Guide vs river guide

The differences between guides and river guides can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a guide and a river guide. Additionally, a river guide has an average salary of $39,322, which is higher than the $34,479 average annual salary of a guide.

The top three skills for a guide include brand awareness, product knowledge and safety rules. The most important skills for a river guide are safety procedures, summer season, and emergency situations.

Guide vs river guide overview

	Guide	River Guide
Yearly salary	$34,479	$39,322
Hourly rate	$16.58	$18.90
Growth rate	28%	-
Number of jobs	1,195	950
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	34	34
Years of experience	2	2

Guide vs river guide salary

Guides and river guides have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Guide	River Guide
Average salary	$34,479	$39,322
Salary range	Between $17,000 And $68,000	Between $13,000 And $113,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	Salesforce	-
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between guide and river guide education

There are a few differences between a guide and a river guide in terms of educational background:

	Guide	River Guide
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Business	Environmental Science
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Guide vs river guide demographics

Here are the differences between guides' and river guides' demographics:

	Guide	River Guide
Average age	34	34
Gender ratio	Male, 49.3% Female, 50.7%	Male, 69.2% Female, 30.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 9.9% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 9.2% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between guide and river guide duties and responsibilities

Guide example responsibilities.

Manage kayaks, guest and guide gear and repaired/ordered as needed.
Lead VIP guests on guide tours of the property and facilitate their involvement in special events, productions, and conventions.
Manage payroll - specifically manage overtime.
Provide hands on experience in stream exploration, plant identification, and survival classes.
Wrangle horses, clean fish, and elk.
Generate high quality reports in the form of listing, HTML, XML, RTF and PDF formats using SAS ODS.

River guide example responsibilities.

Lead students and leaders backpacking into the wilderness while using the natural settings to teach technical teamwork and leadership skills.
Manage payroll - specifically manage overtime.
Focus on safety, service, and leadership.
Facilitate a therapeutic outdoor adventure experience for teenagers struggling with a variety of behavioral, mental health and substance abuse challenges.
Spot VIP guest immediately and provide special treatment including prefer tables.

Guide vs river guide skills

Common guide skills

Brand Awareness, 26%
Product Knowledge, 12%
Safety Rules, 12%
Customer Service, 8%
Safety Procedures, 5%
CPR, 5%

Common river guide skills

Safety Procedures, 56%
Summer Season, 12%
Emergency Situations, 6%
Kayaks, 4%
I-III, 4%
III-IV, 3%