How To Become An Activities Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is an activities director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

If you're interested in helping seniors and want to have a fulfilling, fun experience in a nursing home setting, an activity director position may be right for you. In general, an activity director plans and coordinates social, physical, and cognitive activity programs to enhance and promote the life-quality of elderly individuals, retirement communities, and aging services. An Activity director role allows you to flex your communication, planning, and interpersonal skills.

As an activity director, usually, you may plan and schedule monthly activity calendars, coordinate therapeutic activities, such as exercise classes, game nights, cultural events, and all those programs that can balance the mental and physical well-being of senior individuals. As an activity director, you may work in several settings, including residential facilities, nursing homes, day centers, community camps, or organizations.

To become an activity director, most commonly, you may need a bachelor's degree in recreation therapy. However, you may be able to get this role with a high school diploma and relevant experience. To be successful, you must demonstrate patience, flexibility, compassion, and a desire to help others. Not only that, but by improving your soft skills, you can see plenty of opportunities to advance your career within a nursing home.

ScoreActivities DirectorUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $44,982

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.1

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.67%

Asian 5.12%

Black or African American 11.91%

Hispanic or Latino 15.51%

Unknown 5.63%

White 61.17%

Gender

female 79.62%

male 20.38%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress Level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.9

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.5

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become an activities director

Explore activities director education requirements

Most common activities director degrees

Bachelor's

56.6 %

Associate

16.5 %

High School Diploma

11.3 %

Start to develop specific activities director skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	15.29%
Rehabilitation	9.59%
Resident Care	8.19%
Customer Service	7.16%
Home Health	6.86%

Complete relevant activities director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New activities directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an activities director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real activities director resumes.

Gain additional activities director certifications

Activities director certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific activities director certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for activities directors include Activity Director Certified (ADC) and Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA).

More About Certifications

Research activities director duties and responsibilities

Manage updated JCC social media, including Facebook.
Manage pet therapy/pat visitation protocol.
Attend interdisciplinary care plan meetings and document in MDS and resident medical records as appropriate.
Plan, organize, and run the afterschool

Get activities director experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become an activities director. The most common roles before becoming an activities director include certified nursing assistant, activity assistant team lead and cashier.

Prepare your activities director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your activities director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an activities director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Activities Director Resume templates

Build a professional Activities Director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Activities Director resume.