Career Atlas USA

Tutors

Median salary
$43,350
Average salary
$48,050
Employment
175,070
Projected growth
0.6% growth
Annual openings
37,100
Typical entry education
Some college, no degree

What Tutors 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.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 20242034.

Related work experience
None
On-the-job training
None
Self-employed
13.7%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 3 of 5

Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

Experience
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
Education
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Job training
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

  • Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.5/5
  • English Languageimportance 4.2/5
  • Education and Trainingimportance 4.1/5
  • Mathematicsimportance 3.7/5
  • Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.2/5
  • Psychologyimportance 3.1/5
  • Administrativeimportance 2.8/5
  • Chemistryimportance 2.7/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

  • Spend Time Sitting4.9/5
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.8/5
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.6/5
  • Contact With Others4.6/5
  • E-Mail4.5/5
  • Physical Proximity4.4/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

  • Instructingimportance 4.1/5
  • Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.8/5
  • Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.6/5
  • Service Orientationimportance 3.4/5
  • Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.3/5
  • Time Managementimportance 3.1/5
  • Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
  • Persuasionimportance 3.0/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

  • Dependability
  • Cooperation
  • Optimism
  • Empathy
  • Social Orientation
  • Integrity
  • Sincerity

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

  • SocialHigh
  • ConventionalMedium
  • ArtisticMedium
  • InvestigativeLow
  • RealisticLow
  • EnterprisingLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 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.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where tutors make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

  1. 1Ann Arbor, MI7.38× national avg
  2. 2Visalia, CA3.80× national avg
  3. 3Lawrence, KS3.49× national avg
  4. 4El Centro, CA3.31× national avg
  5. 5Kalamazoo-Portage, MI2.61× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

See the full career path from Tutors

Full salary data & percentiles →Best states for this career →Highest-paying states →