Athletes and Sports Competitors
Hospitality and TourismO*NET 27-2021.00United States
Compete in athletic events.
- Median annual earnings
- $64,191
- Projected change
- +1.2%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 21.73K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
58.1% of the workforce
Growing to 21.98K by 2035
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The work
What athletes and sports competitors do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Assess performance following athletic competition, identifying strengths and weaknesses and making adjustments to improve future performance.
- Attend scheduled practice or training sessions.
- Maintain equipment used in a particular sport.
- Maintain optimum physical fitness levels by training regularly, following nutrition plans, or consulting with health professionals.
- Participate in athletic events or competitive sports, according to established rules and regulations.
- Exercise or practice under the direction of athletic trainers or professional coaches to develop skills, improve physical condition, or prepare for competitions.
- Receive instructions from coaches or other sports staff prior to events and discuss performance afterwards.
- Represent teams or professional sports clubs, performing such activities as meeting with members of the media, making speeches, or participating in charity events.
- Lead teams by serving as captain.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $23,209
- 25th percentile
- $34,278
- 50th percentile
- $64,191
- 75th percentile
- $122,522
- 90th percentile
- $624,972
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $64,191 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+1.2%average or slower
202521,729 jobs
2035 projected21,981 jobs
252 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 58.1%
- Bachelor's degree
- 24.5%
- Associate degree
- 8.7%
- Certificate
- 5.5%
- Some college
- 3.3%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Golf Professionals1,369 postings
- 02Athletes1,082 postings
- 03Tennis Professionals401 postings
- 04Footwear Specialists314 postings
- 05Assistant Golf Coaches297 postings
- 06Field Operations Specialists286 postings
- 07Apparel Specialists222 postings
- 08General Managers/Head Golf Professionals198 postings
- 09Picklers178 postings
- 10Golf Shop Assistants137 postings
- 11Outdoor Specialists123 postings
- 12Player Assistants121 postings
- 13Certified Personal Coaches114 postings
- 14Assistant Tennis Professionals103 postings
- 15Tennis Managers65 postings
- 16Searchers64 postings
- 17Directors of Golf60 postings
- 18Player Development Managers56 postings
- 19Gymnastics Directors55 postings
- 20Golf Starters54 postings
Top employers
- 01Dick's Sporting Goods1,306 postings
- 02Pga Of America622 postings
- 03Troon Golf, L.L.C.217 postings
- 04Colleyville Lifetime Fitness183 postings
- 05Troon150 postings
- 06Bowlero Corporation144 postings
- 07ClubCorp127 postings
- 08Arcis Golf118 postings
- 09Invited102 postings
- 10Golftec90 postings
- 11Life Time86 postings
- 12Hurricane Junior Golf Tour56 postings
- 13Hyatt34 postings
- 14Pga32 postings
- 15Golf Galaxy29 postings
- 16Omni Hotels & Resorts29 postings
- 172Nd Swing Golf28 postings
- 18National Collegiate Athletic Association28 postings
- 19Genesis Health Clubs26 postings
- 20Clark County School District25 postings
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