Tour guide work: Freelance

You will meet people of this profession in large cities, resorts, historical and cultural places. Of course, no museum can do without them. Among the guides there are both full-time employees and “free artists”. The appearance on the Ukrainian labor market of guides working for themselves - freelancers, is associated with a decrease in formal requirements for people of this profession, compared to the period of the Soviet Union. In the new Law on Tourism, excursion activities are exempt from licensing. This has opened up an opportunity for almost everyone who wants to work.

Natalia Gladysh, a student of the III course of the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute, worked as a guide in the Scientific and Educational Museum of Sexual Cultures of the World.

“A friend invited me to work at the museum. As a student, I could only work in my free time. I do not have any special education in this field, I just listened to a museum employee conducting a tour several times, sketched something myself, but mostly I remembered.
Where to start?
Starting a tour guide from zero is actually not so easy. To do this, you need, of course, very great enthusiasm and storytelling skills. If you are very interested in the work of a guide, but you do not know where to start, then start with admission to special courses. For those who live in Kiev, the profession of a guide can be obtained at the University of Tourism, Economics and Law, the Institute of Tourism of the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine.http://www.itfpu.kiev.ua/index/index.php?inc=un&id=2). The training period is from three to six months. Upon completion of the training program, guides are issued a special certificate. Residents of Crimea can take these courses in Simferopol in the Crimean excursion and methodical center, Poltava residents and many other cities have such an opportunity (at the Excursion Bureau and at universities).

Nikolai Nazhilov, graduate student of Yaroslavsgoko Pedagogical University named after Ushinsky, says: I received the education of a guide at special courses, which invited students of our university. He started working a year later. He came to the agency "Yaroslavl Travel and Excursions Bureau" - the main company that organizes excursions from ships in Yaroslavl. I have been working for 5 years and am a freelance tour guide. Now I can afford to work as a freelancer: I lead walking and bus tours. Sometimes they are invited from another Yaroslavl tour agency to conduct excursions for them. Sometimes private individuals apply. There are many advantages in the work of a freelancer guide, it is very difficult to list everything at once: a free schedule, communication with people, good payment with a relatively small load. Yaroslavl is also a major tourist center, so there is plenty of work in the summer.”

Forward for the tourists
Opportunities for work, you can look not only in your city, but also in the resort towns during the tourist season. Katerina Baklanova, a graduate of Kharkiv Aviation Institute, shared her experience.

During the summer I work as a tour guide in Crimea. This summer will be the 5th in a row. I received the education of a guide last year at the courses at the Tauride National University in Simferopol at the Faculty of Tourism. The courses lasted a month and another 2 weeks - advanced training. Before that I worked without any education. I'm self-taught.

When asked about the peculiarities of finding a job for a tour guide and its conditions in the Crimea, Katerina said: Many companies recruit guides for the summer. Work is mostly seasonal. If you hire a company for the summer, it is real, but to work by yourself – not. This requires a work permit issued by the Ministry of Tourism and Resorts of Crimea. For such work as a guide, first of all, you need a good memory, because you need to tell a lot. And, of course, strong nerves and stamina. We leave the house at 6 a.m. and come back at 10 p.m. every day. A day off is when you can’t work at all.”
Features of the profession
“The guides do not talk about their
Devotion to emperors and no advice.
Boris Ivanov, “Bronze Horseman and Guide”.

The work of a freelancer-guide in addition to education requires certain skills and personal qualities. Among them, Natalia Gladysh singled out the following: “Chain memory, observation, sociability, erudition. In addition, in order to conduct a good tour, you need to be well oriented in the whole issue, as you can also ask something additional that is not in the official text. If the guide in this case shows his ignorance, it immediately falls in the eyes of the audience.”

In the work of a guide, as well as other types of freelancing, there is an unspoken rule: “First you work for the image, then the image works for you.” In this case, there is a certain feature: if in the work of a designer, copywriter or journalist, the final product is evaluated, then in the work of a guide - the process.

“Your work speaks for itself. If you are an expert, you will not be without customers. Another thing is that it takes several years to work. Another important feature is that if working from home, no matter how you look, the guide should be representatively dressed. Cultural literacy is mandatory, as is diction, says Natalia Gladysh.

No easy way.
In the field of excursions, there are also its own characteristics and difficulties. Student of Sochi State University of Tourism and Resorts Yulia Kolesnichenko highlighted the following: Pros of their work: “Staying practically all day in the fresh air, communicating with people (from tourists you can also learn a lot of new and interesting things for yourself), the possibility of additional earnings (tips)”.

I had to face Julia and difficulties. During the tour, you are the only representative of the agency on the bus and all the complaints about the fact that tourists at the points of sale of tickets were promised an air-conditioned bus, and old Ikarus came for them, tell you. In Sochi, almost all agencies cannot establish effective work, because everyone is trying to snatch a bigger piece from a vacationer. For example, sellers of excursion tickets on the streets usually promise golden mountains to tourists. When I tried to complain to the director of the agency, I was told that “it’s a market, you can’t cheat, you can’t sell.” But the heart of the guide is not iron, so this season in Sochi I did not finish, because I did not want to take part in the scam. ?
Another problem with the guide is a lot of competition. Of course, in the resort city in the height of the season, this problem is less, since the “working hands” there are in demand, but the rest of the time with work is also difficult. Enthusiasts are looking for a way out in that, roughly speaking, they are engaged in self-promotion: they hang ads, offer their services for organizing and conducting excursions in schools, universities, various institutions. The advantage of this work is that you set the price for your work.

How much does a tour guide earn? Of course, in different regions, and depending on The structure in which you work. In the museum, the tour guide works, as a rule, on the route - a percentage of excursions. For example, the average salary of a guide in Kiev is 50 UAH (from personal experience). Katerina Baklanova, about the payment of seasonal workers in the Crimea says: “Earnings are good.” I won’t give you the numbers, it’s a trade secret. We have a stable salary for each tour.”

Of course, in order to become a professional and allow yourself to work in freelance mode, so that the audience is looking for you, and not you, you need to constantly improve your skills. As Boris Ivanov wrote in the above-mentioned story: “The share of the guide is to dig into books and archives, record street speeches and not stop – talk and talk.”