Career
Recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary
Teach recreation and fitness studies at a college.
$77,270
Median pay
+2.2%
Job growth, 2025–35
1,000
Openings a year
Doctoral or professional degree
Typical education
7–8 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as anatomy, therapeutic recreation, and conditioning theory.
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 ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Speaking, Instructing, Reading Comprehension, Writing.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
7–8 years of education after high school (doctoral or professional degree), for a median of $77,270 a year and 1,000 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
- Parks, Recreation, and Leisure StudiesCIP 31.0101
- Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, GeneralCIP 31.0501
- Sport and Fitness Administration/ManagementCIP 31.0504
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary$107,310 · +17.9%
- Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary$75,870 · +2.4%
- Education Teachers, Postsecondary$75,350 · +2.5%
- Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary$80,340 · +4.0%
- Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary$94,980 · +2.7%
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.