While unemployment rates rise, so do prospects and salaries for certified athletic trainers
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – May, 2009
The U.S. is in the midst of the deepest recession since 1983 with national unemployment rates rising to 8.9 percent. Despite the glum outlook, the U.S. Department of Labor reports that job opportunities for athletic trainers are expected to grow 24 percent into the year 2016—faster than average for almost all occupations.
The exponential increase of jobs for athletic trainers can be attributed to their greater acceptance as qualified medical professionals within the health care industry. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, an increasing number of athletic trainers are also working in non- sports-related settings.
Likewise, athletic training salaries are on the rise as well. The National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s annual salary survey reported that the national average for a full-time position is $44,235, up nine percent from 2005, ($52,667 in California which is up 14 percent from 2005).
“Athletic training in the traditional sense is oriented towards athletic teams in the professional, college and high school realm,” said Michael West, President of the California Athletic Trainers’ Association (CATA). “Now, as other groups and organizations have begun to recognize our value and the specific knowledge we have, we’re seeing a broadening demand for certified athletic trainers, both on the athletic field and in alternative health care settings and other various environments, as well as escalating salaries.”
More than stereotypical ankle tapers, a certified athletic trainer’s role goes beyond managing catastrophic injuries: these physical medicine specialists provide prevention, recognition, clinical assessment and diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and reconditioning of injuries and illnesses that are sustained during activity. In some cases, their on-site medical services, both preventative and immediate care, can make the difference between life and death.
For instance, a former high school football player from La Verne, CA might not be alive today if not for the immediate response of a certified athletic trainer on-site when he fractured his neck during a game.
With an increasing emphasis on providing preventive care, a growing number of older people, and over 7,000,000 school-aged children now participating in interscholastic sports, prospects for certified athletic trainers are abundant.
Currently, about 34 percent of athletic trainers work in health care, including jobs in hospitals, offices of physicians, and offices of other health practitioners. Another 34 percent are found in educational environments, primarily in colleges, universities, and high schools and about 20 percent work in fitness and recreational sports centers.
While the most coveted positions with professional sports clubs and within colleges and universities will be difficult to come by, more elementary schools and secondary schools are beginning to realize the importance of having a certified athletic trainer on staff during recreational and athletic events. However, only 42 percent of secondary schools nationally have access to an athletic trainer.
Continuing efforts to have a certified athletic trainer in every high school is a primary concern for the CATA. California is one of only four states, including Alaska, West Virginia and Maryland, where athletic training is not a regulated profession.
The lack of state regulation, ultimately, proves to be a serious risk to the general population,” says Kelly Berardini, a certified athletic trainer (ATC) and full-time instructor of athletic training at Chapman University in Orange County, CA. “Because of that lack of governmental recognition and legitimacy we could potentially, as a state, be attractive to those [athletic trainers] who have lost their Board of Certification credentials or even individuals who were never certified.”
About the California Athletic Trainers Association (CATA):
Athletic trainers are health care professionals who specialize in the provision of physical medicine and rehabilitation services, serving as physician extenders in the prevention, assessment and treatment of acute and chronic injuries and illnesses. The California Athletic Trainers Association (http://www.cata-usa.org) represents and supports 2,200 members of the athletic training profession through communication and education.
In April 2007, the CATA introduced SB 284– legislation calling for the regulation of athletic trainers in the state of California. Currently, California is one of only four states without a system of checks and balances to regulate the athletic training profession, meaning anyone can label him/herself an athletic trainer without holding the proper credentials – leaving athletes at risk for injury or worse, disability. In October 2007, SB 284 was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.
Currently, the CATA is working on legislation that would require all high schools to have an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) either on-site or accessible by a trained medical professional employed by the school both during after school and athletic activities.