Sports professional jobs

Are you interested in careers that include sports? You may put our sports careers line-up through its paces to see which position is most suited to you.

You have two primary alternatives to choose from if you desire a career in sports:

Pick a vocation that can only be attained by involvement in the sporting world (eg athlete or sports coach)

Choose a field of work that may be pursued in a variety of various fields, including the sporting industry (eg social media executive or accountant).

In the following paragraphs, we will discuss several common occupations in the sporting industry as well as how to qualify for them. See also our guide to studying sport and exercise science at university and our profile of Nia, a former level 3 BTEC student who majored in sport and exercise science if you are interested in pursuing a career in the field of sport studies.

Athlete

Athletes devote a significant amount of time to training in addition to the time they spend competing and traveling to contests. Others make money on a "as and when" basis, such as via prize money or sponsorship agreements, while still others have job contracts with athletic organizations and get a consistent pay from such organizations. A significant number of people participate in a sport or engage in an activity that is wholly unrelated to their primary occupation.

While you are still in school, you should already be competing at a high level and winning in order to give yourself the best chance of making a profession out of one of the many different types of sports. To participate in athletics, you don't need to meet any prerequisites in order to compete. On the other hand, considering that practically all athletes will need a second profession once they retire from their sport, it is a good idea to squeeze some in alongside training. Study something else that piques your interest or pursue credentials that will help you enter another of the occupations on this list, such as coaching. Alternatively, you might pick qualifications that will help you enter another of the careers on this list.

You may, for example, study history or engineering while also making the most of these chances since certain institutions are particularly well equipped to assist students in many subject areas in their efforts to train and participate in sport at a high level. Our list of the best colleges for your lifestyle includes institutions that are great for practicing and participating in a variety of popular sports.

a sports coach or a teacher of sports

People who want to become sports coaches or fitness instructors are responsible for teaching others how to play a certain sport and/or leading group exercise classes. You may be working with children or people of any age, and you could be hired by a sports club, charity, community organization, gym, sports governing body, or school. You could also be working with athletes of varying skill levels. Due to the fact that many employment are part-time, it is possible that you may need to coach for more than one business or in addition have another work.

In order to work as a coach or an instructor for a particular sport, you will need a high level of skill in that sport, and most of the time, you will also need a coaching certificate from the governing body of that sport. These often include of some in-person instruction over the course of a few days, with additional work to be completed at home on occasion as well. In order to be considered for some professions, you will additionally be required to have personally participated in the relevant sport at the required level (eg at county level or regional level). Previous experience dealing with children is often required for positions that involve direct interaction with young people.

Officer in charge of sports development

Officers in charge of sports development assist in the operation of various programs that encourage people to participate in sports. On occasion, they are directed at everyone living within a certain community, while on other occasions, they are directed toward a specific demographic, such as senior citizens. Tasks may include locating potential funding sources and submitting applications for them, supervising sports coaches and volunteers, keeping track of finances, and planning, organizing, and advertising the activities, such as via social media. There are instances when the duties are coupled with a duty of a sports coach, which means that you will be in charge of leading part of the activities yourself.

You may work for the local government, a sports governing organization, a charity, or a community group, for example. Other possible employers include these. Due to the fact that most sporting events and activities take place in the evenings and on weekends, it is possible that you may be required to work some of these times.

The prerequisites for entry might vary. There is a high probability that you will be required to have relevant experience for any job you apply for (for instance, via work experience assignments and/or volunteering). When it comes to credentials, some companies place more emphasis on a degree in a field connected to sports, while others favor a qualification in coaching sports.

Educator of physical activity

Physical education instructors are responsible for developing and delivering curriculum, evaluating pupils, and coordinating matches with other schools and universities.

You need a degree and to get certified as a teacher in order to work in the field of physical education (QTS). You can earn your QTS by completing an undergraduate (first) degree in physical education that also includes gaining QTS, or you can earn your degree in a related subject and then earn your QTS afterward. The most common way to do this is to earn a one-year postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) before applying for jobs. Both of these options are available to you.

A lawyer for sports

In addition to providing their clients with advice on how to navigate the legal landscape of the sporting world, sports attorneys often appear in court on their clients' behalf. Their job may include commercial agreements (such as those pertaining to sponsorship and advertising), broadcasting rights for athletic events, employment contracts, player transfers, player injuries, problems pertaining to sports regulation, and disciplinary issues.

Both barristers and solicitors are types of lawyers, although barristers are more likely to appear in court and offer counsel to solicitors on specialized topics. Solicitors focus more on general legal matters (who provide lots of advice directly to clients). You may learn more about working as a barrister or a solicitor in the field of sports law by visiting the graduate careers section of our website.

Getting a bachelor's degree (either in law or in another subject) and then completing further study and training is by far the most frequent way to enter the legal profession and become a solicitor or barrister. In the legal careers section of our website, you'll discover additional information about how to become an attorney.

physiotherapist specializing in sports

Athletes, both professional and amateur, seek the assistance of sports physiotherapists so they may recover from injuries and avoid future ones. For instance, they could evaluate an injury, come up with a treatment plan for it, and then carry it out using techniques like as manual therapy (the manipulation of bodily parts), massage, hydrotherapy, or the prescription of certain exercises. There are some sports physiotherapists who are hired by sports clubs. If you work with professional athletes, it is probable that you may travel to various locations in the country and perhaps worldwide to attend training sessions and contests or matches. You also have the option of working for a private physiotherapy clinic or creating your own practice from the ground up.

A degree in physiotherapy is required for anybody who wants to work as a sports physiotherapist. You could get this as a bachelor's degree (the first level of education), or you could earn it as a master's degree (the next level of education) after obtaining education in a field that is relevant to this one. Read this post to learn more about how to become a physiotherapist as well as the work that physiotherapists perform.

physiotherapy for sports

The treatment of injuries and the prevention of further injuries are the primary focuses of sports therapy, which is analogous to sports physiotherapy in this regard. On the other hand, the abilities you'll need to work with athletes will be the primary emphasis of your training, while physiotherapists are prepared to deal with a far more comprehensive variety of medical conditions. A degree in sports therapy that is recognized by the Society of Sports Therapists is often required to enter the field of sports therapy.

Leisure centre/gym manager

You could be a good candidate for the manager position at a fitness center or a leisure center if you have excellent organizational and people abilities. Typical responsibilities include overseeing the budget, promoting the center and increasing revenue, ensuring that health and safety policies are followed, recruiting and managing staff, ensuring that they are properly trained up and have up-to-date qualifications, ensuring that the center is well maintained (for example, that it is clean and tidy and that gym equipment is in working order), ensuring that health and safety policies are followed, organising staff rotas, and providing assistance to customers. Other responsibilities include ensuring that health and safety policies are

Your position may consist of a lot of practical work and hands-on tasks, such as ensuring that everything continues to function well on a day-to-day basis, or it could be more office-based, with an emphasis on expanding the business. This would depend on the size of the company and the level of the role. Employers in this area include municipal governments, private sector gym chains, hotel companies, universities, and certain schools (particularly independent schools).

To enter this field, you will often require previous experience working in a leisure center or gym in a more entry-level position, such as an assistant at a leisure center or a fitness teacher. After gaining experience and earning people's trust, the next logical step for you may be to move into a supervisory job, in which you would be responsible for the center as a whole and for the employees during certain shifts. A level 3 fitness instructor qualification or a lifeguarding qualification from the Royal Life Saving Society such as "trainer assessor" are two examples of the kinds of relevant qualifications that employers frequently ask for. The requirements for each job are different, but employers frequently ask for relevant qualifications.

Sports journalist

You should think about pursuing a career as a sports journalist if you are an excellent writer and a confident public speaker. You may get employment in newspapers, websites, television stations, radio stations, or any combination of these four types of media outlets. It is beneficial to get a journalism certification, whether done so in lieu of attending university, as part of an undergraduate (first) degree program, or after having completed education in another field at university. Learn more about how to launch a successful career in journalism by perusing this area of our website, which is dedicated to jobs in the media industry.

Photographer for sporting events

In a similar vein, news organizations want powerful photos of sports to complement their reports. You may work for a newspaper (print or online), as a freelance writer, for a news agency, or for a company that organizes athletic events. All of these options are open to you (such as UCI, organisers of the Tour de France, or the International Olympic Committee). To learn more about professions in photography, read the article that we have written about employment in the media. Although not absolutely necessary, getting a degree in photography is often the most frequent way to get into the field.

Marketing, public relations, communications, and social media relating to sports

The promotion of sports and sporting organizations via a multitude of platforms is a requirement for these professions. There is a significant amount of duplication between them; in reality, several positions will encompass aspects of more than one of these categories; in addition, there is duplication with sports journalism. You may work for a single company or for an agency that is compensated by many companies to market their brands on their behalf. Either way, your employer could be an organization. The tasks may involve providing material such as articles or videos, managing social media channels, preparing press releases, contacting media organizations to organize coverage or attempt to get coverage, planning and organizing campaigns, supervising budgets, and monitoring outcomes.

There is no one set path that leads to each of these jobs. A degree is desirable for certain companies, while others are less concerned about it. You may attempt to enter straight into these positions within a sports organization, for instance by accumulating a lot of volunteer experience, or you could acquire a comparable job outside of sport and then move over after you've built up your skills and expertise. Both of these options are viable. You also have the option of beginning your professional life in the field of sports journalism. No matter whatever route you choose, you will need to have great writing abilities and a solid understanding of the sport you want to cover in order to be successful.