Sports Then and Now

Millions of people around the world are passionate about sports and play them and/or watch them on a daily or weekly basis. If you’re one of them, you no doubt have favorite teams you cheer for passionately, spend much of your leisure time being active in your sports support and wish that you could somehow make a living on this interest.

Well, the fact is that you probably can. There are all sorts of sports-related jobs on offer, most of which don’t actually require you to be fit enough or young enough to play professionally. Thanks to technology, you can also work for a company that may be located thousands of miles away, so you don’t even need to find an employer in your local area.

If you’re keen to pursue a new, sports-related career, read on for some tips you can follow to help you make your dreams come true.

Learn About the Different Job Options

For starters, it’s important to do your research, so you know about all the different job options available. While at first you might think that you can’t work in the sporting arena because nothing matches your skill set, when you find out how many different fields there are, you’re sure to find something to suit.

For example, you can help athletes to stay in top shape by becoming a physical or occupational therapist, a masseuse, acupuncturist or other type of therapist. Jobs can be in private practice or working full-time for a particular sporting team or organization. If, instead, you want to help sports people focus on their mental preparation or deal with the stress of their career, consider becoming a specialist sports psychologist.

If you’re good with numbers you could become a statistician, examining sports analytics for a living (a growing field) or if you enjoy negotiating contracts and deals and building relationships, then becoming a sports agent or manager could be the right fit for you.

Alternatively, consider jobs such as a public relations expert for a professional athlete or a sporting team; an event coordinator for sporting activities; a sports broadcaster or blogger; an advertising account executive working in the field of sporting events; a photojournalists or writer concentrating on sports; a coach (whether of a school team, professional group or other); a nutritionist; a sports clothing or accessory designer or seller; a scout; an equipment manager, or something else altogether.

Get Educated

Of course, regardless of which kind of job you end up pursuing, you will need to get educated and trained to make a career out of it. Once you’ve settled on a field, research what kinds of qualifications and experience you will require to start out in it.

For instance, there are sports management online master’s degrees for those looking to get into leadership positions or undergraduate degrees in things like journalism, psychology, occupational therapy, events management, marketing and the like for other sports-related roles.

It also helps to learn by way of practical experience, through internships and other work experience programs. By spending time working inside companies, you’ll not only learn the ropes of the specific job you want to have but also the industry in general. This is also a good way to get your foot in the door within prestigious organizations.

Network

While it’s vital, as mentioned above, to get the training you need to make it in a sports career, remember that moving forward over the years will be easier if you also spend time and energy on networking. Many positions aren’t even advertised publicly because they’re filled quickly through internal promotions or because the hiring manager knows or is introduced to a suitable candidate as soon as a job opens up.

To ensure you give yourself the best possible chance of success, make it a habit to network. This should be done both in person and online. For instance, you should constantly be attending relevant events such as conferences, trade shows and sporting displays where you could meet recruiters, business owners, coaches and the like.

Also, develop relationships with key contacts and influencers through social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. There might also be relevant, specific, sporting clubs and associations which you can join to get access to high flyers in your preferred sector.

Regardless of your current level of knowledge and experience, if you have always dreamed about getting paid to talk about sports, don’t give up. Make a commitment to getting a career in this area and you will have success in the field before you know it.