How To Become A Youth Mentor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a youth mentor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

A Youth Mentor is responsible for guiding, educating, and aiding young people through life and certain difficulties and is meant to act as a role model for them. Often, they work in programs targeted at marginalized individuals and are intended to offer them a chance at a better life.

They must aim to connect and develop relationships with the program's attendants to better help them understand them. They also use this to better understand what kind of projects and programs would work best on entertaining and educating these kids. They often work with mental health professionals and social workers in order to achieve this, too.

A person hoping to become a Youth Mentor might find it advantageous to have a degree in a field such as Child Psychology or a subject applicable to the program hiring. Past experience in mentorship and prevention education is also important, as well as interpersonal and communication skills. A Youth Mentor may volunteer their time, but they earn an average of $11.05 an hour when paid.

What general advice would you give to a youth mentor?

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

Dr., Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Vanguard University

Opportunities come in many different shapes and sizes, but they are still out there. Whether you are seeking to land a job in education or the non-profit sector, you will need to familiarize yourself and get used to all things digital, for the sake of communicating effectively. The younger your student or service partner's mindset, the more digitally savvy you will need to be, especially in the classroom and in the non-profit world.

ScoreYouth MentorUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $32,750

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.9

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.14%

Asian 6.65%

Black or African American 11.14%

Hispanic or Latino 18.66%

Unknown 5.16%

White 56.25%

Gender

female 53.00%

male 47.00%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a youth mentor

Explore youth mentor education requirements

Most common youth mentor degrees

Bachelor's

64.6 %

Associate

14.9 %

High School Diploma

9.9 %

Start to develop specific youth mentor skills

Skills	Percentages
Mental Health	15.60%
Substance Abuse	13.95%
Eating Disorders	11.25%
Academic Support	10.90%
Social Work	7.24%

Complete relevant youth mentor training and internships

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

Research youth mentor duties and responsibilities

Lead youth in discussions about HIV prevention & awareness
Assist in achieving and maintaining DoD certification and national accreditation or equivalent compliance.
Maintain cleanliness of the establishment at all times.
Administer first aid and CPR as required, and medication as directed.

Prepare your youth mentor resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable youth mentor resume templates

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