Want to spend your days outdoors but don’t have a zillion certifications? Check out these ideas for attaining your first guiding job!
Imagine getting up tomorrow morning, excited for the day you’re about to spend outside.
You grab a big breakfast, your hiking boots, and a packed backpack.
Head out the door, drive up the mountain, and show people around Mother Nature for a day.
Now imagine getting to do this every day, not just for fun, but for work.
Sounds good, right?
Being an outdoor or tour guide can be a tough industry to enter, especially with the never-ending spectrum of technical gear and knowledge that comes with being in the outdoors.
Many of these jobs require a lot of certifications and sometimes years of experience.
But there’s good news for the regular folks who did not spend their youth working towards their Level-8000 Mountain-Climbing-Life-Saving-Avalanche-Surfing certificate!
If you have spent your leisure time in the backcountry and are looking to take your interests to the next level, check out some ideas below for entry-level guiding jobs:
1.
Snowshoe Guide at a Front-Country Mountain
Take members of the public out for some winter-wonderland hiking fun on the mountain! Front country ski hills often have their own snowshoe trail systems near their downhill areas.
These spots act as extra profit for mountain business, and a golden ticket for you to get some guiding experience while having the amenities of a fully trained patrol on site, so you don’t have the responsibility of being a highly qualified First Aid responder.
What’s Required?
Public speaking skills, good fitness, and a positive attitude in any weather are required for this gig.
Often times you will be dealing with folks who have never hiked before, so it’s important you know how to read an audience (including their fitness levels), and play to their strengths/weaknesses accordingly!
2.
Bus Tour Guide
Ride along on world class journeys, talk to people form all around the world, and share information about the outdoors! If you live nearby an outdoor tourism mecca (think the PNW, Banff, or any National Park), and want to spend the day outside without any major physical exertion, bus guiding may be right for you! Big bus & tour companies will often hire non-driving guides or ‘hosts’ for long bus trips that act as the face of customer service and information for guests.
You will be able to stop off with the guests at various checkpoints, and show them the best your area has got in terms of accessible nature!
What’s Required?
Customer service experience and local knowledge (the wider the range, the better) are the two keys to bus guiding.
The ability to work with a rigid schedule and long hours will also help you get ahead in this demanding role.
3.
Backroads Guide
Backroads is a company that hires a wide variety of employees in terms of skill set, and you get.
