Careers in Sport

Robin Woollam – Careers & Employability AdviserNovember 2012

Todays session…

• Careers in sport – some general points

• Some sports careers examples…

• Starting to think about your career choice – how to go about career planning

• Some resources/websites you might find useful

Some general comments• Around 50–60% of sport and exercise graduates enter jobs directly related to their

area of study

• 45% of current employment was secured via contacts or speculative approaches to employers.

• Graduates reported that the most important qualities needed in their current positions were: time management, communication, organisation, negotiation and presentation skills.

• A high percentage of graduates in exercise/sport/leisure/health related work reported that they are currently using much of their learning from their degree course.

• Common advice from graduates to current students was to gain work experience while on the degree.

Based on two, 5 year follow-up surveys of graduates from the Department of Exercise and Sport Science, MMU, Cheshire - BASES

Building a career in sport

• First job is sometimes at the ‘bottom rung of the ladder’, and not always a position that necessarily states having a degree is a pre-requisite (e.g. health and fitness instructor, recreation assistant, lifeguard, sports development officer)

• HOWEVER, your degree will help you get that job, and as importantly, enable you to work your way up.

• Graduates move jobs quite frequently in their initial

working lives, using skills & experience developed at University along with the experience gained in early roles

• Sporting careers are incredibly diverse, covering a wide range of job functions & areas.

• Can be the case that employers have limited resources for training/developing staff, especially with public sector cuts

• Get to know all the key sports web sites well - find out about the skills needed in sports careers, keep ‘up to speed’ with developments etc.

Some key messages• Read as much as you can about what sports jobs are actually like: There are a wide range of

websites providing career-profiles and case-studies of people working in sports jobs. Most branches of sport have professional bodies which provide detailed careers information

• Get heavily involved in sports activities: Assist at sports clubs in whatever ways you can, whether this is organising events, fundraising or coaching.

• Learn to network effectively: Make maximum use of the many contacts available to you in your time at university, such as those gained on placements, or other work experience/shadowing/volunteering you might do.

• Obtain practical sports qualifications: Accrue as many practical awards as you can, relevant to the areas that interest you e.g.: coaching and refereeing awards; fitness or strength and conditioning qualifications; life-guarding certificates.

• Get as much relevant sports work-experience as you can: The more volunteering you do and the more practical qualifications you obtain, the more likely you are to be able to get paid part-time sports work.

‘If you want to work in anything relating to sports then a CV with periods of relevant work experience is pretty much essential. There are so many people going to university to do sports related courses that although the leisure industry is growing, it’s perhaps not growing as fast as the graduates are arriving, so if anything, it’s getting more competitive’.

Manager for a Regional Sports Partnership

Some career destinations…• SPORTS EDUCATION

– PE/Sports Teaching/Lecturing – Outdoor Pursuits/Activities

• SPORTS COACHING & DEVELOPMENT – Coaching & Instructing Sports – Sports Development

• SPORTS MANAGEMENT, ADMINISTRATION & MARKETING – Fitness & Leisure Facility Management – Sports Administration – Sports Management Consultancy – Sports Events Management – Sports Advertising, Marketing & PR – Sports Sales

• SPORTS MEDIA – Sports Journalism

• SPORTS SCIENCE – Research – Biomechanics / Performance Analysis – Exercise Physiology / Strength &

Conditioning – Sports Nutrition & Dietetics – Sports Psychology

• HEALTH AND FITNESS– Fitness Instruction / Personal Training /

Instructing Exercise – Health Promotion & Exercise Referral – Clinical Physiology – Sports Physiotherapy / Sports Therapy

• SPORTS PERFORMANCE & OFFICIATING– Professional Sports Performance – Sports officiating

Careers open to all graduates

• Accountancy • Banking • Distribution • Insurance • Journalism • Marketing • Public relations • Purchasing • Sales

• Administration • IT • Financial management • Leisure / tourism • Human resources • Retail • Transport • Social work• And lots more…

What actually happens to our sports graduates?

• Increasing number go straight into coaching / teaching / teaching assistant roles in schools

• Considerable number enter one-off administrative positions in both sport and non-sport organisations

• Postgraduate Study – substantial number go on to PGCE to train to become teachers, or to Master’s courses in specialist aspects of Sports

Teaching…• Most common route for Primary or Secondary is still PGCE

• Alternative school-based routes becoming more common (SCITT, School Direct (GTP no longer exists)).

• Funding for teacher training depends on class of degree

• Qualified teachers earn in the range of £21,600 - £37,000 (Leadership and head-teachers earn in the range of £42,400 - £105,000

• Relatively secure, well-paid career with structured career path, compared to other sports jobs

• If you want to teach, you must start thinking about making yourself a good applicant NOW – see Careers for more help with this

Salary figures are intended as a guideline only

Sports Science• Sports Science – first degree not always enough – MSc preferred • Practical coaching/fitness qualifications strongly desirable • Experience difficult to get but strongly desirable • Severe competition for ALL posts (even unpaid internships) • Networking essential to get experience • More opportunities in Health sector than in elite sport

– Also more opportunities for those who take a PhD route, combining research / university teaching / sports consultancy

– Most Sports Psychologists develop careers this way • Sports scientists earn between £20,000 and £40,000 a year (high level

posts can be £60,000 or more)• Links to Job Profile and a Case Study (thanks to Loughborough University)

Salary figures are intended as a guideline only

Sports Coaching & Development• Relevant coaching qualifications/substantial experience essential • A large proportion of coaching is carried out by volunteers!• Many professional coaches are self-employed – need to promote their

services and find a range of opportunities • Sports Development professionals are often administrators, largely

managing volunteers, bidding for pots of public funding etc.• Some jobs are project-based - limited timescale/fixed term contracts, so

job security is not great • Recently, public sector jobs have been heavily affected by Government

cuts • Sports Development salaries range from £20,000-£35,000, more in

senior posts• Coaching salaries range from £17,000 - £28,000; £30,000 - £40,000 for

senior posts * Salary figures are intended as a guideline only

Health & Fitness• In the fitness industry, practical qualifications (e.g. Personal Trainer) are as, if not more

important than academic qualifications

• Often gain experience working in gyms then become self-employed

• Common to hold more than one part-time job

• Often work evenings/weekends

• A range of opportunities available in the Health Service

• Career paths available for those who want to go into management

• Full-time Personal Trainers can earn between £18,000 and £40,000

* Salary figures are intended as a guideline only

Sports (Physio)therapy• Roles working in injury management and prevention, diagnosing

injuries, planning & providing treatment• Chartered status required for physiotherapy, more general sports

therapy less regulated (at the moment). Typically gained through studying for a MSc in Physiotherapy

• ‘People’ skills important, alongside technical knowledge• Networks and contacts can be key in finding career opportunities• People often start off working part-time hours• Physios in the NHS earn £20,000 - £27,000, though starting

salaries can be from £16,000. Specialists can be from £24,000 - £33,000

• Society of Sports Therapists - www.society-of-sports-therapists.org/home.htm

* Salary figures are intended as a guideline only

Sports management, administration & marketing

• Few graduate entry positions, some internships (often unpaid)

• Need to be prepared to start at low level

• Competition is severe, even for low level posts

• Relevant experience / skills equally important to qualifications

• Often better to start in non-sport management / marketing to gain training and experience then come in as an ‘experienced hire’

• Salaries are very low at entry point but can be over £80,000 for experienced professionals in senior commercial posts

* Salary figures are intended as a guideline only

Career planning…

• Think about where you want to be in:– 2 years?– 5 years?– 10 years?

• It’s not about making fixed decisions now, it’s about being aware!

‘Action planning’

• Where am I now? Assess situation

• Where do I want to be? Set some goals

• How do I get there? What are your options? What information do you need? Who can help you?

• What action should I take? And when and how?

• Think about what skills and experience you will need, and what skills & experience you currently have!

Some useful resources…

• National Careers Service Profiles - Sport, Leisure and Tourism (https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobfamily/Pages/sportleisureandtourism.aspx)

• BASES – “A Guide to Careers in Sport and Exercise Sciences” (http://www.bases.org.uk/write/documents/BASES%20Career%20Guide%20revised%20edition%20Jan%202010.pdf)

• Prospects – Types of Jobs, Leisure Sport and Tourism (http://www.prospects.ac.uk/types_of_jobs_leisure.htm)

Websites…www.bucs.org.uk:www.careers-in-sport.co.ukwww.exercisecareers.com www.jobswithballs.com http://www.coachingnysport.co.uk/ http://www.northyorkshiresport.co.uk/http://www.wysport.co.uk/www.humbersport.com/www.sysport.co.uk www.tynewearsport.org/ http://www.jobs.ac.uk: Jobs within universities and education, also further study opportunities.http://www.leisurejobs.com/http://www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/www.leisurevacancies.co.uk Look for jobs and careers advice spanning the leisure, fitness and wellbeing industry with our dedicated website and job search. With partners including leading gym chains, spas and hotels, we provide you with access to their latest vacancies and positionshttp://www.lgjobs.com/: Local government jobs.http://www.sportsweb.com/: sport jobshttp://www.ucsport.net/: Jobs within universities and colleges within sport.http://www.bases.org.uk/: Advertises vacancies within universities. Advertise studentships for further study.

http://www.ccpr.org.uk/aboutccpr/jobs/: Advertises sport positions such as development coaches in Gymnastics.http://www.efds.co.uk/jobs: Offers sports jobs in development areas, eg. Sports development manager, Casual Disability sports coach.http://www.isrm.co.uk/jobs/jobs_flowsports2.php4: Institute of Sport and Recreation Management. There is an email and phone number contact for job enquiries.http://www.ispal.org.uk/: Jobs hosted by Leisure opportunity jobs.http://www.skillsactive.com/resources/active-jobs: Sports development jobs advertised.http://www.sportni.net/: Sport jobs in Northern Ireland.www.sportengland.orgAdvertises jobs in sporthttp://www.sportscoachuk.org/: Register for Sports Coaching jobs.http://www.sportscotland.org.uk/SiteNavigation/Jobs/: Jobs in Sport in Scotland.http://www.sports-council-wales.org.uk/jobs: Sport Jobs listed in wales.http://www.uksport.gov.uk/vacancies/: Jobs in sport listed, development managers and coaches e.g. Fit4 life coordinator, National Disability Coach. A very concise list of jobs posted in councils and universities across the country.http://www.wsff.org.uk/vacancies/: Jobs for women in sports professions.http://www.youthsporttrust.org/page/current-vacancy/index.html: Jobs at YouthSports Trust.

Finally…

• VISIT CAREERS!– We are here to help, whether you have no idea

what you want to do, or know exactly what you want.

• Do your research. Being informed is key…• Don’t panic if you don’t know yet! – Plenty of students don’t know what they want, or

don’t decide until nearer when they leave. Just make sure you start thinking about it!