Athletic Trainers

Median salary

$62,520

Average salary

$66,620

Employment

30,500

Projected growth

11.1% growth

Annual openings

2,400

Typical entry education

Master's degree

What Athletic Trainers Do

Evaluate and treat musculoskeletal injuries or illnesses. Provide preventive, therapeutic, emergency, and rehabilitative care.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None
Self-employed: 6.2%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 5 of 5

Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Experience: Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
Education: Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Job training: Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

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

Medicine and Dentistryimportance 4.6/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.4/5
Psychologyimportance 4.2/5
Therapy and Counselingimportance 3.9/5
English Languageimportance 3.7/5
Education and Trainingimportance 3.6/5
Public Safety and Securityimportance 3.2/5
Administrativeimportance 3.2/5

Work Environment

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

Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.9/5
Contact With Others4.9/5
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.8/5
E-Mail4.7/5
Frequency of Decision Making4.7/5
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.6/5

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.

Medical Dosimetrists98% skill match
Nurse Practitioners97% skill match
Exercise Physiologists97% skill match
Registered Nurses96% skill match
Nurse Midwives96% skill match
Physical Therapists96% skill match
Veterinarians96% skill match
Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric96% skill match

Transferable Skills

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

Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.9/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.8/5
Instructingimportance 3.6/5
Service Orientationimportance 3.6/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.3/5
Time Managementimportance 3.3/5
Coordinationimportance 3.1/5
Persuasionimportance 3.0/5

Software & Technologies

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

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

BioEx Systems Exercise Pro
Database software
Digital Coach AthleticTrainer
Email software
ImPACT Applications ImPACT
Injury tracking software
Keffer Development Services Athletic Trainer System ATS
Premier Software Simtrak Mobility

Work Style

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

Dependability
Attention to Detail
Cooperation
Stress Tolerance
Social Orientation
Empathy
Self-Control

Career Interests

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

SocialHigh
RealisticHigh
InvestigativeMedium
ConventionalMedium
EnterprisingLow
ArtisticLow

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.