Education, Training, and Library · Holland code SCA

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.

Also called: Academic Coach, Academic Guidance Specialist, Professional Tutor, Tutor, Accounting Tutor, Finance Tutor, Grade School Tutor, Private Mathematics Tutor.

O*NET 25-3041.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $43,350; Middle half earn $35,000 to $54,860. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 41% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +1% · Slower than average; 215,500 jobs in 2024, projected 216,800. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Tutors".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.
Collaborate with students, parents, teachers, school administrators, or counselors to determine student needs, develop tutoring plans, or assess student progress.
Monitor student performance or assist students in academic environments, such as classrooms, laboratories, or computing centers.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Learning Strategies4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
Writing3.6 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.5 / 5
English Language4.2 / 5
Education and Training4.1 / 5
Mathematics3.7 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.2 / 5
Psychology3.1 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic21
Investigative31
Artistic35
Social96
Enterprising12
Conventional39

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

university teaching assistant · DE Wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft · FR chargé de cours/chargée de cours
adult literacy teacher · DE Lehrkraft für Erwachsenenalphabetisierung · FR formateur «lutte contre l’illettrisme/français langue étrangère»/formatrice «lutte contre l’illettrisme/français langue étrangère»
teacher of talented and gifted students · DE Lehrkraft für Begabtenförderung · FR enseignant pour élèves intellectuellement précoces/enseignante pour élèves intellectuellement précoces
learning mentor · DE Lerncoach · FR assistant pédagogique/assistante pédagogique
public speaking coach · DE Rede-Coach · FR coach prise de parole en public
tutor · DE Nachhilfelehrer/Nachhilfelehrerin · FR répétiteur/répétitrice

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Higher level teaching assistants (3231)62,100 employed
Teaching assistants (6112)151,100 employed
Educational support assistants (6113)327,200 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Japan

Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “個人教師”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.

Median monthly pay: ¥292,600; Middle half earn ¥246,300 to ¥352,500 a month.
Workers in the category: 33,500; Regular employees in firms of ten or more.

Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test