As a kid growing up, I often thought about what my dream job would be and how I would succeed in that career path. I wondered what my life would be like if I became an actress, a sports reporter, or even a nurse. Dream jobs are something that everyone aspires to have and growing up it was always a thought to reach that goal of having a dream job.
My dream job changed throughout the course of my life and into college, but I ultimately narrowed it down to something I really love and have a passion for, that being athletic training. Athletic training is an industry sector that I have always been interested in and thought about looking into as a potential career. With that being said, here are some qualifications, education, experience, and dispositions that come along with being able to achieve my dream job of an athletic trainer.
Athletic trainers have to be active listeners, be able to monitor the athlete’s injuries, communicate well with others, have very good stamina, judgement, and time management. Trainers also have to have very good knowledge of the body along with being trained and educated by earning a bachelor’s degree.
Experience is also key when pursuing an athletic training career. Having the experience of working with an injured athlete throughout their rehabilitation and fitting athletes with protective gear are just some to name a few of the experiences they should have. They also need to have the care and commitment to work with athletes in order for them to help athletes get back to playing as quickly as possible.
The job responsibilities of an athletic trainer get a bit overwhelming. Most athletic trainers have to be prepared to work full time, along with sporting events taking place at night and on weekends. Not only do they have to be prepared for these, but they also have to be prepared to work under any kind of weather conditions.
Along with this, high level communication is required of trainers, so they can communicate back to coaches, doctors, parents and athletes and let them know anything requiring the athlete’s injury. Pay and benefits often vary as an athletic trainer. The median wage for a regular athletic trainer is $33,940 and trainers working with professional teams often earn 75,000 or more per year. With that being said, athletic trainers often earn benefits such as paid vacations and holidays.
The required job qualifications and responsibilities of an athletic trainer definitely met my expectations. As an athlete, I have to work with athletic trainers and I see day in and day out all the hard work and determination they put into their job to become successful. I think that athletic training would be a great fit for me in the future because I am determined, hard-working, I love working with people, and I have experience in athletics being a collegiate athlete.
With that being said, I do have a weakness that may end up holding me back in this career. I am decisive when it comes to decision-making and can make a decision but then overthink it, so I may end up not making the right one in a crucial time period for an athlete.
In order for me to become a successful athletic trainer, I need to consider all of my expectations I have for myself. I would need to earn a bachelor’s degree first and then internship and gain experience soon after. I would then need to take a certification exam to become certified for an athletic trainer and then obtain a master’s degree. With that being said, I believe that all of these steps I take along with the skills and knowledge I learn throughout will help me become successful in the field of athletic training.
