Back in February, Forbes Magazine ran an article about the ten best careers in the field of sports. The list was created by a company called CareerCast and was based on factors like “physical demands, degree of competitiveness, mid-level incomes, income growth potential, and stress factors like deadlines and travel.”
Athletes themselves were left off the list because the physical demands put on them and the level of stress they deal with were deemed too high by CareerCast’s standards. But those that did land a spot make for an interesting read:
Sports-related jobs that are medical in nature
Two of the top-paying jobs mentioned fall into this category – the physical therapist and the sports psychologist. Physical therapists help athletes recover from physical injuries (most often of the bone and muscle variety), while sports psychologists help them deal with problems and prepare mentally for the games and competitions.
Sports-related jobs that involve crunching numbers
Numbers are the name of the game sometimes, so the jobs in this category are statisticians and agents. Statisticians in the sports field specialize in sports analytics and can work for individual teams or leagues, gathering and analyzing information on one team or the sport as a whole. Agents deal with contract negotiations over salaries, bonuses, and endorsement deals.
Sports-related jobs that deal with the public
An obvious job in this category is the public relations manager, who deals with both the image of the team as a whole and those of the players themselves by controlling the flow of information about them. A not-so-obvious job in the category is an event coordinator – the person who works behind the scenes to manage factors like seating, security, and the media. Sporting events also provide some of the best opportunities for advertising account executives and photojournalists.
Sports-related jobs that are in the public eye
Next to the job of athlete, the jobs in this category are probably the best known in the field – the jobs of broadcaster and coach. A broadcaster usually works on the collegiate or professional level of a sport on either TV or radio, announcing play-by-plays of the games and interviewing the players. A coach works directly with the players training them, encouraging them, and developing strategies aimed at winning the game. Depending on whether the job is on an amateur or a professional level, these jobs can have the widest range in salary, with local broadcasters and coaches earning far less than their national colleagues.
As you see, pursuing a job in the pro sports field of today doesn’t have to mean being an athlete or a coach. It can mean being a lot of different things. If you’d like help in pursuing your dream of working in the sports field, contact us. Helping you reach your dream is part of our job.