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| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 370 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 363 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 383 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 376 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 370 | 0.00% |
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $72,799 | $35.00 | +1.8% |
| 2024 | $71,544 | $34.40 | +1.7% |
| 2023 | $70,336 | $33.82 | +1.2% |
| 2022 | $69,472 | $33.40 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $68,312 | $32.84 | +1.6% |
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 339 | 25% |
| 2 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 192 | 25% |
| 3 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 385 | 20% |
| 4 | Vermont | 623,657 | 120 | 19% |
| 5 | Delaware | 961,939 | 170 | 18% |
| 6 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 1,140 | 17% |
| 7 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 533 | 17% |
| 8 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 502 | 17% |
| 9 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 222 | 17% |
| 10 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 182 | 17% |
| 11 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 966 | 16% |
| 12 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 109 | 16% |
| 13 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 1,517 | 15% |
| 14 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,119 | 15% |
| 15 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 884 | 15% |
| 16 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 824 | 15% |
| 17 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,221 | 14% |
| 18 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 945 | 14% |
| 19 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 152 | 14% |
| 20 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 1,717 | 13% |
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewiston | 1 | 3% | $67,268 |
| 2 | Bakersfield | 1 | 0% | $109,225 |
| 3 | Chicago | 1 | 0% | $82,014 |
| 4 | New Orleans | 1 | 0% | $62,741 |
Xavier University
University of South Florida
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
Weber State University
University of Akron
Hope College
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
Willamette University
Endicott College
Concordia University
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
University of Illinois at Chicago
Meredith College
University of Puget Sound
Andrews University
University of Illinois at Chicago
John Wright: Without a doubt, certification from a reputable agency is the first step to success! Depending on which direction your career takes you, certification may be either required or recommended. Fields like Athletic Training, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Therapy mandate either national certification and/or state licensure in order to practice. However, other areas of specialization like strength & conditioning and personal training do not have strict certification or licensure requirements. Whether or not your area of specialization requires a certification, being certified or licensed to practice ensures that you have met the minimal educational and professional standards in your field. With that said, I often recommend to our Athletic Training and pre-Physical Therapy students to obtain multiple credentials in order to enhance their professional marketability. Athletic Trainers should be certified by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Board of Certification (NATABOC), and I recommend that they obtain the Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certification from the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA). It’s also a good idea to pursue additional certifications such as the Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES) certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), and the Certified Exercise Physiologist certification from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). If your ambition is to work with “Tactical Athletes” (soldiers, firefighters, law enforcement officers), I strongly recommend attaining the Tactical Strength & Conditioning (TSAC) certification from the NSCA. If your goal is to become a personal trainer, there are a variety of personal training certifications that are available, but it is important to realize that not all certifications are created equal. NATA, NSCA, CSM, and NASM certifications are considered the most reputable, and they are all certifications that are accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).
Chad Killian PhD: The ability to critically evaluate and apply the use of technology to support effective practice is now mandatory in almost every field, including kinesiology. It will be important for kinesiology professionals to have the ability to consider if/when/how these technologies can/should be used in their practice.
Chad Killian PhD: Regardless of the specific field a Kinesiology graduate enters, it is crucial to stay informed about current societal trends and emerging research. It will be essential to actively engage with students or clients to ensure practices are consistently aligned with their evolving needs.
Bailey Palmer: Employment for professionals in kinesiology is expected to grow by over 15% in the next ten years. People are living longer which means a higher quality of life needs to be attained in those later years. Kinesiology professionals can help to improve mobility, rehab injuries, and increase fitness levels in these individuals to improve quality of life.
Ashley Varol: Kinesiologists have a wide variety of settings they can work in, and no two days will ever be the same. The role is very flexible with the type of client they may work with and as the world becomes more interested in preventive health and wellness, the market will continue to need individuals who understand the human body and how to move it, with and without disease, illness or injury.
Ashley Varol: A kinesiologist is someone who creates exercise programming with movements specific to an individual to meet a goal – whether it be to enhance posture, prevent or rehabilitate from an injury, improve elements of sports performance, or weight loss. Day to day life includes performing assessments to understand strength, flexibility, endurance, as well as overall movement pattern assessment to look for muscle development and imbalances. It will also include creative time, developing exercise programs that match the goals of the client, and requires coaching and cuing movement effectively while providing excellent service to their clients/members/patients.
Ashley Varol: There is a wide variety of employment options which is great as you can avoid burnout by changing setting/client type, but can also mean working “off” hours – many people want to exercise before or after work or on lunch breaks, so the schedule can be a little bit stretched or non-linear.
Sumer Samhoury: The best way to maximize your salary potential is to specialize and get board certified in a specific area or population and if you’re passionate about a specific area of expertise, apply for a 1 year residency program. You will learn one on one with board certified experts and save a lot of money on continuing education and be able to sit for a board certification exam by the time you finish it. You will also learn so much more in a short period of time than if you decide to take multiple continuing education courses.
Sumer Samhoury: My advice would be to find a job where there are many other therapists that can serve as mentors that you can continue to learn from. Being a new grad is challenging because you are now applying everything you learned in school in the clinic and that can be overwhelming without some guidance. It’s also best to start working in an outpatient clinic with patients with a variety of diagnoses and a diverse population to further increase your knowledge base.
Sumer Samhoury: Telehealth and remote PT is becoming more prevalent and being able to educate patients to become more independent in their care and healing is the direction in which this field is going. It will also allow for greater access to PT for less mobile individuals.
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
Sports, Kinesiology, And Physical Education/Fitness
Dr. Shala Davis Ph.D., FACSM: Get as much experience working with varied populations as possible to enhance your interpersonal communication skills as well as your clinical competencies. In addition, sitting for and passing a professional credentialing exam demonstrates your commitment to professional development.
Dr. Shala Davis Ph.D., FACSM: The field is expanding and the new professional needs to adapt along with the contemporary trends. Communication, varied exercise programming, use of technology and the ability to motivate clients/patients to be compliant with exercise will be the key to success in the next few years.
Dr. Shala Davis Ph.D., FACSM: Holding a professional credential and having varied skills to work with apparently health adults and patients with clinical conditions makes the professional more marketable.
Saori Hanaki: Those who are going into fitness and/or coaching-related areas definitely want to consider getting certifications from respected organizations such as the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Strength & Conditioning Association. I would specifically recommend getting certifications that require a college degree and/or exercise science-specific coursework since many fitness certifications including personal training certifications can be obtained without a college degree. Additionally, extensive practical experiences in health and fitness assessments, exercise prescriptions, and client/patient interactions through internships would be a plus.
Saori Hanaki: Keep open-minded. Exercise science/kinesiology is an interdisciplinary field of study that allows you to explore options in different professional areas including fitness, coaching, healthcare-related fields, and education. With experiences after college, your professional interests likely evolve.
Saori Hanaki: As with any other professions, transferable skills including information literacy - the ability to locate, assess the credibility of information available, and making a sound decision based on information available will be critical in exercise science professionals. This allows you to continue updating the knowledge and the abilities to perform responsibilities effectively and safely, whether it is personal training, providing clinical care, or conducting research. The ability to work in a team/collaborate is another important skill for anyone who wants to be successful in exercise science and related fields.
Ronald Otterstetter Ph.D., FACSM: Being proficient in the latest technology and its use within the field. Staying up to date on the latest research and being able to apply the information into everyday interactions and scenarios. Being flexible and skilled to work with different populations to help achieve whatever their exercise goals might be.
Ronald Otterstetter Ph.D., FACSM: Take every opportunity to make yourself a better professional. Seek to learn skills that will make you so integral to the company that you can’t be replaced. Work on people skills: both with the ones you work with and the ones you work for. Be open to advice and constructive criticism. They will both make you better in the long run.
Hope College
Sports, Kinesiology, And Physical Education/Fitness
Dr. Brian Rider Ph.D, CSCS, FACSM: The professor did not provide a specific answer to this question.
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
Sports, Kinesiology, And Physical Education/Fitness
Dr. Matthew Miltenberger PhD, CSCS, ATC: Maximizing salary comes down to a few things: 1. Education/ degree having an MS enhances starting salaries. 2. Certifications through national organizations like NSCA and ACSM. 3. Specialize within the field, find your area. 4. Market your skills on your resume… what can you do from a technology standpoint, what equipment are you proficient in using, special coursework or certificates. 5. Get involved while in school, do an internship or several, make contact with experts in the field, volunteer within the field. Get your name out there and make connections!
Dr. Matthew Miltenberger PhD, CSCS, ATC: Without a doubt technology is the future, using force plates, 3D camera systems, accelerometers, equipment like catapult and others are just the beginning. Tracking athletes in real time, assessing fatigue, performance readiness, sleep quality and many more are here now and only getting more advanced. The other aspect is with robotics, prosthetics, equipment that improves quality of life/ mobility, it is amazing what kinesiologists, exercise scientists, and biomechanists are doing!
Dr. Matthew Miltenberger PhD, CSCS, ATC: A couple pieces of advice I would give is trust your education and be confident in the skills you learned, the next is really important, be a life long learner, continue to learn new skills, challenge yourself to grow. Lastly, I would say that the field of kinesiology is so diverse and ever changing, find your specialty/ niche and become the expert!
Willamette University
Sports, Kinesiology, And Physical Education/Fitness
Michael Lockard Ph.D.: Of the many potential career paths seen within Kinesiology and Exercise Science, they commonly involve working directly with people (patients, athletes, clients, or students) to help improve their health, function, and overall well-being. Regardless of the specific career, this can be extremely rewarding on a daily basis.
Michael Lockard Ph.D.: As a discipline, Kinesiology and Exercise Science have experienced significant growth beyond that of other sciences over the last few decades. This growth has coincided with the continued growth of related fields such as allied health, rehabilitation, sports performance, and training. There continues to be significant demand within these fields for the foreseeable future.
Matthew Ibrahim Ph.D.(c): Become as versatile as possible. That's going to separate you from your peers. We live in a day and age where having one set of skills simply isn't enough. It is imperative that you develop as many skills as possible that pertain to the career field, which in turn will make you more valuable. The more value you bring to the table, the greater the asset you become to a company. It's as simple as that.
Matthew Ibrahim Ph.D.(c): Without a doubt, I would strongly encourage students and up-and-coming professionals to build soft skills through effective communication, develop coaching skills through efficient instruction, and lastly, improve their public speaking skills. Notice how all 3 of these skills are related to the communication side of things. Ultimately, this is where I feel most strongly that we can improve as a whole, especially with the rise in technology. After you've mastered these 3 skills, I would encourage you to then begin to learn the nuances of the technology side of things in our field since that area is only going to grow the more it is around.
Matthew Ibrahim Ph.D.(c): If you're about to graduate with a degree in Exercise Science, Exercise Physiology or Kinesiology, my top 3 recommendations would be: #1 - Be yourself. Avoid trying to mimic others in the field. Steer clear of a simple 'copy and paste'. Most importantly, forge a path of your own. I know that this may sound too simple, but I firmly believe in being yourself in every avenue of life. Ultimately, you will attract what you exude; therefore, exude energy, enthusiasm, curiosity and a deep passion for your work. #2 - Be patient. So many young, up-and-coming professionals in our field (i.e., Strength and Conditioning, Physical Therapy, Athletic Training, etc.) seem to be in a rush and want to leap past the journey to the end result. In my humble opinion, it is the journey that teaches you life's most valuable lessons, especially as they pertain to this career field. Instead of leaping past these valuable career lessons, lean into them, learn from them and grow from them. #3 - Seek mentorship. After graduating with a degree in this field, you may feel lost, unsure of your next steps or confused. Trust me, this is very typical. I've been there before as well. One thing that truly helped me along my path when I was in your shoes was to seek out mentors in and out of the career field. In doing so, I was able to develop from a professional standpoint, and I was also able to grow my overall network. In my book, it was a huge win-win for my career, especially in the early stages. Ultimately, this need for mentorship is why I created my mentorship program for students and up-and-coming professionals like yourself: Athletic Performance University (APU).
Maryse Fortin PhD, CAT(C): Be proactive, continue to expand your network and do not close any doors or opportunities that present themselves. There are many interesting job opportunities in different areas in health and fitness-related sectors.
Dr. Joshua Wooten Ph.D.: People like the opportunity to help others improve their physical and mental well-being. However, the salaries can vary depending on the specific specialization within Kinesiology.
Dr. Joshua Wooten Ph.D.: Kinesiology is the broad study of human movement. Graduates can specialize in areas such as Exercise Physiology, Exercise and Sport Psychology, or Physical Education and Coaching Pedagogy. They can work in a variety of settings like cardiac rehabilitation, personal training, strength and conditioning, or mental performance coaching.
Dr. Josh Miller: The job market is unlimited. The student can pursue working with clients as a personal trainer or strength coach in a specific sport. This could be working with youth athletes or high school athletes that are transitioning into college sport or college athletes preparing for the sport specific combine. Another example is a student that has completed a Bachelor's degree and goes to Physician's Assistants school can use their education on exercise and nutrition to help educate their patients in lifestyle management. The ability to use their education from the Bachelor's program in their graduate programming only makes the student a great candidate for a program and then when they graduate from the program there is a potential to have knowledge that is not always taught in these programs.
Heather Sanderson Ed.D., CSCS (she/her/hers): Interpersonal skills, technological skills, and adaptability would be my top three skills I see are needed in the next 3-5 years. Young adults are struggling with interpersonal communication due to technology and as a field that works directly with patients, clients, and students the ability to have direct conversations will be vitally important to the care of their clientele. Furthermore, our global society has influenced the variety of people kinesiologists will come in contact with. So cultural competence is important when communicating with people from various backgrounds. The advancement of technology in a fast-paced market has made it imperative that up-to-date technology skills and adaptability to ongoing changes are needed for future professionals.
Heather Sanderson Ed.D., CSCS (she/her/hers): I always teach students to ask for three things when negotiating a salary - 1. Ask for something you need (higher pay, flexible hours, telecommute, professional development funds, etc) 2. Ask for something you want but don't need (a specific type of computer/phone, office location, moving expense, specific type of benefit), 3. Ask for something to enhance your position (better title, bonuses, more vacation, PTO). As a women's college, our students must work on their negotiation skills as statistically employers pay women less and give them fewer incentives. So I educate our students to know their worth and be proactive to ensure their success.
University of Puget Sound
Rehabilitation And Therapeutic Professions
Holly Roberts PT, PhD: Residency or fellowship training and/or ABPTS board certification can improve salary potential in some settings. It is important for graduates to consider things that are valuable beyond salary. You might value additional time off (flex days or floating holidays), paid continuing education, paid membership for your professional organization, or a flexible schedule. After a certain point, those benefits may be more negotiable than salary.
Holly Roberts PT, PhD: I think technology will play a bigger role in rehabilitation. It will be important to identify valid and reliable technology tools to enhance rehabilitative care. I also think that AI is going to become more prevalent in our field. It will be important for physical therapists to determine when AI may enhance care or improve clinical efficiency. However, AI cannot replace the clinical reasoning of a Doctor of Physical Therapy, nor can it use its hands to assess, guide, or facilitate movement.
Holly Roberts PT, PhD: I advise new graduates to be open to new experiences. We are lifelong learners and there are advances in rehabilitation science every day. Ask questions. Identify a formal or informal mentor, but also know that new graduates have something to teach more "seasoned" clinicians as well. I also recommend considering residency or fellowship training and pursuing specialist certification. Finally, find a way to contribute to enhancing our profession and improving the quality of care for patients. That could be through advocacy, research, health promotion and wellness, or clinical instruction.
Andrews University
Rehabilitation And Therapeutic Professions
Nathan Hess PT, DPT, Ph.D. Candidate: PTs like helping people achieve their goals and return to desired functional levels but dislike dealing with insurance and paperwork.
Nathan Hess PT, DPT, Ph.D. Candidate: Employment of PTs is expected to grow by 15% over the next 10 years, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Nathan Hess PT, DPT, Ph.D. Candidate: A PT evaluates and treats patients with mostly neurological or musculoskeletal injuries, focusing on improving mobility, maximizing function, and managing pain.
Dr. Elizabeth O'Neill: Hopefully to start, students choose to attend institutions that provide extensive applied experiences through high quality internships. These dramatically enhance professional growth, offer extensive networking, and build one's resume. Obtaining reputable credentialing (certifications) will open doors and is a good first step. Being willing and able to diversify to have multiple revenue streams for income can expand your salary potential. There are a lot of unique ways to make money in the field, so looking for those opportunities can make a big difference.
Dr. Annmarie Chizewski: The field of kinesiology is undergoing a transformative shift, driven by a growing recognition of the profound impact that physical activity and exercise can have on overall health and well-being. In the next 3-5 years, professionals who possess a deep understanding of the intricate mind-body connection and can skillfully design exercise programs that target not just physical fitness, but also mental health and quality of life, will be in high demand. As our society faces rising rates of chronic diseases and an aging population, kinesiologists who can develop and tailor exercise interventions for specific populations and conditions will play a crucial role. This requires a comprehensive knowledge of exercise physiology, biomechanics, and the unique needs of diverse individuals, from those with cardiovascular or metabolic disorders to older adults seeking to maintain functional independence. Moreover, the rapid advancement of technology in the fitness industry is transforming the field. Professionals adept in data analysis, wearable device integration, and the development of personalized, technology-driven exercise programs will have a significant advantage. The ability to leverage data and cutting-edge tools to create customized, evidence-based exercise regimens will be instrumental in optimizing outcomes and improving adherence. Ultimately, the field of kinesiology is evolving to address the complex health challenges of our time, and those who can harness the transformative power of physical activity and exercise to promote holistic well-being will be at the forefront of this evolution.