Athletes and Sports Competitors

Median salary

$66,710

Average salary

$206,180

Employment

15,070

Projected growth

5.5% growth

Annual openings

2,100

Typical entry education

No formal educational credential

What Athletes and Sports Competitors Do

Compete in athletic events.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Long-term on-the-job training
Self-employed: 20.7%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 2 of 5

Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Experience: Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
Education: Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Job training: Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

Administration and Managementimportance 3.7/5
English Languageimportance 3.7/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.6/5
Personnel and Human Resourcesimportance 3.4/5
Communications and Mediaimportance 3.3/5
Education and Trainingimportance 3.2/5
Sales and Marketingimportance 3.2/5
Mathematicsimportance 3.1/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.8/5
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.5/5
Level of Competition4.4/5
Contact With Others4.3/5
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results4.2/5
Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions4.2/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Physical Therapists96% skill match
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses95% skill match
Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric95% skill match
Nurse Midwives95% skill match
Occupational Therapists95% skill match
Fire Inspectors and Investigators95% skill match
Nurse Practitioners95% skill match
First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers95% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

Coordinationimportance 3.6/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.3/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.1/5
Persuasionimportance 3.0/5
Instructingimportance 3.0/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.0/5
Time Managementimportance 3.0/5
Negotiationimportance 2.9/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

Achievement Orientation
Perseverance
Self-Confidence
Stress Tolerance
Self-Control
Dependability
Optimism

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

RealisticHigh
EnterprisingMedium
SocialMedium
ConventionalMedium
ArtisticLow
InvestigativeLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where athletes and sports competitors make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).