General description of three careers
The three careers selected are:
1. Physical therapist
The person who undertakes this career provides services that assist people injured while undertaking various sport related activities improve mobility, restore function, relieve pain, and prevent permanent physical or psychological injuries. The physical therapist restores the overall fitness of a patient or client. Candidates for this position must understand patient diagnosis and prognosis skills, and prepare a plan of care describing evidence-based treatment strategies for specific problems. A physical therapist earns a mean annual salary of 79,000 U.S. dollars (Field 214).
2. Sports psychologist
A sports psychologist helps athletes overcome psychological challenges that interfere with their performance. The career offers an individual a chance to teach and conduct academic research on sports, train athletes and other teams on quality motivation and performance strategies, and advising individual athletes and coaches on how to overcome psychological problems while in sports. A sports psychologist earns a mean annual salary of 69,000 U.S. dollars in America.
3. Public relations (PR) manager
A public relations manager assists a sport’s company maintains a positive public image. They always engage the media in conveying positive messages about their organizations to the target audiences. A PR manager directs special presentations such as charity functions, media campaigns, or sports shows with the aim of placing the organization at the highest level in relation to other organizations (Field 49). A PR manager earns an annual salary of 58,000 U.S. dollars.
The most interesting career among the three
I would prefer the physical therapist career to the sports psychologist and the public relations manager careers in sports. The career attracts a higher mean annual wage compared to the other career. The mean annual wage goes as high as $80,000. Secondly, the job has a high potential for growth. Statistics shows that the job for a physical therapist would improve by 39 percent between 2010 and 2020. Thirdly, it offers a high rate of job satisfaction because fewer people complain about the career (Diploma Guide, 2014).
Organizations that employ physical therapists
- Sports and athletics facilities, and
- Learning institutions
The interview
Two individuals from each of the organizations were interviewed in order to assist in gaining more ideas about jobs in sports industry and understand sport management skills. The two interviewees were:
- The manager at China Sports Industry Group Co. Ltd
- The head of sports department at Shichahai Sports School
Interview questions and answers:
Question: What degree programs should I take to get a position in the sports industry?
Answer: You can either take any of these degree programs,
- Sports marketing
- Sports management, or
- Business administration
Question: What careers in the sports industry can I pursue with a Sports Management degree?
Answer: Public Relations manager, researcher at a university, sports agent, the athletic department Director, sports therapist, sports psychologist, and sports facility manager or supervisor
Question: Which are the best paying careers in the sports industry?
Answer: Any career you chose pays. A career depends on the individual’s interests
And career goals. Personally, I prefer sports therapist career because it offer high wages and people rarely miss employment opportunities in this career.
Question: What is your major accomplishment or failure in this position?
Answer: I have made a number of achievements in my ten years of service as the manager of this
company. I have managed to improve the quality of activities and increase the annual revenues by more than 30 percent. In addition, I have managed to increase the salaries of my employees through practicing effective management skills
Question: What major challenges do you come across in your career?
Answer: lack of co-operation from other employees, managing a large number of employees from different cultural and social backgrounds, and selecting new recruits from universities.
Question: What motivates you?
Answer: Careers in the sports industry are the best to undertake because one is sure of securing a good job because the sports industry is growing.
Discussion
The interview and the research were in line with my ideas about sports careers. The manager proved that sports physical therapist is the best career in the industry as earlier proposed. The main challenge discovered about this career is its demanding nature. I still would like to pursue this career.
References
Diploma Guide. (2014). Becoming a Sports Physical Therapist: Salary & Job Description.
Retrieved October 1, 2014 from http://diplomaguide.com/articles/Becoming_a_Sports_Physical_Therapist_Salary_Job_Description.html
Field, Sherry. Career opportunities in the sports industry, (3rd ed.). United States of America:
Infobase Publishing. 2009. Print
