Tour Guide
Tour Guide
Career Overview
A tour guide may schedule and conduct tours of various historical or interesting locations. Nick, the tour guide featured in the video, does a lot more than just a tour guide because he is the owner of his tour company.
Education
There is not set degree requirement for this position. A four-year bachelor's degree in history or a related field may be very useful in obtaining one of these positions.
Future Outlook
Growth rate: 5 percent (Faster than average)
Work Environment
A tour guide can work for any tour company, historical site, or museum. Many people who do this only do it part-time. Many tours may require outdoor work and one may spend long periods of time on their feet.
Recommended High School Courses
- Psychology
- Business
- Communication
- Take as many college-prep courses as possible!
- Hospitality
- History
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Organize recreational activities or events.
- Sell products or services.
- Resolve customer complaints or problems.
- Arrange services or reservations for patrons.
- Provide attraction or event information to patrons.
- Guide patrons on tours.
- Monitor availability of equipment or supplies.
- Maintain financial or account records.
- Manage budgets for personal services operations.
- Assist individuals with special needs.
- Administer first aid.
- Drive vehicles to transport patrons.
- Prepare foods or meals.
- Demonstrate activity techniques or equipment use.
- Explain regulations, policies, or procedures.
Schools
Schools
Cuyahoga Community Colleg...
Sullivan University- Loui...
Suny Jamestown Community...
Cdi College- Calgary C...
Cdi College- Edmonton...
Cdi College- Surrey Ca...
Cdi College- Vancouver...
College Of The North A...
College Of The North A...
Conestoga College- Wat...
Dawson College
George Brown College-...
Keyin College
Mount St. Vincent Univ...
Seneca College- Markha...
Vancouver Career Colle...
Approx Salary Expectation
Currency:
Low End:
$19,500.00 /yr
Avg/Med:
$27,600.00 /yr
High End:
$45,850.00 /yr
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
PayScale, Inc., https://www.payscale.com/.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
PayScale, Inc., https://www.payscale.com/.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.