CCollegeMatcher

Tour Guides and Escorts

US occupation · SOC 39-7011

Job titles people report: Art Museum Docent, Discovery Guide, Docent, Guide, Historical Interpreter, Museum Docent, Museum Educator, Museum Guide, Science Interpreter, Tour Guide

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$38,120
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$32,910 – $47,700
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
53,500
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+6.3%
At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)
Openings a year (projected)
11,900
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
High school diploma or equivalent
BLS

BLS publishes one wage and employment figure for tour and travel guides combined (code 39-7010). The pay and employment figures above are for that whole group, not for tour guides and escorts alone. So is the projection.

  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

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

Main tasks

  • Describe tour points of interest to group members, and respond to questions.
  • Escort individuals or groups on cruises, sightseeing tours, or through places of interest, such as industrial establishments, public buildings, or art galleries.
  • Monitor visitors' activities to ensure compliance with establishment or tour regulations and safety practices.
  • Conduct educational activities for school children.
  • Research various topics, including site history, environmental conditions, and clients' skills and abilities to plan appropriate expeditions, instruction, and commentary.
  • Provide directions and other pertinent information to visitors.
  • Select travel routes and sites to be visited based on knowledge of specific areas.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
High school diploma or equivalent
Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training
O*NET Job Zone 3
Medium preparation
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Social: helping, teaching and caring for people
  • Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions
  • Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 2 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Social Sciences

  • Archeology

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Social Sciences at the Major step.

Where many students take social sciences

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

History

  • History, General

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose History at the Major step.

Where many students take history

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk