Docents are used in many parts of the world to supplement an institution's paid employees. Prospective docents generally undergo intensive training, to add to their communicative and interpretive skills, and are introduced to the institution's collection and its historical significance.

They are also given reading lists to add to the basic information given during training, and must then shadow experienced docents as they give their tours before ultimately conducting a tour on their own. In the US, docents can be found at many institutions, including local and national museums, zoos, historical landmarks, and parks.

In Germany, those who have passed "habilitation" may apply for the post of Privatdozent in a university. In practice, this means research work equivalent to a second doctor's thesis. Similar positions exist in other countries touched by the German university tradition. In Turkey, doçent is an academic title between the assistant professor and the full professor. In Russia, Poland and Hungary, as in Turkey, it is an academic title immediately below that of a full professor (Hungarian docens).

It is equivalent to "reader" in the UK and the associate professor in the US as well as Latvia. In Finland and Sweden, docent (Finnish dosentti, Swedish docent), is a title conferred to a person fulfilling requirements similar to German Privatdozent. Such persons are usually expected to give lectures on their specialties if their professional activities permit this.

The Hunt Museum runs Ireland's only active docent programme.