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Tour Guides and Escorts

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Escort individuals or groups on sightseeing tours or through places of interest, such as industrial establishments, public buildings, and art galleries.

Related: Park Naturalists Reservation & Transportation Ticket Agents & Travel Clerks Travel Agents Travel Guides Ushers, Lobby Attendants, & Ticket Takers

Industries: Arts & Entertainment Administration & Support Services

Summary
Details

Research various topics, including site history, environmental conditions, and clients' skills and abilities to plan appropriate expeditions, instruction, and commentary.
Distribute brochures, show audiovisual presentations, and explain establishment processes and operations at tour sites.
Greet and register visitors, and issue any required identification badges or safety devices.
Train other guides and volunteers.
Provide for physical safety of groups, performing such activities as providing first aid or directing emergency evacuations.
Provide directions and other pertinent information to visitors.
Distribute brochures, show audiovisual presentations, and explain establishment processes and operations at tour sites.
Describe tour points of interest to group members, and respond to questions.
Speak foreign languages to communicate with foreign visitors.
Conduct educational activities for school children.
Greet and register visitors, and issue any required identification badges or safety devices.
Provide information about wildlife varieties and habitats, as well as any relevant regulations, such as those pertaining to hunting and fishing.
Teach skills, such as proper climbing methods, and demonstrate and advise on the use of equipment.
Collect fees and tickets from group members.
Assemble and check the required supplies and equipment prior to departure.
Describe tour points of interest to group members, and respond to questions.
Monitor visitors' activities to ensure compliance with establishment or tour regulations and safety practices.
Solicit tour patronage and sell souvenirs.
Speak foreign languages to communicate with foreign visitors.
Solicit tour patronage and sell souvenirs.
Perform clerical duties, such as filing, typing, operating switchboards, or routing mail and messages.
Escort individuals or groups on cruises, sightseeing tours, or through places of interest, such as industrial establishments, public buildings, or art galleries.
Select travel routes and sites to be visited based on knowledge of specific areas.
Drive motor vehicles to transport visitors to establishments and tour site locations.

Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.

Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
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.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
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.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
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.
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.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

48830/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

23.48/hr

Currently Employed

1,360

Yearly Projected Openings

320

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

Optimism
Social Orientation
Cooperation
Dependability
Adaptability
Self-Control

Busses
Desktop computers
Electronic charts or maps or atlases
Laser fax machine
Microphones
Mobile medical services first aid kits
Mobile phones
Passenger or automobile ferries
Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
Touring bicycles

Computer based training software
Customer relationship management CRM software
Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Graphics or photo imaging software
Internet browser software
Mobile location based services software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Video conferencing software
Web page creation and editing software
Word processing software

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