How To Become A Recreation Programmer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a recreation programmer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Daniel Funk Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a recreation programmer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.23 an hour? That's $37,908 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 28,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a recreation programmer?

Daniel Funk Ph.D.

Professor and Ed Rosen Senior Research Fellow, Temple University

Parks and recreation as a profession offers a diverse employment and career ecosystem as individuals work in and across a variety of settings. A beneficial element to focus on when beginning a career is to adopt a service excellence perspective. In other words, focus on designing and delivering experiences that enhance users' (or participants) physical, mental, and social well-being. Also, don't forget to apply what you learned in academic courses and through industry internships. The knowledge and experience gained will become more relevant and valuable as you move upward beyond entry level positions. Given the current age of the workforce in P&R, there will be opportunities for advancement into leadership/management roles.

ScoreRecreation ProgrammerUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $37,908

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.1

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.77%

Asian 5.48%

Black or African American 10.65%

Hispanic or Latino 14.20%

Unknown 5.99%

White 62.90%

Gender

female 49.33%

male 50.67%

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

Key steps to become a recreation programmer

Explore recreation programmer education requirements

Most common recreation programmer degrees

Bachelor's

77.2 %

Associate

13.0 %

Master's

6.7 %

Start to develop specific recreation programmer skills

Skills	Percentages
CPR	30.01%
Reservations	11.10%
Press Releases	8.34%
Wide Events	8.23%
Flyers	7.44%

Complete relevant recreation programmer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New recreation programmers 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 a recreation programmer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real recreation programmer resumes.

Research recreation programmer duties and responsibilities

Manage the maintenance of post MWR relate administrative records and submit program status reports in accordance with establish contractual requirements.
Direct aquatics program and staff; hire, train, and supervise part-time and seasonal staff.
Design and printing of all flyers, brochures, and posters used for event and program marketing.
Produce advertising for events, activities and programs via flyers, media and promotion through other events, etc.

Prepare your recreation programmer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your recreation programmer 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 a recreation programmer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable recreation programmer resume templates

Build a professional recreation programmer 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 recreation programmer resume.