Also called: NOLS Instructor, Outward Bound Instructor
Leads multi-week wilderness courses teaching backpacking, climbing, and leadership.
Instructors spend weeks in the backcountry with students, teaching navigation, camp cooking, and teamwork. It is a lifestyle job for people who love the outdoors.
Seasonal contract work.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Certificate, about 2 years after high school. Wilderness First Responder plus years of outdoor experience; instructor courses.
Ways in: Certification, On-the-job training, 4-year college. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Outdoor Leadership, Recreation Management, Education.
Growing about average (about 4% over 10 years).
Low risk for 10 years. Course planning gets digital help, but teaching teens to navigate, cook and work as a team in the backcountry stays human.
Classes: PE/outdoor ed, Health/first aid, Psychology, Earth Science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 25-3021.
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