Guidance.help

Tutors

People classed as 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. The skills rated most useful are reading comprehension, instructing, and speaking. The job can ask you to provide feedback to students, using positive reinforcement techniques to encourage, motivate, or build confidence in students. With a code of SCA, this is mostly a job for people drawn to helping, teaching or caring for people. Conventional interests also help, rated 3.4 out of 7. Getting in usually takes one or two years of vocational training, an apprenticeship or an associate’s degree, a level O*NET calls medium preparation. It tends to suit people who want helping, teaching or caring for people, and it offers little for anyone seeking leading, persuading and making business decisions.

What they do

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.

Main tasks

  • Provide feedback to students, using positive reinforcement techniques to encourage, motivate, or build confidence in students.
  • Review class material with students by discussing text, working solutions to problems, or reviewing worksheets or other assignments.
  • Assess students' progress throughout tutoring sessions.
  • Teach students study skills, note-taking skills, and test-taking strategies.
  • Provide private instruction to individual or small groups of students to improve academic performance, improve occupational skills, or prepare for academic or occupational tests.
  • Participate in training and development sessions to improve tutoring practices or learn new tutoring techniques.

Skills

  • Reading Comprehension
  • Instructing
  • Speaking
  • Learning Strategies
  • Active Listening
  • Social Perceptiveness

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You get energy from helping other people move forward.
  • You are willing to put in a year or two of focused training.
  • You are comfortable relying on reading comprehension and instructing.

May not suit you if

  • You find a full day of dealing with people draining.
  • You want to lead people or run the business side. Enterprising rates 1.7 out of 7 here.
  • You need to start within a few months, with no training period.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code SCA takes the three highest, and Social comes first here.

Preparation

Medium preparation. Expect vocational school, an apprenticeship, related experience or an associate’s degree, usually one or two years in total.

Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Bachelor's Degree. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.

Also called

  • Academic Coach
  • Academic Guidance Specialist
  • Accounting Tutor
  • Finance Tutor
  • Grade School Tutor

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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.