Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media · Holland code RES

Athletes and Sports Competitors

Compete in athletic events.

Also called: Baseball Player, Golf Professional, Hockey Player, Race Car Driver, Baseball Pitcher, Basketball Player, Major League Baseball Player, Minor League Baseball Player.

O*NET 27-2021.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $66,710; Middle half earn $36,790 to $109,880. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Less than a High School Diploma; 35% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +5% · Faster than average; 19,100 jobs in 2024, projected 20,200. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Athletes and sports competitors".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Assess performance following athletic competition, identifying strengths and weaknesses and making adjustments to improve future performance.
Maintain equipment used in a particular sport.
Attend scheduled practice or training sessions.
Maintain optimum physical fitness levels by training regularly, following nutrition plans, or consulting with health professionals.
Participate in athletic events or competitive sports, according to established rules and regulations.
Exercise or practice under the direction of athletic trainers or professional coaches to develop skills, improve physical condition, or prepare for competitions.
Receive instructions from coaches or other sports staff prior to events and discuss performance afterwards.
Represent teams or professional sports clubs, performing such activities as meeting with members of the media, making speeches, or participating in charity events.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Speaking3.9 / 5
Active Listening3.8 / 5
Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
Monitoring3.3 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.1 / 5
Active Learning3.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Administration and Management3.7 / 5
English Language3.7 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.6 / 5
Personnel and Human Resources3.4 / 5
Communications and Media3.3 / 5
Education and Training3.2 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic70
Investigative7
Artistic19
Social55
Enterprising59
Conventional34

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

professional athlete · DE Berufssportler/Berufssportlerin · FR sportif professionnel/sportive professionnelle

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Sports players (3431)13,300 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.81. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (27-2021).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test