How To Become A Docent: What It Is and Career Path

What is a docent and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a docent. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.6 an hour? That's $40,771 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 4,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreDocentUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,771

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.3

Growth Rate 12%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.67%

Asian 9.89%

Black or African American 6.48%

Hispanic or Latino 10.37%

Unknown 5.35%

White 67.23%

Gender

female 67.01%

male 32.99%

Age - 28

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 - 28

Stress Level

6.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.1

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.3

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a docent

Explore docent education requirements

Most common docent degrees

Bachelor's

71.9 %

Master's

10.4 %

Associate

9.5 %

Start to develop specific docent skills

Skills	Percentages
Natural History	39.86%
Public Speaking	10.23%
Front Desk	6.90%
Educational Programs	6.34%
Aquarium	5.74%

Complete relevant docent training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New docents 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 a docent based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real docent resumes.

Research docent duties and responsibilities

Lead VIP guests on guide tours of the property and facilitate their involvement in special events, productions, and conventions.
Inform visitors throughout the aquarium on specific exhibits, animals, and marine wildlife conservation.
Educate aquarium guests on the importance of oceanic conservation, and answer questions concerning the species on display
Control exhibits that require oversight in the financial department.

Prepare your docent resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your docent 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 a docent resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Docent Resume templates

Build a professional Docent 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 Docent resume.

Apply for docent jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a docent 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 docents rate their job?