How To Become An Academic Tutor: What It Is and Career Path

What is an academic tutor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Christopher Hanson

At some point in your academic life, you must have hired an educated tutor to get good grades. At that time, you might not realize it, but once you reach your destination, you then understand the critical role that person played in your education. With a mean salary of $14.40 an hour, the tutor meets with the student at the time decided mutually by the student, parents, and tutor.

Other than that, Academic tutors work even harder during exam season and may teach for more than 40 hours per week. They help their students learn new concepts and encourage, motivate, support, and acknowledge them. It enables the students to instantly answer all of the teacher's questions and impress everyone in the class.

To give tuition to students, you at least require a high school diploma. But you will see some tutor roles demanding a bachelor's degree. An academic tutor with patience, practical communication skills, creativity, and confidence is best suited for teaching any student type.

What general advice would you give to an Academic Tutor?

Christopher Hanson

Assistant Professor of Music, Director of Music Education and Orchestral Activities, Seattle Pacific University

Keep asking questions and look for opportunities to engage in teaching and learning wherever you can. Connect with peers and future colleagues. Do not just wait. Now is the time to create and sustain dialog on educational change. Although there are endless numbers of variables to how, when, what, and with whom we learn, our genuine curiosity and sincere desire to engage others in the educative process is our greatest hope to see education in a better place than it was before the pandemic.

We must heed the call of innovation and encourage a transition from our current state of triage and survival. You, as a recent graduate, are the future of what education will be. Ask yourself, what will the world look like that you will help create? Is this a world that you and others can learn in? What more can you do to secure the possibilities and promise of education for all? These are the questions that will fuel change and secure growth through the inevitable vicissitudes of education.

ScoreAcademic TutorUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,047

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

9.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.49%

Asian 11.48%

Black or African American 10.10%

Hispanic or Latino 15.38%

Unknown 5.82%

White 56.72%

Gender

female 58.76%

male 41.24%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress Level

3.9

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

5.3

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

9.4

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an academic tutor

Explore academic tutor education requirements

Most common academic tutor degrees

Bachelor's

72.3 %

Master's

11.6 %

Associate

9.5 %

Start to develop specific academic tutor skills

Skills	Percentages
Math	17.82%
Mathematics	11.11%
Academic Support	8.92%
Student Athletes	6.33%
Organic Chemistry	4.63%

Complete relevant academic tutor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New academic tutors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an academic tutor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real academic tutor resumes.

Research academic tutor duties and responsibilities

Provide one-on-one tutoring to students in a variety of levels of mathematics including basic math, algebra and trigonometry.
Tutor middle school students in algebra and geometry, with capacity to address all academic subjects.
Provide academic assistance to fellow students in the biological sciences, systems physiology, and physics.
Provide academic assistance to undergraduate students in economics, college algebra, and philosophy.

Prepare your academic tutor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your academic tutor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an academic tutor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Academic Tutor Resume templates

Build a professional Academic Tutor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Academic Tutor resume.

Apply for academic tutor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an academic tutor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do academic tutors rate their job?