How To Become A Student Athletic Trainer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a student athletic trainer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Student athletic trainers are students enrolled in a college athletic training education program. They are supervised by and assist athletic training instructors or physicians and treat injuries suffered by students during training. Filling this role is an opportunity to gain knowledge and practice in the field as part of the students' clinical education.

Preparing to fill the position of an athletic trainer, student trainers observe the work of coaches and physical therapists. They learn how to evaluate injuries and provide first aid by applying bandages or braces to prevent accidents. They also learn how to implement physical therapy rehabilitation programs and how to plan injury prevention.

Although these positions are practically internships, student athletic trainers usually get paid for their services around $10.00 - $13.34 an hour. If you love helping people, and you would rather spend your time outdoors instead of being stuck behind a desk in an office, this might be the right position for you.

ScoreStudent Athletic TrainerUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $47,264

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.1

Growth rate 17%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.54%

Asian 8.41%

Black or African American 9.56%

Hispanic or Latino 15.24%

Unknown 4.00%

White 61.25%

Gender

female 57.02%

male 42.98%

Age - 38

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 - 38

Stress level

8.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.4

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a student athletic trainer

Explore student athletic trainer education requirements

Most common student athletic trainer degrees

Bachelor's

73.8 %

Associate

9.7 %

High School Diploma

6.9 %

Start to develop specific student athletic trainer skills

Skills	Percentages
Rehabilitation	24.22%
Athletic Injuries	6.05%
Softball	6.04%
Soccer	5.58%
Game Coverage	4.38%

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed student athletic trainer usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed student athletic trainer in most of states. 42 states require student athletic trainers to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Alabama	Degree required	State exam required	Licensed Athletic Trainer
Alaska	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Athletic Trainer
Arkansas	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Athletic Trainer
Colorado	-	-	Athletic Trainers
Connecticut	Degree required	State exam required	Athletic Trainer

Research student athletic trainer duties and responsibilities

Provide treatment and rehabilitative care for the NCAA DI men's swimming, ice hockey and football programs.
Provide athletic training coverage for basketball, football, soccer and softball teams at both the high school and collegiate level.
Work closely with the men and women's soccer, basketball, and hockey teams as well as women's volleyball.
Provide medical coverage for international volleyball tournament

Prepare your student athletic trainer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your student athletic trainer resume.

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