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

What is a recreation specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Ariel Rodríguez Ph.D., CPRP

Recreation specialists work at community centers, holiday resorts, clubs, or other recreational establishments. They are responsible for organizing, entertaining free time activities for groups or individuals.

If you have excellent energy and love working with people, this might be your calling. You will have to find out what the visitors or members of the community would be interested in and invite instructors to lead the sessions. You will arrange schedules and book venues, so being organized and time-efficient will make your life easy here.

You need no more than a GED or high school diploma to get started. Experience in event organization will certainly be considered a plus, but your most important asset will be your passion for community building, your outstanding people skills, and your undeniable knack for efficient communication.

What general advice would you give to a recreation specialist?

Ariel Rodríguez Ph.D., CPRP

Associate Professor, Recreation Management Program Director, Springfield College

Be open, flexible, and willing to learn. I realize that after graduating from college, many individuals may feel as if they are mentally and emotionally done with learning, but the truth is that graduation is really just the beginning of lifelong learning as a recreation professional. If graduates are looking to work in parks and recreation, I would recommend applying for the Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) certification when they are eligible and feel ready to take on the CPRP exam.

If a recent graduate is unable to immediately crack into the field, I would recommend either volunteering in a recreation specialization they are interested in or perhaps looking at job descriptions for recreation positions they are interested in and find jobs that help to give them experience in the requested knowledge, skills, and abilities so that they can better position themselves as a future candidate.

ScoreRecreation SpecialistUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,186

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.1

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.74%

Asian 5.10%

Black or African American 12.63%

Hispanic or Latino 15.31%

Unknown 5.91%

White 60.31%

Gender

female 51.29%

male 48.71%

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 specialist

Explore recreation specialist education requirements

Most common recreation specialist degrees

Bachelor's

64.9 %

Associate

15.2 %

High School Diploma

8.8 %

Start to develop specific recreation specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
CPR	21.94%
Customer Service	18.46%
Recreation Programs	7.07%
Rehabilitation	5.98%
Social Work	4.86%

Complete relevant recreation specialist training and internships

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

Gain additional recreation specialist certifications

Recreation specialist 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 recreation specialist certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for recreation specialists include Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) and First Aid, CPR and AED Instructor.

More About Certifications

Research recreation specialist duties and responsibilities

Provide evidence base intervention to help manage behavior in children diagnose with ADHD.
Organize, lead, and promote interest in recreational activities such as bingo cards, machines, and markers.
Manage funds and resources to include developing the annual NAF budget, which include submission and prioritization of program component requirements.
Manage the maintenance of post MWR relate administrative records and submit program status reports in accordance with establish contractual requirements.

Prepare your recreation specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your recreation specialist 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 specialist 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 specialist resume templates

Build a professional recreation specialist 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 specialist resume.