Athletic Trainer
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
An Athletic Trainer treats injuries and provides training to minimize the risk of injury for athletes and people playing sports. Responds when an athlete is injured on the field. Works for schools or colleges, for professional sports teams, or in physicians' offices.
Job Outlook
There were 708 Athletic Trainer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 17986 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Athletic Trainer industry, which includes the Athletic Trainer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Athletic Trainer jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $47,966.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $44,077.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Athletic Trainer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $43,638.
Education and Experience
Posted Athletic Trainer jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 4.11% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 64.72% |
| Master's Degree | 38.12% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1.68% |
| Other | 5% |
Posted Athletic Trainer jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 73.84% |
| 3 to 5 years | 24.22% |
| 6 to 8 years | 1.43% |
| 9+ years | 0.51% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Athletic Trainer positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (36.96%)
- Management (20.47%)
- First Aid (15.17%)
- Coaching (14.29%)
- Operations (12.79%)
- Interpersonal Communications (10.41%)
- Coordinating (9.91%)
- Scheduling (9.57%)
- Customer Service (8.71%)
- Leadership (8.23%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Sports Medicine (40.14%)
- Athletic Training (87.5%)
- Sports Injuries (21.65%)
- Rehabilitation (52.66%)
- Injury Prevention (23.38%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Orthopedics (15.18%)
- Physical Therapy (15.01%)
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) (12.37%)
- Treatment Planning (13.39%)
- Medical Records (13.87%)
- Emergency Medicine (12.44%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Rehabilitation (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Athletic Trainer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Certified Athletic Trainer
- Assistant Athletic Trainer
- Outreach Athletic Trainer
- Head Athletic Trainer
- Clinical Athletic Trainer
- On-Site Industrial Athletic Trainer
- Injury Prevention Specialist
- Licensed Athletic Trainer
- Critical Care Transport Registered Nurse
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Athletic Trainer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Ati Physical Therapy (787)
- Corewell Health (254)
- Select Medical (254)
- Carle (227)
- Acuity Specialty Hospital (215)
- Fit For Work. (192)
- Athletico (169)
- Mercy Health (167)
- Geisinger Health System (139)
- Avera Health (134)
North Carolina
- Atrium Health (44)
- Duke University (44)
- Novant Health (32)
- Atrium Health Floyd (27)
- Wake Forest Baptist Health (18)
- Concentra (15)
- University of North Carolina (14)
- East Carolina University (13)
- PT Solutions Physical Therapy (13)
- UNC Health (12)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.