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There is a variety of jobs with exercise science available to you in sporting agencies, medical or rehabilitation centers, educational institutions, etc. Over 60% of people with this qualification get employed in these places while a vast majority of the others opt for further studies for higher-paying opportunities.
Areas of study to be qualified for this include exercise nutrition, kinesiology, exercise physiology, biomechanics, fitness, first aid CPR, exercise testing, and so much more.
If at the end of your training, you wish to study further, you could still pick a job with your exercise science qualification to pay for the cost of further studies.
On this topic titled Jobs with Exercise Science, we’ll take a look at the various jobs you could land with your qualification in exercise science and also those on which you’ll need additional qualifications.
Entry-level jobs with exercise science.
The typical entry-level qualification is usually a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. Below is a list of job titles or opportunities you could settle for after graduation without additional qualifications.
1. Recreational Therapists: They use dance, arts, and sports to help people regain their physical and mental well-being including stress and depression.
2. Physical Therapy Assistant: They work under the supervision of certified physical therapists and assist them in the discharge of their professional obligations to patients. They may also help in the area of public relations or as receptionists in a physical therapy facility.
3. PE teacher: PE is the acronym for physical education. They teach, plan, and coordinate sports and other physical activities in primary and secondary schools to ensure students are healthy and fit.
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4. Sports center managers: They play key roles in the maintenance of sporting equipment including the procurement, lease, and use of all the equipment.
5. Athletic coaches: Their work is primarily focused on helping athletes improve their performance via diet and exercise while avoiding injuries associated with the sports they are into.
6. Strength and conditioning coaches: They help you attain and maintain top form in achieving your best performance in sports and reducing the chances of injuries. This they achieve by planning and guiding you through strength-building exercises, motivation, and the right nutrition.
7. Massage therapist: As a massage therapist, you’ll be expected to assess and plan therapeutic goals for clients based on your assessment. Massage helps to relieve stress, muscle tension, and pain, improves blood circulation, and encourages healing and recovery from various medical conditions.
I’ve seen stroke patients who benefited from massaging and for that reason, I encourage its use in my patients. The profession lost steam in the US at a point but is presently experiencing a resurgence.1 American Journal of Nursing. (scholarly source) visit source
8. Health coaches:2 American Academy of Family Physicians. (scholarly source) visit source They share a striking semblance with personal trainers but with the added drive to help individuals improve their state of health through lifestyle adjustments and nutrition.
9. Wellness coordinator: They organize and execute wellness programs for staff of organizations and companies. They also monitor the progress of their programs to ensure they are achieving the desired result in improving the health and general well-being of company staff.
10. Personal trainers: They are equipped with the skill to assess people’s fitness levels, detect where they lag, and plan personalized fitness programs to help them improve on their current form.
Not all of the above-mentioned professions require degrees but all of them do require comprehensive training covering hundreds of hours in most cases.
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Jobs requiring additional education.
Exercise science jobs are great with the employment rate growing very much faster than the US national average but for nearly 30% of degree holders, it serves as a route to other equally great professions requiring further studies.
More than half the number that opt for further studies use their exercise science degrees to get jobs that may help them offset the cost of additional qualifications. Below are some of the professions you could get into with additional qualifications to your exercise science degree.
1. Doctor(MD): This field is wide with so many specialties. An exercise science degree serves as a doorway or prerequisite to kick-start your journey into the medical practice starting from the base.
2. Doctor of Physical Therapy: It’s another wide field for which an exercise science degree is an entry route. It has prescription exercises, with a focus on the restoration of physical forms and functions, as major modalities in achieving its clinical objectives. Therefore, it could be a much easier profession to blend in following your degree in exercise science.
3. Occupational Therapist: With a degree in exercise science, you’ll find this very similar to physical therapy in so many respects.3 Journal of interprofessional care. (scholarly source) visit source
4. Exercise Physiologist: They also have exercise as a major means of achieving their clinical goals. By studying a patient’s medical history they plan exercise programs aimed at helping them overcome limitations caused by chronic illnesses.
5. Chiropractors (DC): They are highly skilled in the use of manipulative therapy and spinal adjustment techniques in solving a range of health problems. This they do within their areas of professional competence and training as there are identifiable barriers.4 Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. (scholarly source) visit source
6. Physician Assistant: Just as it is with physical therapy assistants, the physician assistants help in the examination of patients, immunizations, ordering of diagnostic tests and so much more but under the supervision of qualified physicians. Research has shown consumers are open to greater roles for them.5 Health affairs. (scholarly source) visit source
7. Registered Dietitian: I’ll call them experts in food prescription. They plan meals to meet the nutritional demands of any health condition to address underlying medical issues or prevent illnesses.
8. Physical Rehabilitation: It’s very similar to Physical and occupational therapies as it involves the restoration of function in people following an incapacitating health problem.
Where to look for jobs.
The list of places you could work in with your qualification in exercise science is almost endless. You could work almost in any place so don’t limit your job hunt to only places you feel your services are required.
So long as humans are working in an organization, they could need your services unless they are robots. This is in addition to the fact you could also set up a private outfit. The opportunities are limitless as the sports industry is one of the biggest among emerging businesses.6Indian Journals. (scholarly source) visit source
Places that employ most exercise science graduates include schools and institutions, Medical or health facilities, Rehabilitation centers, Military, sports centers, Non-governmental organizations, recreational centers, professional organizations, sports teams, National sporting associations, etc.
Salary of an exercise science degree holder.
This varies quite widely depending on where you choose to work. The best could be to set up your own private business in the form of self-owned gyms, fitness, or wellness centers and grow from there. This may take a while though.
As an employee, you may earn an annual pay from $40,000 upwards to well over $100,000 depending on the industry you work in, years of experience, or how long you’ve been working.
An owner of a network of gyms, on the other hand, could make a decent 7 figures in annual income. This is something even those employed in professions that require additional qualifications may not earn in 10 years. For some, it may take them a hundred years of labor to earn a total sum that’s up to 7 figures.
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