Graduates of this program can become leaders in a variety of professional settings, including:
This growing industry provides opportunities for certified athletic trainers to work with a variety of health care professionals and a range of patients. In addition to athletic injury rehabilitation, many clinics provide athletic training services for secondary schools.
Certified athletic trainers' jobs in colleges generally fall into two categories:
In professional sports settings, certified athletic trainers work only one sport, such as football, baseball, basketball, or hockey. Although teams perform only a select number of months per year, ATCs work year-round in athlete conditioning and rehabilitation.
Other athletic training employment opportunities include corporate health programs, health clubs, clinical and industrial health care programs, and athletic training education programs.
To advance the profession, many ATs, hold terminal degrees (Ph.D. or Ed.D.), teach and/or conduct research in sports medicine and athletic training.