The sports industry is brutally tough as only a few talented athletes can take center stage. Even though athletes can represent hundreds of sports, there are thousands of contenders for each one, so only a few manage to make a successful career. Becoming an athlete is a lucrative career choice.
However, opportunities are limited for them in the sports industry. There is a massive variety of high-paying and rewarding jobs that are perfect for non-athletes, especially former athletes. For many athletes, their careers can be short-lived due to numerous reasons such as aging or injury. However, the growing sports industry offers many spectacular career choices that are perfect for professionals with formal sports knowledge and experience. So, let’s take a look at the following career choices athletes can pursue.
- Marketing manager:
Media and marketing play a crucial role in promoting sports and related organizations. A sports marketing manager, for example, wears many hats in this position to overlook operations such as branding, coordinating events, managing social media, planning cohesive marketing strategies and more. This job aims to reach the target audience through promotional materials related to the athlete, the team, or the sport. Professionals typically holding a bachelor’s degree in business-related discipline or marketing start at entry-level. However, suppose you are a former athlete trying to aim for a higher position. In that case, you can always pursue higher degrees for better opportunities. Avail opportunities such as going for an online master of science in sports administration program to open a whole new world of sports management and marketing.
Median salary: Marketing managers can earn up to $135,900 annually.
Job growth: The job outlook is projected to grow by 8% up to 2028.
- Fitness Director:
Did you always feel like creating your own fitness routine and activities? As a fitness director, you can create and implement group and individual fitness activities for a wide range of settings. For example, fitness directors are often responsible for duties such as creating workout incentives, handling administrative tasks and scheduling personal training sessions for clients. Professionals can perform these duties in various settings such as corporations, hotels, and fitness facilities. In addition, former athletes who always had a knack for managing administrative and fitness-related aspects can enjoy working as fitness directors. They can also fill roles such as developing standard facility operations manuals, cultivating communication, managing fitness facilities, etc.
Median salary: As a fitness director, you can earn a median salary of $40,000.
Job growth: The average growth rate is projected at 39% by 2030.
- Exercise psychologist:
As an athlete, did you always give tips to people on how to stay fit? Do you enjoy ensuring that people are physically fit? If yes, then this career path is perfect for you. An exercise psychologist helps people develop personalized exercise regimens that would improve their health. They help people work on certain aspects related to their routine and habits for boosting their health. As an exercise psychologist, you can work closely with amateurs and professional athletes alike to help them recover from various issues and injuries which are preventing them from performing their best. You will also be responsible for developing exercise programs, developing methods to boost patient health, assessing cardiovascular functions, educating patients on fitness rehabilitation, and more.
Median salary: An exercise psychologist can earn anywhere between $16,000 and $103,000 per year.
Job growth: It is estimated to grow 13% by 2028.
- Physical therapist:
If you’ve ever been injured during your professional athletic career, you can deeply understand the importance of the support provided by physical therapists during recovery. Physical therapists work alongside other medical professionals to help people recover from illnesses, physical injuries, pain, disabilities, and athletes living with chronic ailments. Almost every sports facility and setting requires a competent physical therapist to work closely with the athletes. They use their resourcefulness to demonstrate rehabilitation exercises, customize individual therapy plans, and develop methods to avoid further injuries. Physical therapists also work with coaches, physicians, and trainers to evaluate injured players’ progress and provide them with rehabilitation so they can return to their peak condition.
Median salary: Physical therapists can earn a whopping $82,000 annually.
Job growth: According to the BLS, job growth is projected at 22% by 2028.
- Sporting event planner/coordinator:
What’s a sport without a full-fledged sporting event that brings about revenue? That’s right; sports events get business and profits to not only the organizer but to other local and international companies as well. As an event coordinator, you’ll be responsible for assisting in managing off-site and on-site operations, including working with marketing firms, restaurants, airlines, hotels, etc. You’ll also be choosing venues, entertainment activities, schedules, and sometimes even finance-related issues of the event. It’s a demanding job, but it also puts you right in the middle of where all the action is. If you’ve always been in love with the ground and all the hype during your athletic career, this career choice is perfect for you.
Median salary: You can earn a median annual salary of $51,000 working as a sports event coordinator.
Job growth: The growth rate is expected to grow up to 7% between 2018-2028.
- Sports journalist/announcer:
Sports journalism is one of the most common career choices for former athletes and enthusiasts. You get to sit behind the scenes and share your views about the game, players, and entire management. Today, working as a sports journalist or announcer includes various careers in broadcast, online media, and print journalism. You can become a sportswriter and keep fans up to date with your in-depth views about the concerned sports. Also, you can essentially use all your previous knowledge of the game and effortlessly apply it to criticize or applaud what’s currently happening in the industry. It is one of the best ways to still keep in touch with the sport you were once part of. You can further try for sports commentator and announcer positions on television or radio.
Median salary: Sports anchors or writers can earn a handsome median wage of about $31,000.
Job growth: Sports journalism/writer market is expected to grow by 3.4% between 2016-2026.
Conclusion:
As a professional athlete who finds it hard to let go of the sport, you are so passionate about and once were a significant part of, there are many career options that can still connect you to the game. Former athletes have numerous choices within the sports industry to make it big as a professional other than a sportsman. Above are some of the most commonly pursued and attractively paid career opportunities that former athletes can enjoy going for.