Sports, Recreation & Hospitality

Athletic Trainer

Prevent, spot, and treat sports injuries, working beside athletes at schools, teams, and clinics

Open interactive guide

What does an Athletic Trainer do?

Athletic trainers work with athletes at high schools, colleges, pro teams, and clinics. They tape ankles, check injuries on the sideline, lead rehab, and help decide when a player is safe to return. They work closely with doctors. It suits calm people who like both sports and medicine.

A day in the life

6:30 AMSet up the training room with ice, tape, and water
7:30 AMTape ankles and treat sore muscles before morning practice
9:30 AMWatch practice and handle a sprain or cut on the field
12:00 PMLead rehab exercises for an athlete healing from a knee injury
2:30 PMUpdate injury records and send notes to the team doctor
5:00 PMCover an evening game, ready for any emergency

What's great

  • Be part of a team without playing
  • Hands-on medical work with athletes
  • See athletes recover and get back in the game
  • Work at schools, pro teams, or clinics

The hard parts

  • Nights, weekends, and travel with the team
  • Very long days during the season
  • Pay is modest for the years of school
  • Serious injuries mean high-stress emergencies

What is an Athletic Trainer's salary and outlook?

$33k – $83k
Salary Range
Master's degree
Typical Education
Growing

Typical pay in this guide runs from about $33,000 to $82,500 a year, with a midpoint around $55,000. These are planning figures for students, not a job offer or an official wage.

CareerLens rates the outlook as Growing.

For the official national outlook, see BLS Occupational Data.

How do you become an Athletic Trainer?

A common path is Master's in athletic training, national board exam, and state license. The ladder often runs from Assistant Athletic Trainer to Athletic Trainer (Certified), then Head Athletic Trainer, and Director of Sports Medicine. Other routes: Bachelor's in kinesiology or exercise science before the master's; Pass the national Board of Certification exam to earn the ATC title; Add physical therapy or physician assistant school later; Work as a student aide in a training room during college.

  • Bachelor's in kinesiology or exercise science before the master's
  • Pass the national Board of Certification exam to earn the ATC title
  • Add physical therapy or physician assistant school later
  • Work as a student aide in a training room during college

Career path

Entry level
Assistant Athletic Trainer
Mid career
Athletic Trainer (Certified)
Senior
Head Athletic Trainer
Executive
Director of Sports Medicine

Will AI replace an Athletic Trainer?

How much will AI change this job?

Quite a bit

AI will help with some tasks in this job, while the most important parts stay human.

AI helps with paperwork, but hands-on care stays human.

Athletic trainers help injured athletes heal and stay safe during practice and games. AI tools can help track injuries and suggest exercise plans, but trainers still do the hands-on work. Real care means touching, watching, and talking with the athlete right there in the moment.

AI can help with

  • Tracking injury records and recovery progress
  • Suggesting exercise plans based on injury data
  • Scheduling appointments and reminders for athletes

What stays human

  • Hands-on treatment like taping, stretching, and massage
  • Spotting injuries quickly during live games
  • Comforting and encouraging athletes through recovery

Skills to build now

  • Join sports teams to learn about injuries firsthand
  • Take health or biology classes to learn body systems
  • Practice clear communication by helping teammates or coaching younger kids

Based on public research from Anthropic and OpenAI, drafted with AI, checked automatically, and read by a person. How we know

This describes how the work may change. It is not a prediction that the job will disappear.