20-Year Prospect
The tour guide is one of those jobs that's either going to be around forever, or is eventually going to be taken over by robots. You may think we're joking, but have you ever been to a museum or national park and seen people walking around with headphones? These self-guided tours feature a person and an exhibit, and a little machine telling historical anecdotes about it.
That, our friends, is technically a robot-guided tour. Even noted international tour guide and TV host Rick Steves is getting in on the action.
Looks like this technology is here to stay. Maybe they'll just let you guide from the comfort of Skype?
On the bright side, the job market is still on track for growth. The career should grow by about five percent over the coming years, which sounds small until you consider that five percent is over 13,000 new jobs (source). And with plenty of people still looking for that person-to-person experience, we feel good about the outlook here.
Just don't be surprised if your museum eventually assigns you a robot assistant. Hopefully they'll let you dress it up.