Exercise Physiologists

Median salary

$59,460

Average salary

$60,940

Employment

8,560

Projected growth

9.5% growth

Annual openings

1,700

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

What Exercise Physiologists Do

Assess, plan, or implement fitness programs that include exercise or physical activities such as those designed to improve cardiorespiratory function, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, or flexibility.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None
Self-employed: 64%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 4 of 5

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Experience: A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
Education: Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

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

Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.4/5
Medicine and Dentistryimportance 3.9/5
Therapy and Counselingimportance 3.8/5
Education and Trainingimportance 3.8/5
English Languageimportance 3.7/5
Biologyimportance 3.5/5
Psychologyimportance 3.4/5
Administrativeimportance 3.0/5

Work Environment

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

Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams5.0/5
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled5.0/5
Contact With Others4.8/5
E-Mail4.6/5
Telephone Conversations4.6/5
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.5/5

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.

Self-Enrichment Teachers98% skill match
Physical Therapists97% skill match
Nurse Midwives97% skill match
Musicians and Singers97% skill match
Athletic Trainers97% skill match
Psychiatric Technicians97% skill match
Medical Dosimetrists97% skill match
Nurse Practitioners97% skill match

Transferable Skills

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

Instructingimportance 4.0/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.8/5
Service Orientationimportance 3.8/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.8/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.6/5
Coordinationimportance 3.1/5
Systems Analysisimportance 3.1/5
Systems Evaluationimportance 3.1/5

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.

Dependability
Cooperation
Attention to Detail
Social Orientation
Achievement Orientation
Intellectual Curiosity
Empathy

Career Interests

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

RealisticHigh
InvestigativeMedium
SocialMedium
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.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where exercise physiologists make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

1Columbia, SC3.56× national avg
2Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO2.89× national avg
3Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN2.71× national avg
4Salt Lake City-Murray, UT2.63× national avg
5Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ2.39× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

See the full career path from Exercise Physiologists →

Related Education Programs

Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.