment against each other are turned off, because they are 'obsolete'?
Light
"Flash, seven seconds, flash. Which lighthouse is that?" Rose asked.
“Uhh, I don't know" Chiara responded.
"Look at the chart. Where are we?"
Chiara took uncomfortably long to find the position of the Red Sunrise, to Rose her liking, but she kept her mouth shut.
"Oh, it's this one, in west."
"Yes, that's the one, but how do you know that."
"Because the gps says we are here. And that light is at our port, and the light you mentioned is forward of us."
"You are not wrong, but you are going about your investigation backwards. You have to use the lights to find our position, not use our position to identify the lights." Rose explained Chiara.
"Oh, okay". "Look here, next to each light's name it says on the chart. Fl.(7). Ergo, a flash every seven seconds. Then we go to our compass and take a bearing. We see a light with that character, there. Now we draw a line. From that light in the reversed direction, we see the light in. And now you can do the same, with the lighthouse off to our starboard there." Rose continued her explanation.
"Aaah, I see, so we're on the intersection of the two lines." Chiara cheered.
"Almost. For now, this is accurate enough. But actually you have to compensate for the time between your two measurements. The Red Sunrise is moving along at 22 knots, so in the six minutes you took to take the two measurements, we have moved 1/10 of 22 miles along our course line. so actually we are a bit more that way." Rose indicated on the chart."As a child, I thought it would be cool to live in a lighthouse. But now I think it would be very isolating." Chiara said.
"Nobody lives in them anymore. They're all automatic. A bit sad, if you think about it." Rose answered.
I always thought being a lighthouse keeper would be a cool job. It's a shame it's no longer really a required profession. The lighthouse near me, Beachy Head, is only accessible at low tide, which I suppose would cause issues in an emergency.
I looked up your lighthouse.
Uhm, why was a horn or whistle not an option?Hahahaha, I didn't know that. Oh my god. XD