Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary

Median salary

$77,270

Average salary

$86,620

Employment

12,630

Projected growth

2.4% growth

Annual openings

1,100

Typical entry education

Doctoral or professional degree

What Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary Do

Teach courses pertaining to recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, including exercise physiology and facilities management. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None
Self-employed: Not available

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.

Education and Trainingimportance 4.7/5
English Languageimportance 4.1/5
Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.6/5
Psychologyimportance 3.6/5
Biologyimportance 3.5/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.4/5
Administration and Managementimportance 3.3/5
Mathematicsimportance 3.3/5

Work Environment

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

E-Mail4.8/5
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.8/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.8/5
Contact With Others4.8/5
Freedom to Make Decisions4.6/5
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.4/5

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.

Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Communications Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Neurologists98% skill match
History Teachers, Postsecondary98% skill match
Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary98% skill match
Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary98% skill match
Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary98% skill match

Transferable Skills

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

Instructingimportance 4.1/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.8/5
Time Managementimportance 3.8/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.6/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.1/5
Coordinationimportance 3.1/5
Persuasionimportance 3.1/5
Systems Analysisimportance 3.1/5

Software & Technologies

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

Hot Technologies

In-Demand Technologies

Learning management system LMS

Other Software Used

Work Style

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

Dependability
Intellectual Curiosity
Social Orientation
Achievement Orientation
Cooperation
Empathy
Optimism

Career Interests

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

SocialHigh
InvestigativeMedium
ConventionalMedium
ArtisticMedium
RealisticMedium
EnterprisingLow

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 recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

1College Station-Bryan, TX14.01× national avg
2Amherst Town-Northampton, MA10.42× national avg
3Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA7.84× national avg
4South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI5.67× national avg
5Lexington-Fayette, KY3.78× national avg

Possible Career Moves

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

Health Specialties Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
Psychology Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
Environmental Science Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move

See the full career path from Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary →

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.