Working for SWLC

We’re Hiring Writing Tutor & W-CATs for 2026–2027!

Learn more and apply by January 4, 2026 (priority deadline). Final deadline: January 18th. Paid training runs February–April. Start tutoring fall 2026!

Our Language Tutor hiring for SY 26/27 will open in late February 2026. Stay tuned!

So you’re interested in becoming a tutor for #SWLCNation? Awesome! Read below for details about joining our team. You can also email Dr. B (Bridget Fullerton) at bfullert@bates.edu with any questions or to talk about your interest in the position of SWLC W-CAT, Writing Tutor, or Language Tutor!

WRITING TUTORS

Be a model student and peer leader on campus by becoming a SWLC Writing Tutor! Writing Tutors are SWLC’s Varsity Team. A Writing Tutor’s main role is to support any student on any writing task for any audience or purpose. This can include helping students write a biology lab or economics paper; craft a film review or compose poetry or creative nonfiction; brainstorm ideas for a philosophy paper or research questions for a senior thesis; write a personal statement for graduate school or an grant application; and so much more! In fact, the best part of being a Writing Tutor is getting to interact with students across so many different disciplines and for so many different writing goals and purposes. In doing this work, SWLC Writing Tutors become some of the most flexible, reflective, and savvy communicators on campus, going on to become Honors Thesis Writers, Fulbright English Teaching Assistants, journalists, teachers, graduate school Teaching Assistants, playwrights, marketing and advertising executives, and much more! In this way, becoming a Writing Tutor is more than a job; it’s a passion.

Writing Tutors work an average of 4 to 8 hours/week, depending on their shift schedule. Shift schedules are somewhat flexible and work occurs during SWLC’s hours of operation. Biweekly staff meetings and ongoing professional development are paid and required during employment.

  • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER: Apply for Writing Tutor position. To apply, you must have already completed–or be on target to complete–an FYS/W1 course with at least a B+ average.
  • DECEMBER/JANUARY: Be successfully hired.
  • FEBRUARY – APRIL: Complete ~30 hours of a Basic-level Writing Tutor Education (BWTE) program, which is facilitated by Dr. Bridget Fullerton and offered through Lyceum in an asynchronous/synchronous (hybrid, hi-flex) model. This is paid work throughout the winter semester and amounts to about 3 hours/week.
    • Note: Due to federal labor law regulations, you must be on campus to complete the BWTE program.
  • ANY FALL SEMESTER: Work as a Writing Course-Attached Tutor, or W-CAT, supporting the first-year student writers in a single FYS.
  • ANY MAY/SHORT TERM: Take EDUC s19: Teaching and Tutoring Writing [With] Power (.5 credits) and complete with at least a B+ average.
  • ANYTIME: Complete a W2 course with at least a B+ average.
  • IMMEDIATELY AFTER COMPLETING THE ABOVE REQUIREMENTS: Work as a permanent, year-round Writing Tutor, usually in your junior or senior years.

NOTE: Any Writing Tutor who has completed all of the other requirements except the W2, will usually be offered part-time work (1-3 hours/week) as a mentee, observer, or pick-up tutor until they successfully complete a W2 course.

W-CATs, or Writing Course Attached Tutors

Be a mentor by becoming a SWLC W-CAT! A wonderful way to begin your Writing Tutor journey or to “give back” to students who are in a course you once were in, is to become a Writing Course Attached Tutor, or a W-CAT for a single writing-attentive course (usually a W1, First Year Seminar). This is a great opportunity for students interested in giving writing tutoring a try and supporting first-year writers as they transition to college-level writing, reading, and speaking tasks, or in “giving back” to your major or minor or working closely with your advisor or a particular professor with whom you’ve had a course (or several courses!) during your Bates career. All W-CATs are matched one-to-one with a partner-professor who is teaching an FYS the upcoming fall semester.

W-CATs work an average of 1 to 6 hours/week, depending on student demand for their services, which depends on the W-course professor’s expectations, as well as writing assignment processes and due dates. Shift schedules are somewhat flexible and work occurs during SWLC’s hours of operation. Biweekly staff meetings and ongoing professional development are paid and required during employment.

  • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER: Apply for W-CAT position. To apply, you must have already completed–or be on target to complete–an FYS/W1 course with at least a B+ average.
  • DECEMBER/JANUARY: Be successfully hired, which includes being paired with a professor who is scheduled to teach an FYS the following fall.
  • FEBRUARY – APRIL: Complete ~30 hours of a Basic Writing Tutor Education (BWTE) program, which is facilitated by Dr. Bridget Fullerton and offered through Lyceum in an asynchronous/synchronous (hybrid, hi-flex) model. This is paid work throughout the winter semester and amounts to about 3 hours/week.
    • Note: Due to federal labor law regulations, you must be on campus to complete the BWTE program.
  • ANY FALL SEMESTER: Work as a Writing Course-Attached Tutor, or W-CAT, supporting the first-year student writers in a single FYS. Once you have completed the BWTE program, you can be placed as a W-CAT any semester there is an opening.

NOTE: Any tutor who has completed one semester of W-CAT tutoring work may choose to move on to become a SWLC Writing Tutor. Read more about the Writing Tutor Trajectory above.

LANGUAGE TUTORS

Language Tutors are our wonderful–and always multilingual!–staff who support Bates language-learners in any of the eight languages taught at Bates College, including Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, Greek, Latin, Russian, and German. Language Tutors should have taken courses and/or be currently and actively engaged in learning the language at Bates, though we sometimes hire native speakers for certain languages.

The application for Language Tutors usually goes live in late February or early March of each year for the following school year and only for positions that are open. We often have Language Tutors return year after year so we may not be hiring in a particular language because we already have tutors for that language. This changes year to year, so check back each year! Language Tutors are trained on-the-job as they begin working.

Language Tutors work an average of 3 to 6 hours/week, depending on their shift schedules and student demand for their services. Shift schedules are somewhat flexible and work occurs during SWLC’s hours of operation. Biweekly staff meetings and ongoing professional development are paid and required during employment.

COME SEE US WORK!

We highly recommend that you meet with a few tutors in SWLC before you consider joining us to get a sense of the work and see how we teach, support, and educate our peers. Tutors will be happy to talk to you about their work and are encouraged to do so! The double benefit of this is that you get support with your writing, speaking, or language-learning goals while doing some light “job shadowing.”

We hope you join SWLC Nation!

Have questions about employment with the SWLC? Please email swlc@bates.edu.