List of Careers Involving Sports

Getting involved in sports a career can be fun and financially rewarding. Whether you're working as a college broadcaster or athletic trainer, you don't have to work in the professional ranks to make a decent living. There are lucrative opportunities as sports agents or baseball umpires, but these careers require hard work, a quality education, and a little luck.

  1. Sports Agent

    • Sports agents are a potentially lucrative career as they manage professional athletes. Agents represent athletes and negotiate contracts. Sports agents also represent coaches, team executives, broadcasters and team owners. Agents come from a varied professional background, including accountant, lawyer or business manager. In addition to contract negotiations, agents can provide investment advices, legal advice and sometimes moral support. Although there's not a specific sports agent college degree, there are online courses available. Potential agents often major in business management or sports marketing. Many sports leagues require that agents register with that particular league.

    Athletic Trainer

    • Athletic trainers manage, recognize injury and develop rehabilitation programs for injured athletes. Working with licensed physicians, trainers provide emergency and follow-up care. Trainers also work with athletes to develop prevention programs utilizing their experience in pathology and anatomy. Trainers also need communication skills to talk with coaches, physicians and the athlete's family about injuries and how to deal with them. Athletic trainers obtain a bachelor's degree in athletic training and are certified in the state they work in by the National Athletic Trainers' Association. They work in areas including high school, colleges, sports medicine clinics and professional sports.

    Umpire

    • Becoming a baseball umpire is a career opportunity in college, professional minor league sports and professional major league sports. Umpires often start working games in the little league level as teenagers. As they get older, they can work high school baseball and legion games. To work in the Major Leagues, potential umpires can enroll in their choice of two schools: the Jim Evans' Academy of Professional Umpiring (umpireacademy.com) in Kissimmee, Florida, or the Harry Wendlestedt School for Umpires (umpireschool.com) in Ormond Beach, Florida. These schools are approved by the Professional Baseball Umpire corporation (PBUC), an organization that oversees all professional umpires. After completion of the five-week course, top graduates are picked to attend an evaluation course. These graduates may be assigned to low-level minor league umpiring including rookie and short season Class-A leagues. Potential umpires must possess a high school diploma or GED, have 20-20 vision (with or without corrective lenses) and have good communication skills.

    Sportscaster

    • Sportscasters are a profession found in high school, college and major and minor league professional sports. Many sportscasters make it into the broadcast booth with a bachelor's degree in communications or broadcast journalism from a four-year college.Sportscasters can be play-by-play announcers calling the game or color analysts providing background of the game or event. As with many fields, developing your skills may have you calling high school games before reaching the college or professional level.