Summary. We reviewed real candidate profiles to learn the best path to become a sports director. We'll guide you through the education, experiences, and skills hiring managers look for in a sports director.
Most companies require a sports director to have a bachelor's degree degree in a related field, such as communication or kinesiology.
It's important to have relevant work experience, with typical job requirements ranging from 4-6 years in related fields.
Common job titles before becoming a sports director include internship, sports anchor, and sales associate.
Hiring managers expect a sports director to have soft skills such as leadership skills, time-management skills, and communication skills.
Once you have all the required skills and experience, it takes an average of less than 1 month of job training to become a sports director.
Getting a certification as a Certified Personal Trainer will help you to earn more as a sports director.
We found that 79.2% of sports directors have graduated with a bachelor's degree and 7.9% of people in this position have earned their master's degrees. While most sports directors have a college degree, you may find it's also true that generally it's possible to be successful in this career with only a high school degree. In fact, our research shows that one out of every nine sports directors were not college graduates.
The sports directors who went onto college to earn a more in-depth education generally studied communication and kinesiology, while a small population of sports directors studied journalism and business.
If you're interested in becoming a sports director, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 79.2% of sports directors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 7.9% of sports directors have master's degrees. Even though most sports directors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a sports director. When we researched the most common majors for a sports director, we found that they most commonly have communication, kinesiology and journalism.
Sports Director Major | Percentages |
---|---|
Communication | 19.50% |
Kinesiology | 18.40% |
Journalism | 13.30% |
Business | 9.30% |
Other Degrees | 39.30% |
It'll be a good idea to develop sports director skills before applying for a job. Here are some skills commonly requested in sports director job descriptions:
Skills | Percentages |
---|---|
Soccer | 10.01% |
CPR | 7.99% |
Softball | 6.20% |
Volleyball | 6.03% |
Sports Stories | 5.48% |
Sports directors spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. During this time, new sports directors learn the skills and techniques required for their specific job and employer. The chart below shows how much time it takes to gain competency as a sports director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sports director resumes.
When you decide to become a sports director, It's important to know what duties and responsibilities are required for this position. Some common responsibilities are a part of most sports director jobs. Here is a list of the main duties that define the role:
Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a sports director. The most common roles before becoming a sports director include internship, sports anchor team lead and sales associate.
Finally, when you already have checked the skills and responsibilities for this role, you can start creating your resume. Everything that goes into creating a perfect resume can take hours, days, or even weeks. No worries, we created a resume builder to make this process as easy as possible with tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and a summary.