Athletic Trainer Career

athletic-trainer-500Athletic trainers work to prevent and treat injuries related to the muscles and bones. If you choose to be an athletic trainer, you may learn to diagnose and treat injuries for athletes or others. You may work to create and implement rehabilitation programs or prevention programs for athletes. Athletic trainers may need to keep records and create reports about injuries and illness.

Athletic trainers are most likely to hold jobs in educational services, ambulatory health care facilities, hospitals or recreation centers. Depending on your specialty, you may work outdoors on an athletic field during a wide variety of weather conditions or inside a gym or healthcare facility.

Athletic Trainer Career Snapshot

Further details on a career as an athletic trainer are listed below (statistics from the May 2015 Bureau of Labor Statistics and Onet Online):

$44,670

is the average annual pay for athletic trainers.

21%

increase in employment between 2014 and 2024.

72%

have a Master’s degree while 25% have a Bachelor’s degree.

Athletic Trainer Education

More than 70 percent of athletic trainers hold a master’s degree with another quarter earning a bachelor’s degree.

Athletic Trainer Job Duties

If you are an athletic trainer, you may work with children, teenagers or adults. You may work with children who are playing school sports all the way up to professional athletes. Athletic trainers are often the first to arrive at the scene of an injury on the field and need to provide first-line emergency care. Later, they may work under a doctor or other health care professional to discuss rehabilitation, treatment or prevention. As an athletic trainer, you may have to meet with other staff members to deal with administrative tasks like budgets and policies. You may also have to work on adhering with government regulations when creating programs.

Athletic Trainer Salaries

On average, athletic trainers may earn $44,670 with the low end of the salary range at $28,480 and the high range at $68,300 according to 2015 BLS.gov reports.

Athletic Trainer Job Outlook

The job outlook for athletic trainers is expected to increase 21 percent from 2014 to 2024. This growth is fueled by an increase in awareness of sports-related injuries and the desire to prevent them and treat them as efficiently as possible. In addition, new research has shown that concussions are more dangerous, particularly for children, than previously thought. This information will also increase the demand for professionals who can help prevent these injuries. And finally, more middle-aged and elderly people are becoming more active, which will increase the risk of injury and contribute to the demand for these professionals.

Athletic Trainer Skills & Traits

Athletic Trainer Skill Set:Required Abilities:Tools Used by Athletic Trainers:Typical Work Activities:
• Active Listening
• Critical Thinking
• Monitoring
• Speaking
• Active Learning
• Problem Sensitivity
• Deductive Reasoning
• Oral Comprehension
• Oral Expression
• Inductive Reasoning
• Facial shields
• Orthopedic splint systems
• Pelvis or back traction supplies
• Resistance tubes
• Therapeutic heating or cooling pads
• Caring for Others
• Documenting Information
• Decision Making
• Communicating with Others
• Getting Information

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