What does a river rafting guide do?
River rafting guide responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real river rafting guide resumes:
- Manage payroll - specifically manage overtime.
- paddle rafts and stern-mount oar frames, shredders, duckies and kayaks.
- Operate non-motorize craft (e.g., canoes, inflatable craft, rafts, kayaks, etc . )
- Utilize TSQL when needing information from the SQL database.
- Spot VIP guest immediately and provide special treatment including prefer tables.
- Guide and teach youth outdoor rock climbing skills and first aid survival.
- Train new guides and implement new company policies and require certifications each year.
- Design flow-charts for accounting, payroll, purchasing and stores departments and how they inter-link.
- Escort high end clients such as Facebook and every day families in kayaks in the San Francisco bay area.
- Develop invaluable leadership experience in exhilarating, dangerous situations.
- Demonstrate exemplary interpersonal skills, decision making, teamwork, and leadership abilities.
- Facilitate a therapeutic outdoor adventure experience for teenagers struggling with a variety of behavioral, mental health and substance abuse challenges.
- Manage commercial whitewater rafting outfit.
River rafting guide skills and personality traits
We calculated that 39% of River Rafting Guides are proficient in Safety Procedures, First-Aid, and Responder.
We break down the percentage of River Rafting Guides that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Safety Procedures, 39%
Briefed participants on safety procedures.
- First-Aid, 19%
Trained in Wilderness First-Aid, Swiftwater rescue, family friendly jokes and grilling along the river.
- Responder, 8%
Completed and was licensed in White Water Guide, Swift Water Rescue and Wilderness First Responder certification courses.
- Safety Equipment, 7%
Fit harnesses and helmets correctly and supervise the use of all personal safety equipment.
- III-IV, 4%
Educated diverse groups with little to no whitewater experience on how to safely and properly navigate class III-IV whitewater
- Emergency Situations, 2%
Remained attentive and calm during emergency situations on the river including providing first aid and kept management informed of any incidents.
Common skills that a river rafting guide uses to do their job include "safety procedures," "first-aid," and "responder." You can find details on the most important river rafting guide responsibilities below.
The three companies that hire the most river rafting guides are:
- Travel and Transport1 river rafting guides jobs
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Compare different river rafting guides
River rafting guide vs. Escort
Escort is a service provided to accompany an individual, group of people, or vehicle to provide guidance and protection or mark of honor. Military Escort services accompany deceased military personnel to show respect--a healthcare escort sometimes accompanies patients to their destination for ongoing care safely. A Security Escort, commonly called close escort duties, is performed by bodyguards to accompany individuals like VIPs, Celebrities, Sports stars, Heads of State whenever they make an appearance and travel around. A Security Escort usually has special training in evasive driving, close combat, firearms, and first aid.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between river rafting guides and escort. For instance, river rafting guide responsibilities require skills such as "first-aid," "iv+," "responder," and "safety equipment." Whereas a escort is skilled in "patients," "safety hazards," "cpr," and "law enforcement." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Escorts tend to make the most money working in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $35,462. In contrast, river rafting guides make the biggest average salary, $41,403, in the retail industry.The education levels that escorts earn slightly differ from river rafting guides. In particular, escorts are 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a river rafting guide. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.River rafting guide vs. Docent
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that river rafting guide responsibilities requires skills like "safety procedures," "first-aid," "iv+," and "responder." But a docent might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "public speaking," "front desk," "educational programs," and "aquarium."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Docents tend to reach higher levels of education than river rafting guides. In fact, they're 6.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.River rafting guide vs. Museum attendant
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a river rafting guide is likely to be skilled in "safety procedures," "first-aid," "iv+," and "responder," while a typical museum attendant is skilled in "patrol," "cash handling," "museum visitors," and "customer service."
Most museum attendants achieve a similar degree level compared to river rafting guides. For example, they're 3.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.River rafting guide vs. Escort service attendant
Types of river rafting guide
Updated January 8, 2025
