How To Become A Biology Tutor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a biology tutor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Cynthia Carver

A biology tutor's in-depth knowledge and thorough understanding of the life sciences are in-demand in a wide variety of settings. As a biology tutor, you might expect to work for a university, a learning center, or directly for individual families.

Your work as a biology tutor will usually focus on one student at a time, though you may also teach small groups. In any case, your goal is to center on the individual needs of each learner in order to effectively instruct them in the study of living organisms.

Depending on the type of tutoring work you take, you might work anywhere from a few hours a week to full time. Often, it can be up to you just how many students you decide to teach. For each hour you work, you'll earn an average rate usually between $10 to $20.

The education requirements for biology tutors differ from employer to employer. While a degree in teaching or biology is often preferred, some tutors are able to find work simply after demonstrating their knowledge of biology.

What general advice would you give to a biology tutor?

Dr. Cynthia Carver

Associate Professor & Chair, Oakland University

Be prepared to work hard - your first year of teaching will be demanding - but know that you are doing important work. We are the profession that makes all others possible. And don't forget to ask for help.

ScoreBiology TutorUS Average

Salary

2.2

Avg. Salary $28,469

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

9.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.49%

Asian 11.57%

Black or African American 10.32%

Hispanic or Latino 15.51%

Unknown 5.83%

White 56.28%

Gender

female 65.14%

male 34.86%

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 a biology tutor

Explore biology tutor education requirements

Most common biology tutor degrees

Bachelor's

69.9 %

Associate

10.6 %

Master's

8.2 %

Start to develop specific biology tutor skills

Skills	Percentages
Anatomy	12.61%
Physiology	11.44%
General Biology	6.72%
Study	6.60%
Mathematics	5.27%

Complete relevant biology tutor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New biology 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 a biology tutor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real biology tutor resumes.

Research biology tutor duties and responsibilities

Group tutoring has help participants achieve a mean GPA 0.5 points higher than non-participating peers.
Tutor multiple subjects, including microbiology, ecology, botany, biochemistry, physiology, and cellular and molecular biology.
Help students identify misconceptions and use study strategies to learn new information
Create study guides for students to better understand introductory biology lessons.

Prepare your biology tutor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your biology 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 a biology 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 biology tutor resume templates

Build a professional biology 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 biology tutor resume.