Careers in Sport, Fitness, and Exercise

Careers in Sport, Fitness, and Exercise is your guide to landing your dream job in one of today’s most exciting, popular, and fastest-growing industries!

Produced by the American Kinesiology Association, this hands-on guide includes detailed job descriptions, information on working conditions, salary ranges, responsibilities, key skills, and required certifications for 36 careers in sport and fitness:

• Aquatic therapist

• Athletic trainer (college or university sport team)

• Athletic trainer (high school sport team)

• Athletic trainer (as physician extender)

• Athletic trainer (clinical)

• Personal trainer

• Group exercise instructor

• Strength and conditioning coach

• Fitness center owner or manager

• Fitness leader in gerontology settings

• Health promotion specialist

• Fitness specialist

• Physical education teacher

• Sport instructor

• Coach

• Sport official

• Sport psychologist

• Sport administrator

• Sport marketer

• Media and public relations specialist

• Professional scout

• Sport event manager

• Sport journalist

• Sport facility operations manager

• Clinical exercise physiologist

• Certified clinical exercise specialist

• Sport dietitian

• Sports medicine clinic director

• Physical therapist

• Occupational therapist

• Medical and osteopathic physicians

• Chiropractor

• Physician assistant

• Kinesiology professor

• Kinesiology researcher

• Kinesiology department administrator

If you are ready to pursue a job in the sport, fitness, or exercise industry, Careers in Sport, Fitness, and Exercise is one resource you can’t be without.

The American Kinesiology Association (AKA), an association of over 100 college and university departments, was formed in February 2007 by the Human Kinetics Foundation with the support of the National Academy of Kinesiology. The AKA promotes kinesiology as a unified field of study and serves as an advocate at academic, governmental, and professional levels, both nationally and internationally. The AKA serves the needs of kinesiology departments at colleges and universities, assists scholarly societies associated with kinesiology, and encourages cross-disciplinary study in kinesiology.

Shirl Hoffman is the AKA’s former executive director and now editor of the e-magazine Kinesiology Today. He also is editor of the textbook Introduction to Kinesiology, Third Edition (2009, Human Kinetics), and is author of Good Game: Christianity and the Culture of Sports (2010, Baylor University Press). He is professor emeritus of kinesiology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he served as department head for 10 years.

“I have served as a professor, department chair, and academic dean, and I have observed hundreds of students who enroll in programs with little concept of career options and how to achieve employment goals. Students need guidance in understanding the options. Careers in Sport, Fitness, and Exercise provides that guidance.”

Brian J. Sharkey, PhD -- Professor Emeritus, University of Montana

Past President of American College of Sports Medicine

“Careers in Sport, Fitness, and Exercise offers clear information, helpful examples, and plenty of food for thought for those aspiring to find a career in this growing field.”

Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD -- Director of sports nutrition services at Healthworks, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

Author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Fourth Edition