1. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
What is a Wilderness Guide?
What Does a Wilderness Guide Do
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a wilderness guide, we found that a lot of resumes listed 22.0% of wilderness guides included cpr, while 15.2% of resumes included responder, and 9.5% of resumes included canoe. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
How To Become a Wilderness Guide
If you're interested in becoming a wilderness guide, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 78.7% of wilderness guides have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 9.9% of wilderness guides have master's degrees. Even though most wilderness guides have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Wilderness Guide Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of manager you might progress to a role such as project manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title program manager.
Average Salary for a Wilderness Guide
Wilderness Guides in America make an average salary of $63,944 per year or $31 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $228,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $17,000 per year.
Average Wilderness Guide Salary
$63,944 Yearly$30.74 hourly
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Wilderness Guide
There are several types of wilderness guide, including:
Guide
Role:
A tour guide takes visitors on guided tours at historical or culturally relevant sites that are unfamiliar to them. Guides share interesting information and entertaining insight into the places to provide tourists with a more in-depth experience. Following the lead of a tour guide in a foreign place usually guarantees that you will not get lost, and you will find the best spot to see and have a great meal, or a fun night out.
Guides sometimes obtain vocational training in travel or tourism, but they are not required to have a degree to hold this position. Language skills are great to have, and experience in the service industry, such as hotels or travel trades, can also be useful.
You will be walking around a lot as a guide, so make sure you are at least more fit than the average tourist if you take on this job. You should not shy away from speaking in public. Unless you advertise yourself as a Zen guide, you will be expected to keep the info and fun titbits coming all day long.
- Average Salary: $34,479
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Tour Guide
Role:
A tour guide takes visitors on guided tours at historical or culturally relevant sites that are unfamiliar to them. Guides share interesting information and entertaining insight into the places to provide tourists with a more in-depth experience. Following the lead of a tour guide in a foreign place usually guarantees that you will not get lost, and you will find the best spot to see and have a great meal, or a fun night out.
Guides sometimes obtain vocational training in travel or tourism, but they are not required to have a degree to hold this position. Language skills are great to have, and experience in the service industry, such as hotels or travel trades, can also be useful.
You will be walking around a lot as a guide, so make sure you are at least more fit than the average tourist if you take on this job. You should not shy away from speaking in public. Unless you advertise yourself as a Zen guide, you will be expected to keep the info and fun titbits coming all day long.
- Average Salary: $32,323
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Escort
Role:
The responsibility of an escort is to guard individuals or people on sightseeing and tours through places of interest such as art galleries, public buildings, and industrial establishments. You are to describe your points of interest to group members and also respond to their questions. For every place of interest, there are laws to be obeyed. Therefore, you must ensure your visitors abide by the establishment or tour regulations and safety practices. To entice your visitors, you will greet, register visitors, and also issue any necessary identification badges for safety and identity.
Additionally, you are to distribute brochures on every place of interest, show audiovisual presentations, and explain establishment operations and processes at your sites. You are also expected to provide directions and other important information to visitors. Other responsibilities include ensuring safety by providing first aid, directing emergency evacuation, and providing information about wildlife and their habitat to avoid unnecessary situations.
As an escort, you must put your visitor's safety first. The basic skills of an escort are excellent communication skills, passion for traveling, creative thinking, and the ability to respond to emergencies quickly. The average salary of an escort is $29,000 yearly. Escorts must have a bachelor's degree in Communication, Criminal Justice, or other related fields.
- Average Salary: $29,252
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
States With The Most Wilderness Guide Jobs
Number Of Wilderness Guide Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 57 | $64,911 |
| 2 | Florida | 21 | $43,528 |
| 3 | Texas | 18 | $54,203 |
| 4 | Colorado | 17 | $34,479 |
| 5 | Ohio | 15 | $59,195 |
| 6 | New York | 14 | $72,616 |
| 7 | Illinois | 14 | $50,269 |
| 8 | Montana | 11 | $28,057 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | 10 | $67,238 |
| 10 | Michigan | 10 | $61,076 |
| 11 | Nebraska | 10 | $38,120 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | 9 | $78,247 |
| 13 | Virginia | 9 | $72,163 |
| 14 | Arizona | 9 | $53,263 |
| 15 | North Carolina | 8 | $56,013 |
| 16 | Alaska | 7 | $78,463 |
| 17 | Tennessee | 7 | $52,279 |
| 18 | Georgia | 7 | $48,359 |
| 19 | Utah | 7 | $35,372 |
| 20 | Minnesota | 6 | $50,391 |
| 21 | Missouri | 6 | $43,550 |
| 22 | Oregon | 6 | $40,050 |
| 23 | Connecticut | 5 | $80,363 |
| 24 | Indiana | 5 | $61,599 |
| 25 | Arkansas | 5 | $47,072 |
| 26 | Washington | 5 | $35,039 |
| 27 | Delaware | 4 | $62,429 |
| 28 | Maryland | 4 | $64,951 |
| 29 | Maine | 3 | $68,674 |
| 30 | Alabama | 3 | $46,342 |
| 31 | Oklahoma | 3 | $44,606 |
| 32 | Vermont | 2 | $73,996 |
| 33 | West Virginia | 2 | $59,498 |
| 34 | Nevada | 2 | $50,377 |
| 35 | Kansas | 2 | $47,839 |
| 36 | New Jersey | 1 | $69,183 |
| 37 | Wisconsin | 1 | $52,147 |
| 38 | Mississippi | 1 | $48,664 |
| 39 | South Carolina | 1 | $48,382 |
| 40 | New Hampshire | 0 | $76,499 |
| 41 | Rhode Island | 0 | $64,817 |
| 42 | Kentucky | 0 | $51,635 |
| 43 | New Mexico | 0 | $53,232 |
| 44 | Louisiana | 0 | $49,368 |
| 45 | North Dakota | 0 | $42,042 |
| 46 | Iowa | 0 | $41,972 |
| 47 | Hawaii | 0 | $41,434 |
| 48 | South Dakota | 0 | $35,333 |
| 49 | Idaho | 0 | $35,237 |
| 50 | Wyoming | 0 | $32,982 |
Top Colleges for Wilderness Guides
2. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,399
Enrollment
7,356
3. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$7,182
Enrollment
16,205
4. Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$52,588
Enrollment
1,544
5. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
In-State Tuition
$11,207
Enrollment
30,905
6. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
7. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
8. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
9. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
10. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
Choose From 10+ Customizable Wilderness Guide Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Wilderness Guide templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Wilderness Guide resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Wilderness Guide diversity
Wilderness Guide Gender Distribution
Male
62%
Female
38%
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among wilderness guides, 38.1% of them are women, while 61.9% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among wilderness guides is White, which makes up 69.5% of all wilderness guides.
- The most common foreign language among wilderness guides is Spanish at 43.5%.
Online Courses For Wilderness Guide That You May Like
Advertising Disclosure
1. Medical Emergencies: CPR, Toxicology, and Wilderness
In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: (1) Identify the signs and symptoms associated with a patient in shock, to describe the major categories of shock, to assess a patient with signs of shock and formulate a plan for treatment to stabilize the patient for transport, (2) Identify a patient in cardiac arrest and to describe the components of high performance CPR...
2. International Travel Preparation, Safety, & Wellness
Whether you've traveled before or not, living and working overseas can be challenging. Learn how best to prepare and make the most of your time internationally. This course will prepare you to work and live overseas. It explores the epidemiology of common morbidity and mortality among travelers and examines key prevention, safety, and travel medicine principles and services to contextualize risks and maintain wellness. The course reviews applicable interventions, appropriate vaccines, and...
3. Occupational Health & Safety Training
Workplace Health and Safety Course For Employees & Managers...
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How Do Wilderness Guides Rate Their Jobs?
Top Wilderness Guide Employers
Most Common Employers For Wilderness Guide
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adobe | $144,222 | $69.34 | 1 |
| 2 | Open Sky Wilderness Therapy | $134,960 | $64.88 | 7 |
| 3 | High Country Financial | $84,561 | $40.65 | 2 |
| 4 | BSA | $63,876 | $30.71 | 1 |
| 5 | True North Holdings | $61,456 | $29.55 | 2 |
| 6 | Aspiro Wilderness Adventure Therapy | $61,225 | $29.44 | 8 |
| 7 | Nantahala Outdoor Center | $60,979 | $29.32 | 1 |
| 8 | Trails Carolina | $60,057 | $28.87 | 8 |
| 9 | SOS International | $55,925 | $26.89 | 1 |
| 10 | Double H Ranch | $54,928 | $26.41 | 3 |