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The differences between strength and conditioning coaches and athletic trainers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a strength and conditioning coach, becoming an athletic trainer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a strength and conditioning coach has an average salary of $49,382, which is higher than the $47,028 average annual salary of an athletic trainer.
The top three skills for a strength and conditioning coach include student athletes, NCAA and weight room. The most important skills for an athletic trainer are patients, rehabilitation, and CPR.
| Strength And Conditioning Coach | Athletic Trainer | |
| Yearly salary | $49,382 | $47,028 |
| Hourly rate | $23.74 | $22.61 |
| Growth rate | 20% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 14,934 | 56,812 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 36 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A Strength And Conditioning Coach designs, implements, and supervises the strength and conditioning programs for multiple sports programs. They generally work with athletes.
An athletic trainer is a healthcare professional who works with physicians to improve a patient's quality of life. Their profession encompasses the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of chronic medical conditions involving disabilities, functional limitations, and impairments. As an athletic trainer, you will typically do various tasks, including recognizing and evaluating injuries, providing emergency care or first aid, and developing and implementing rehabilitation programs. You are also responsible for planning and implementing programs to help prevent sports injuries among athletes.
Strength and conditioning coaches and athletic trainers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Strength And Conditioning Coach | Athletic Trainer | |
| Average salary | $49,382 | $47,028 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $81,000 | Between $35,000 And $61,000 |
| Highest paying City | Morgantown, WV | Greenwich, CT |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Mayo Clinic | Ethical Culture Fieldston School |
| Best paying industry | Education | - |
There are a few differences between a strength and conditioning coach and an athletic trainer in terms of educational background:
| Strength And Conditioning Coach | Athletic Trainer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Kinesiology | Athletic Training |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor |
Here are the differences between strength and conditioning coaches' and athletic trainers' demographics:
| Strength And Conditioning Coach | Athletic Trainer | |
| Average age | 36 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.5% Female, 16.5% | Male, 53.1% Female, 46.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.0% Asian, 5.4% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 8.3% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 10% |