If you are enthusiastic about having a career in fitness and exercise and inspiring people to have a healthy lifestyle, a strength and conditioning degree is all you need.
A degree in strength and conditioning brings more opportunities to the table professionally than you can expect. It involves developing a strength and conditioning program, employing exercise prescriptions to enhance athletes’ performances, organizing team training sessions, and occasionally working with clients individually. There is much more to these coaches’ daily tasks.
A number of positions will open up for you with a degree in this discipline. Here are some jobs that you can get with a strength and conditioning degree:
1. Strength and Conditioning Coach
One of the finest jobs to get is that of a strength and conditioning coach. They create and uphold a strength and conditioning program for every sport to enhance athletic performance, lower injury risks, and instill lifelong fitness abilities.
Strength and conditioning coaches may work with various educational institutions like college or university teams, gyms, or in health clubs. A strength and conditioning coach creates training plans based on reliable scientific concepts, monitors workouts, assesses athletes, keeps track of athletes’ performance, and instructs strength and conditioning classes as necessary. It’s essential to have a master’s in strength and conditioning degree to acquire the abilities and knowledge necessary to create a unique strength and conditioning philosophy.
2. Exercise Physiologist
It might come as a surprise, but a strength and conditioning degree can also land you a job as an exercise physiologist.
An exercise physiologist assesses their clients’ fitness and aids in their quest for better health by designing exercise programs. This field focuses on how exercise impacts the body concerning various health ailments.
As an exercise physiologist, your task includes helping your patient and assisting them in regaining their prior level of health. You research how they adapt and react to muscular activity and use your knowledge and skills to raise their fitness levels. You also frequently have the opportunity to offer athletes and sports teams scientific support to help them perform better and maintain maximum health.
Exercise physiologists also deal with patients with heart diseases and other chronic illnesses, such as diabetes or respiratory ailments.
3. Athletic Trainer
The primary responsibility of athletic trainers is to protect the health, fitness, diet, and health and safety concerns of professional athletes. Athletic trainers work with athletes, ranging from students looking to stay in shape or get ready to take the extra step to professionals aiming to better their athletic abilities or injury recovery both in-season and off-season.
Sports teams, colleges, and universities with athletic departments hire trainers that work in treating several minor injuries.
As a trainer, you must assess an injury and decide how to continue the treatment. It can be an ankle injury in football or a shoulder injury in volleyball.
The athletic trainer also collaborates closely with doctors to offer treatment for injuries and can expect to earn a total compensation of $62,202 per year, with a median wage of $57,098.
4. Physical Therapist
If you have a bachelor’s degree and want a decent start in strength and conditioning, you can go for the role of a physical therapist.
A physical therapist’s primary responsibility is to develop and carry out rehabilitation programs that assist and direct patients toward improved health following an injury or a reduction in mobility. They assist patients with various medical ailments, from minor sports injuries like sprained ankles or knees to severe disabilities like strokes. They also restore patients to optimal health and enable them to resume their normal daily activities.
Physical therapists can work with patients in physical therapy clinics, big inpatient rehab hospitals, or small outpatient rehab facilities that specialize in dealing with athletes and people with mild disabilities. They usually earn an estimated $82,457 in total compensation annually, with an average wage of $76,804.
5. Personal Trainer
A strength and conditioning degree can also bring you certifications to be a personal trainer, often known as a fitness instructor. They work for fitness-related businesses and independently. In both situations, they assist clients in achieving their fitness objectives by working with them.
Fitness instructors can specialize in various areas, including group instruction, elder fitness, strength training, bodybuilding, and weight loss. Some of their daily responsibilities include meeting with customers to learn more about their fitness objectives and creating personalized training plans. They show proper exercise techniques, keep tabs on and offer comments on clients’ progress, and inspire them during their sessions.
6. Athletic Director
An athletic director oversees all aspects of a program, including scheduling, hiring coaches, marketing events, purchasing equipment, creating budgets, and managing operations. They assist student-athletes when they need guidance and act as mentors to them. They manage sports employees, assist with fundraising efforts, take care of administrative problems and collaborate closely with individual coaches. Additionally, they supervise the resolution of disputes that could emerge between student-athletes and coaches. Furthermore, athletic directors collaborate with compliance officers or school officials to guarantee that student-athletes participate in their preferred sport.
Conclusion
A strength and conditioning degree opens you up to various job roles that can help you build a positive career outlook, serve people, and excel in the field. We hope the jobs listed above will assist you in finding a suitable position and in your efforts to improve both yourself and the others around you.
