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

What is a recreation supervisor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Ariel Rodríguez Ph.D., CPRP

Recreation supervisors oversee all recreational programs in an organization. They are generally involved in organizing, planning, and supervising recreational activities, recreational facilities, special events, and other related programs. You might be required to oversee youth centers or adult sports activities, or even senior centers and historic preservation sites.

Your duties include managing contracts, conducting community research, marketing outreach activities, monitoring inventory, preparing program budgets, and writing grant proposals. You might be involved in staff recruitment, scheduling staff roster, developing training sessions, and monitoring employee performance. You will also be expected to develop policies and procedures and ensure that operations comply with policies, procedures, and state regulations.

Recreation supervisors earn $17.72 per hour and $36,680 annually. Top skills for any recreation supervisor are special events, recreational activities, safety rules, and CPR. You must also have excellent communication and creative skills. Most recreation supervisors have bachelor's degrees in recreation management and kinesiology. It helps to get certifications in first aid, CPR, and AED or Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS).

What general advice would you give to a recreation supervisor?

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 SupervisorUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $45,209

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 5.05%

Black or African American 12.39%

Hispanic or Latino 15.00%

Unknown 5.64%

White 61.24%

Gender

female 43.83%

male 56.17%

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 supervisor

Explore recreation supervisor education requirements

Most common recreation supervisor degrees

Bachelor's

72.8 %

Associate

11.4 %

Master's

7.7 %

Start to develop specific recreation supervisor skills

Skills	Percentages
CPR	25.31%
Recreational Facilities	10.83%
Payroll	7.57%
Safety Procedures	3.77%
Front Desk	3.33%

Complete relevant recreation supervisor training and internships

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

Research recreation supervisor duties and responsibilities

Manage recreation staff and programming for assist living and rehabilitation and skil nursing facilities.
Manage activity and progress reports including statistical data require by regulators, initial assessments, MDS and IDC documentation.
Open, close and run swim center.
Use of POS system for food and beverage sales

Prepare your recreation supervisor resume

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

Build a professional recreation supervisor 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 supervisor resume.