Career profile for Tutor

What does a Tutor do?

Tutors instruct individual students or small groups of students in academic subjects to support formal class instruction or to prepare students for standardized or admissions tests.

What kind of tasks does a Tutor perform regularly?

Tutors are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Provide feedback to students, using positive reinforcement techniques to encourage, motivate, or build confidence in students.
Teach students study skills, note-taking skills, and test-taking strategies.
Review class material with students by discussing text, working solutions to problems, or reviewing worksheets or other assignments.
Provide private instruction to individual or small groups of students to improve academic performance, improve occupational skills, or prepare for academic or occupational tests.
Assess students' progress throughout tutoring sessions.
Schedule tutoring appointments with students or their parents.
Monitor student performance or assist students in academic environments, such as classrooms, laboratories, or computing centers.
Organize tutoring environment to promote productivity and learning.
Participate in training and development sessions to improve tutoring practices or learn new tutoring techniques.
Develop teaching or training materials, such as handouts, study materials, or quizzes.
Maintain records of students' assessment results, progress, feedback, or school performance, ensuring confidentiality of all records.
Prepare lesson plans or learning modules for tutoring sessions according to students' needs and goals.
Collaborate with students, parents, teachers, school administrators, or counselors to determine student needs, develop tutoring plans, or assess student progress.
Prepare and facilitate tutoring workshops, collaborative projects, or academic support sessions for small groups of students.
Research or recommend textbooks, software, equipment, or other learning materials to complement tutoring.

The above responsibilities are specific to Tutors. More generally, Tutors are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Training and Teaching Others		Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships		Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others		Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
Coaching and Developing Others		Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.

Training and Teaching Others

Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships

Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others

Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

Coaching and Developing Others

Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.

What is a Tutor salary?

The median salary for a Tutor is $40,590, and the average salary is $50,390. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Tutor salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Tutors earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Tutors earn less than $22,110 per year, 25% earn less than $28,840, 75% earn less than $63,170, and 90% earn less than $91,630.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Tutors is expected to change by 15.6%, and there should be roughly 53,000 open positions for Tutors every year.

Median annual salary: $40,590
Typical salary range: $22,110 - $91,630
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 15.6%

What personality traits are common among Tutors?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Tutor are usually higher in their Social and Investigative interests.

Tutors typically have very strong Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Also, Tutors typically have strong Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Tutor tend to value Relationships, Independence, and Achievement.

Most importantly, Tutors very strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Tutors strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Lastly, Tutors strongly value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Tutors must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, concern for others, and integrity.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Tutors, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Concern for Others		Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Concern for Others

Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

What education and training do Tutors need?

Many Tutors will have a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Tutors usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Educational degrees among Tutors

1.9% did not complete high school or secondary school
9.9% completed high school or secondary school
16.6% completed some college coursework
8.4% earned a Associate's degree
37.1% earned a Bachelor's degree
21.5% earned a Master's degree
4.7% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Tutors

Tutors may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as education and training, customer and personal service, or mathematics knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Tutors might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Education and Training		Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Mathematics		Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Psychology		Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Sociology and Anthropology		Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

Education and Training

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Mathematics

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Psychology

Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Sociology and Anthropology

Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

Important Abilities needed by Tutors

Tutors must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Tutors need abilities such as oral expression, oral comprehension, and speech clarity in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Tutors, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Speech Clarity		The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Speech Clarity

The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Critical Skills needed by Tutors

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Tutors frequently use skills like instructing, active listening, and learning strategies to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Tutors, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Instructing		Teaching others how to do something.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Learning Strategies		Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Instructing

Teaching others how to do something.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Learning Strategies

Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

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