Last Updated on September 26, 2021

Jobs in Exercise Science

Just imagine that a day in your career life involves you designing plans that help athletes either achieve their very best or overcome whatever challenge has come their way so that they can get back on the field as soon as possible. For athletes and those passionate about sports, exercise science is a field that will allow you to pursue a career in a field with one of the coolest, most dynamic “office” environments that you could imagine.

According to Oxford Reference, exercise science is “the study of the natural phenomena associated with physical activity and sport.” The body is very much like a machine, and like any machine it needs to be maintained and taken care of.

Exercise science is the discipline dedicated to getting the optimal output from the human body.  A degree in exercise science will equip you with the foundation needed so that you can look under the hood of how the body works to understand how it functions, and how physical activity and other factors affect aspects of the body. 

This knowledge base will not only help you personally develop an understanding of your own body, but it will also help you deduce issues which may arise with your patients or clients in order to determine which solutions will remedy specific situations.

Whether you decide to pursue a path focused on helping people find their peak performance, educating people on healthy habits and best practices, or assisting people recovering from injury or illness, studying exercise science opens up a broad range of possibilities for you to further your career. A degree in exercise science can be the first step to the following jobs (note that some of these jobs would require additional training or certification):

Aerobics Instructor
Athletic Scout
Athletic Trainer
Camp Director
Cardiac Rehabilitation Specialist
Community Program Director
Doctor
Ergonomist
Exercise Physiologist
Fitness Coach
Fitness Consultant
Gym Manager
Healthcare Consultant
Health Educator
Kinesiologist
Massage Therapist
Nutritionist
Occupational Therapist
Orthopedic Technician
Personal Trainer
Physical Therapist
Physical Therapist Assistant
Physician Assistant
Physical Education Teacher
Recreation and Sports Director
Recreational Therapist
Registered Dietician
Registered Nurse
Sales Representative in related field
Spa Manager
Sports Coach
Sports Facility Manager
Strength and Conditioning Coach
Wellness Coordinator

As you can see from the list above, a degree in exercise science can set you up for a broad range of jobs and possibilities that would suit people who love sports. This list promises to grow as our society continues to evolve toward being more conscious of how important health is to living their best lives, and really there has never been a better time to prepare yourself with a foundation in exercise science.

If you’re considering getting into this field, we suggest you think introspectively and ponder a few questions about how important your work/life balance is to you – What do you value the most?  As an example– is it having regular hours and summers off?  In that case you may want to consider following the track that would allow you to be a Physical Education or Health teacher.

If the possibility of starting your own business excites you, then you could look into becoming a registered dietician and helping your clients achieve an optimal diet based on their lifestyle.  Or you could become a personal trainer and build your book of business.  Clients who are serious about their fitness are willing to pay top dollar to ensure they are doing exercises efficiently and safely.

Let’s look at the chart to see what kind of job requires a bachelor’s degree and what would require further education.

One thing to note is that even though a job in the leftmost column may not require a degree, having one will certainly give you a leg up on the competition applying for a job. Further, for those with entrepreneurial aspirations in any of these areas, your degree will provide you with the skills needed later on to manage and grow your business to its full potential. 

Just put yourself in the place of a hiring manager, who is considering candidates with and without a degree–would you rather hire a fitness coach with or without a degree in exercise science? Likewise, imagine that you are the client who has multiple options to consider–would you choose the coach with the academic foundation of a degree, or the coach without the relevant degree?

Let’s explore some statistics related to some of the most popular careers one could build with a degree in exercise science:

Exercise Science Careers by the Numbers:

Athletic Director:

• $48,440 – 2019 Median pay of Athletic Directors [source]
• 19% Job Outlook Increase from 2018-2028 (projected change in employment- the average across all occupations in the U.S. is 5%). [source]

Exercise Physiologists:

• $49,170 – 2019 Median pay of Exercise Physiologists [source]
• 10% Job Outlook Increase from 2018-2028 (projected change in employment- the average across all occupations in the U.S. is 5%). [source]
• $23.64 – Average Hourly Wage [source]
• 56% – Percent of exercise physiologists who are self employed [source]

Personal Trainers

• $40,390 – 2019 Median Pay [source]
• 13% – Job Outlook Increase from 2018-2028 (projected change in employment- the average across all occupations in the U.S. is 5%). [source]
• 356,900 – Number of jobs in 2018 [source]

Potential Employers:

Depending on where you are searching for your specific job and what your actual  certifications are, the possibilities of who will hire you changes considerably. However we can look at this general list of employers and what sort of positions they would have to fill.

• Professional & College Sports Teams
  • Athletic Director
  • Athletic Scout
  • Fitness Coach
  • Massage Therapist
  • Personal Trainer
  • Physical Trainer
  • Sports Coach
  • Sports Facility Manager
    
• Towns, Cities, and other local governments
  • Camp Director
  • Community Program Director
  • Recreation and Sports Director
  • Wellness Coordinator
    
• Self Employment (take the skills with an exercise science career and start your own business!)
  • Exercise Physiologist
  • Healthcare Consultant
  • Massage Therapist
  • Personal Trainer
  • Physical Therapist
    
• Hospitals and Health Care Facilities
  • Cardiac Rehabilitation Specialist
  • Doctor
  • Exercise Physiologist
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Physical Therapist
  • Registered Dietician
    
• Public and Private High Schools
  • Physical Education Teacher
  • Heath Teacher
  • Athletic Trainer
  • Sports Coach
  • Sports Facility Manager
  • Strength and Conditioning Coach
  • Wellness Coordinator
    
• National Health Organizations
  • Doctor
  • Academic Researcher
  • Scientist
    
• Health & Fitness Clubs
  • Aerobic Instructor
  • Exercise Coach
  • Athletic Trainer
  • Gym Manager