It’s really no surprise — kids are tricky to balance with the rest of adult responsibilities. This is especially true if you’re looking for sports jobs that lead to sustainable careers.
In fact, a November 2015 survey from Pew Research Center found that in 46 percent of two-parent households, both mom and dad work full time. What’s more, 60 percent of moms and 52 percent of dads admit balancing their job with family responsibilities is difficult.
This often puts a strain on marriages, relationships with children, and your personal well-being. But everyone agrees — every parent deserves the opportunity to build a successful career that also allows you to manage to raise children and maintain a healthy home life.
Here are the best sports jobs for working parents:
Customer Service
This profession has transformed dramatically as more companies are building a better employee and customer experience. The focus is on convenience. No more waiting outside of stadiums to buy tickets or going to a retail store to return your sports apparel.
A lot of customer service is handled online, and many employers offer positions with remote work options. Working from home eliminates commute time, and it also allows you to be readily available at home in case of a childcare emergency.
According to research from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), customer service remains a fast-growing career field. The job involves interacting with customers to handle complaints, educating them on your organization’s products and services, and processing orders. The day-to-day might include fielding phone calls, emails, and text messages, as well as following up on customer inquiries.
To earn sports jobs in customer service, showcase your communication skills as well as your ability to resolve conflict. Share stories about previous customer experiences in your cover letter and during your interviews.
Also, highlight any experience you have with specific sales software that will help you stand out from the competition.
Web Developer
This is another lucrative career that fits the working parent lifestyle. The BLS data found that this profession is growing much faster than the average field.
As a web developer, you design websites and manage the technical aspects of them, such as performance and capacity. You usually need a bachelor’s degree for sports jobs in web development.
Many employers offer flexible work arrangements for their web developers. However, there are also a lot of freelancing opportunities. In fact, BLS data shows that 16 percent of web developers are self-employed.
Earn these jobs by building a portfolio website to showcase your skills to employers and freelance clients. Expand your online presence by contributing to open-source projects and creating a GitHub account. GitHub is the largest host of source code in the world, and it provides you with the chance to show off your best coding skills.
Sports Writer
As most sports publications focus more on digital content, there are more sports jobs in writing with flexible work options. Major sports media companies are investing heavily in content creation, and that opens a lot of doors.
This is the perfect profession for wordsmiths who want to freelance and follow their creativity. Typically, employers look for formal education, like a degree in English or communications. A strong portfolio also carries a lot of value.
Focus on showcasing your writing skills. One of the best ways to do this is by starting a sports blog. This can also allow you to get familiar with web analytics. If you’re involved in marketing and blog writing, there is great value in being able to analyze the website data. This will help you understand how to optimize the content you’re creating to earn more traffic.
Build your expertise by taking freelance jobs and continue creating content. If you want to prove your specialties, like sports journalism, storytelling, or television writing, consider creating an online course. Then post it on platforms like Udemy and Skillshare, which makes it easier to promote your course and boost users.
Not only can you earn some extra cash, but you can also impress employers.
Project Management
This is the perfect field for great communicators who excel at delegating, collaborating and understanding how to align business practices with the company vision.
In the broadest sense of the profession, project managers are responsible for overseeing the process in five groups: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. In other words, you oversee a specific set of operations to accomplish a singular goal.
Many positions offer flexible schedules and work-from-home opportunities. You can find sports jobs in project management in a variety of areas within the company. For instance, if you specialize in marketing projects and digital media, you can pursue a marketing and media project manager role with a sports organization.
One of the most important attributes you need in project management is experience within a specialty. Consider how your experience can give your project management career some direction.
This broad field is highly competitive. Stand out by earning project management certifications. For example, if you specialize in business data, consider earning the PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA) certification from the Project Management Institute.
Also, showcase your skills to potential employers by sharing your experiences in management, shooting tutorials for popular project management software, and engaging in online discussions with project management groups.
As a parent, you shouldn’t have to choose between sports jobs and your family. Pursue these opportunities to build a healthy, fulfilling life, both at home and at work.
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What are the biggest challenges you face as a working parent in the sports world? Share in the comments!