Occupation Summary

Athletic Trainers

O*NET 29-9091.00

Description:

Evaluate and treat musculoskeletal injuries or illnesses. Provide preventive, therapeutic, emergency, and rehabilitative care.

Annual Wages:
$57,634.00
Employment Rate:
Employment is expected to increase by 32.83%.
Education Level:
Master's Degree. According to O*Net, the majority of people employed in this occupation have this level of education.
Endorsement:
Public Service, Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM)

  1. Conduct an initial assessment of an athlete's injury or illness to provide emergency or continued care and to determine whether they should be referred to physicians for definitive diagnosis and treatment.
  2. Care for athletic injuries, using physical therapy equipment, techniques, or medication.
  3. Evaluate athletes' readiness to play and provide participation clearances when necessary and warranted.
  4. Apply protective or injury preventive devices, such as tape, bandages, or braces, to body parts, such as ankles, fingers, or wrists.
  5. Assess and report the progress of recovering athletes to coaches or physicians.
  6. Collaborate with physicians to develop and implement comprehensive rehabilitation programs for athletic injuries.
  7. Advise athletes on the proper use of equipment.
  8. Plan or implement comprehensive athletic injury or illness prevention programs.
  9. Develop training programs or routines designed to improve athletic performance.
  10. Travel with athletic teams to be available at sporting events.
  11. Instruct coaches, athletes, parents, medical personnel, or community members in the care and prevention of athletic injuries.
  12. Inspect playing fields to locate any items that could injure players.
  13. Conduct research or provide instruction on subject matter related to athletic training or sports medicine.
  14. Recommend special diets to improve athletes' health, increase their stamina, or alter their weight.
  15. Massage body parts to relieve soreness, strains, or bruises.
  16. Confer with coaches to select protective equipment.
  17. Accompany injured athletes to hospitals.
  18. Perform team support duties, such as running errands, maintaining equipment, or stocking supplies.
  19. Lead stretching exercises for team members prior to games or practices.
  20. Perform general administrative tasks, such as keeping records or writing reports.
  21. File athlete insurance claims and communicate with insurance providers.
  22. Teach sports medicine courses to athletic training students.
  23. Clean and sanitize athletic training rooms.


National Industry Employment Patterns


Industry % of Athletic Trainers employed Annual Growth Rate
Colleges, universities, and professional schools 24.1 2.81
General medical and surgical hospitals 18.9 0.51
Offices of other health practitioners 14.7 2.98
Elementary and secondary schools 10.6 2.00
Offices of physicians 10.3 0.63
Other amusement and recreation industries 5.5 4.14
Spectator sports 2.6 3.24


Labor Market Information


2020 National employment 30,000
2020 Texas employment 2,571
Texas projected employment by 2030 3,415
Texas projected annual employment and Turnover openings through 2030 295




TEXAS COUNTY MAP BY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AREA
* Due to confidentiality rules, not all regions may have the data displayed. The sum of all the regions may not be equal to the state total.


Top 10 Relevant Knowledge Areas Relevant Importance Levels
Medicine and Dentistry
Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
92.80%
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
87.20%
Psychology
Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
83.40%
Therapy and Counseling
Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
77.40%
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
74.40%
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
72.60%
Public Safety and Security
Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
64.80%
Administrative
Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
63.60%
Biology
Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
63.20%
Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
62.20%


Top 10 Relevant Skill Areas Relevant Importance Levels
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
80.00%
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
77.60%
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
77.60%
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
77.60%
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
77.60%
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
75.00%
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
75.00%
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
75.00%
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
72.40%
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
72.40%


Top 10 Relevant Abilities Relevant Importance Levels
Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
82.40%
Oral Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
80.00%
Written Comprehension
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
77.60%
Speech Recognition
The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
77.60%
Speech Clarity
The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
77.60%
Written Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
75.00%
Deductive Reasoning
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
75.00%
Inductive Reasoning
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
75.00%
Information Ordering
The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
75.00%
Oral Comprehension
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
72.40%


  • Assisting and Caring for Others
    -- Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Documenting/Recording Information
    -- Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    -- Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    -- Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    -- Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Other Activities


  • Achievement
    - Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
  • Relationships
    - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.



Tools

Arm orthopedic softgoods: Upper extremity braces;

Canes: Walking canes;

Cervical collars or neck braces: Neck braces;

Climbing devices for rehabilitation or therapy: Stair climbing machines;

Cross trainers: Elliptical trainers;

Crutches: Crutches;

Desktop computers: Desktop computers;

Dynamometers: Muscle strength dynamometers;

Electromyography EMG units: Biofeedback equipment;

Electronic blood pressure units: Automated blood pressure cuffs;

Facial shields: Face shields; Mouth guards;

Fitness weights: Free weights;

Full body immersion hydrotherapy baths or tanks: Whirlpool therapy baths;

Goniometers or arthrometers: Goniometers or arthrometers;

Gymnastic bars or beams: Parallel bars;

Knee therapeutic brace or support: Knee immobilizers;

Leg orthopedic softgoods: Lower extremity braces;

Medical exam or non surgical procedure gloves: Medical examination protective gloves;

Medical hydrocollators: Hydrocollator heating units;

Mobile medical services automated external defibrillators AED or hard paddles: Automated external defibrillators AED;

Mobile medical services litter: Emergency response stretchers;

Mobile medical services spine boards: Spinal immobilization equipment;

Mobile resuscitator or aspirator kits: One-way valve pocket masks;

Notebook computers: Laptop computers;

Orthopedic splint systems: Air splints; Fixed splints; Vacuum splints;

Oxygen therapy delivery system products: Oxygen administration equipment;

Patient care beds for specialty care: Tilt tables;

Patient floor scales: Medical scales;

Pedal exercisers for rehabilitation or therapy: Exercise bicycles;

Pelvis or back traction supplies: Lumbar traction units; Cervical traction units;

Personal computers: Personal computers;

Psychrometers: Sling psychrometers;

Pulse oximeter units: Pulse oximeters;

Resistance bands: Exercise bands;

Resistance tubes: Exercise tubing;

Rowing machines: Rowing machines;

Safety helmets: Sports helmets;

Skinfold calipers: Body-fat calipers;

Therapeutic balls: Swiss exercise balls;

Therapeutic heating or cooling pads or compresses or packs: Heat therapy equipment; Cold therapy equipment;

Therapeutic paraffin baths: Therapeutic paraffin baths;

Traction splint sets: Traction splints;

Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation units: Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation TENS equipment;

Treadmill exercisers for rehabilitation or therapy: Exercise treadmills;

Two way radios: Two way radios;

Ultrasonic therapy apparatus or supplies: Therapeutic ultrasound equipment;

Weight machines for rehabilitation or therapy: Weight machines;


Technology

Calendar and scheduling software: Scheduling software;

Data base user interface and query software: Premier Software Simtrak Mobility; Database software; Digital Coach AthleticTrainer; Injury tracking software; Keffer Development Services Athletic Trainer System ATS;

Electronic mail software: Email software; Microsoft Outlook;

Internet browser software: Web browser software;

Medical software: ImPACT Applications ImPACT; BioEx Systems Exercise Pro;

Office suite software: Microsoft Office software;

Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint;

Spreadsheet software: Spreadsheet software; Microsoft Excel;

Word processing software: Microsoft Word; Word processing software;


Related O*NET occupational titles for Athletic Trainers include:
  • 29-1011.00 Chiropractors
  • 27-2022.00 Coaches and Scouts
  • 29-1128.00 Exercise Physiologists
  • 39-9031.00 Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors
  • 29-1122.00 Occupational Therapists
  • 29-1229.04 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians
  • 31-2021.00 Physical Therapist Assistants
  • 29-1123.00 Physical Therapists
  • 29-1125.00 Recreational Therapists
  • 29-1229.06 Sports Medicine Physicians


Sources of Additional Information
  • For more information about athletic trainers, visit: National Athletic Trainers’ Association
  • For more information about accredited athletic training programs, visit: Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education
  • For more information about certification and state regulatory requirements for athletic trainers, visit: Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer
  • CareerOneStop

  • For a career video on athletic trainers, visit: Athletic Trainers
  • Athletic Trainers

  • Contact Texas Workforce Commission
    Labor Market and Career Information  |  101 E. 15th Street, Annex Room 0252  |  Austin, Texas 78778
    Official Website  |  1-800-822-PLAN (7526)  |  512.936.3200

    ** The information in this report may be derived from many sources like O*NET, BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), OOH (Occupational Outlook Handbook), and Career One Stop.