Jobs for the Major
How this major affects a job search
You have your degree in sports medicine. All that remains is to decide what sport you want to cover. Then pick a team. After that, you're done.
Not so fast.
While the marquee jobs in the field are probably the ones that got you interested in in the first place, there are others out there. You could land a career with a pro team and spend the rest of your days basking in free jerseys and court-side tickets. However, considering how difficult it is to wind up on a pro team, you might want to consider some other options as well.
You're going to be training yourself for a specific skill set, so most of the careers below will look at least somewhat similar. Don't expect to find "hard-bitten private investigator" or "bear wrestler" in there. Although, you might be in charge of treating the bear wrestler for his inevitable injuries.
Common Career Fields
Athletic Trainer. While this sounds like the kind of thing you might buy in a sporting goods store, it's also a basic career in sports medicine. You're not a doctor, but you have the training and know-how to keep athletes humming along in good shape.
Doctor. (requires an M.D., obvi) Sports medicine is a good undergrad degree for eventual doctors. Not only is it on track for the final career, but it helps with the specialization that usually comes later. Kinesiology, osteopathy, and any number of other disciplines can benefit from a sports medicine background.
Exercise Physiologist. America is usually at number one or number two in most overweight countries in the world. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S…A? Ahem. There are a lot of folks out there who would like to lose the fat and get in better shape. That's fantastic. Exercise physiologists are basically personal trainers on steroids. Wait, bad choice of words. Not literal steroids. They just understand the body's needs so well that they're able to design effective regimens for weight loss and muscle gain.
Kinesiotherapist. After sickness or injury, it's not unusual for the body to lose some muscle. It's an inevitable and terrible part of getting hurt. Kinesiotherapists help people regain this muscle mass and function. Isn't that great? With sports medicine training, they're not only uniquely suited for this, but they're also well-equipped to make sure a second injury doesn't happen. They prevent the patient from being trapped in Sartre-like torment.
Nutrition. This might be a controversial opinion, but did you know that food is important? Seriously. What we put in our bodies has a huge effect on how well we feel. It also contributes to how effective exercise can be and it strengthens parts of us that can get hurt. Nutritionists start with the basics—before exercise even happens. They make sure the fuel itself is good quality.
Physical Therapy. Most athletic injuries (and many non-athletic injuries) are going to rob the victim of some range of motion. Even surgery designed to repair such damage can be brutal. There's a healing process, and this is coupled with escalating exercises to restore that range of motion. From stretching to walking, it's the kind of thing that barely looks like exercise but is incredibly difficult for the sufferer. It's all part of the process to get back to his or her former self.
Team Doctor. This is the marquee position, the in-house medic for a professional sports team. We would be remiss if we didn't list it, but we do want to reiterate that there are very few of these positions available. Getting one is like winning the lottery. College programs are more likely, but don't be surprised if you end up at a Division-III school keeping the fencing team in tip-top shape.
Current unemployment of the major
2.7%Percentage of majors who get a higher degree after college
36%Stats obtained from this source.