Career
Coaches and scouts
Coach athletes and find the next ones.
$47,320
Median pay
+6.1%
Job growth, 2025–35
36,400
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Plan, organize, and conduct practice sessions.
- Provide training direction, encouragement, motivation, and nutritional advice to prepare athletes for games, competitive events, or tours.
- Adjust coaching techniques, based on the strengths and weaknesses of athletes.
- Instruct individuals or groups in sports rules, game strategies, and performance principles, such as specific ways of moving the body, hands, or feet, to achieve desired results.
- Plan strategies and choose team members for individual games or sports seasons.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on people & care, then persuasion & leadership?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Plan, organize, and conduct practice sessions.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Instructing, Speaking, Monitoring, Learning Strategies.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $47,320 a year and 36,400 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceSee the degree →
- Teaching (by Subject)See the degree →
- Physical Education Teaching and CoachingCIP 13.1314
- Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, GeneralCIP 31.0501
- Sport and Fitness Administration/ManagementCIP 31.0504
- Performance and Sport PsychologyCIP 42.2815
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials$40,710 · +5.2%
- Athletes and Sports Competitors$66,710 · +5.5%
- Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors$47,160 · +7.3%
- Athletic Trainers$62,520 · +12.7%
- Self-Enrichment Teachers$46,800 · +3.5%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.