Athletes and Sports Competitors
Compete in athletic events.
- Median pay
- $66,710
- Doing it now
- 22,900
- By 2035
- Up 5.5%
- Usually needs
- No formal educational credential
a year
across the country
2,200 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Attend scheduled practice or training sessions.
- Participate in athletic events or competitive sports, according to established rules and regulations.
- Exercise or practice under the direction of athletic trainers or professional coaches to develop skills, improve physical condition, or prepare for competitions.
- Maintain equipment used in a particular sport.
- Maintain optimum physical fitness levels by training regularly, following nutrition plans, or consulting with health professionals.
- Assess performance following athletic competition, identifying strengths and weaknesses and making adjustments to improve future performance.
- Represent teams or professional sports clubs, performing such activities as meeting with members of the media, making speeches, or participating in charity events.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/FitnessSee 964 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Leading and persuading
Helping and teaching
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $66,710 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.