Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code RIS
Exercise Physiologists
Assess, plan, or implement fitness programs that include exercise or physical activities such as those designed to improve cardiorespiratory function, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, or flexibility.
Also called: Bariatric Weight Loss Counselor, Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Therapist, Clinical Cardiac Exercise Physiologist, Clinical Exercise Physiologist, Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Practitioner, Certified Exercise Physiologist (Certified EP), Clinical Exercise Specialist, Exercise Scientist.
O*NET 29-1128.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $59,460
- Middle half earn $49,620 to $67,230. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
- US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034
- +9% · Much faster than average
- 23,900 jobs in 2024, projected 26,100. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Exercise physiologists".
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Explain exercise program or physiological testing procedures to participants.
- Develop exercise programs to improve participant strength, flexibility, endurance, or circulatory functioning, in accordance with exercise science standards, regulatory requirements, and credentialing requirements.
- Provide clinical oversight of exercise for participants at all risk levels.
- Provide emergency or other appropriate medical care to participants with symptoms or signs of physical distress.
- Interview participants to obtain medical history or assess participant goals.
- Demonstrate correct use of exercise equipment or performance of exercise routines.
- Prescribe individualized exercise programs, specifying equipment, such as treadmill, exercise bicycle, ergometers, or perceptual goggles.
- Interpret exercise program participant data to evaluate progress or identify needed program changes.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
- Active Listening4.0 / 5
- Speaking4.0 / 5
- Writing3.9 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
- Monitoring3.9 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Medicine and Dentistry4.2 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service4.2 / 5
- English Language4.2 / 5
- Biology4.0 / 5
- Education and Training3.8 / 5
- Psychology3.6 / 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.
- Realistic71
- Investigative65
- Artistic8
- Social62
- Enterprising33
- Conventional46
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)
- complementary therapist · DE Therapeut Komplementärmedizin/Therapeutin Komplementärmedizin · FR praticien de médecine alternative/praticienne de médecine alternative
- advanced physiotherapist · DE Fachphysiotherapeut/Fachphysiotherapeutin · FR expert physiothérapeute/experte physiothérapeute
- physiotherapist · DE Physiotherapeut/Physiotherapeutin · FR physiothérapeute
- kinesiologist · DE Kinesiologe/Kinesiologin · FR kinésiologue
- physiotherapy assistant · DE Physiotherapieassistent/Physiotherapieassistentin · FR kinésithérapeute
- shiatsu practitioner · DE Shiatsu-Praktiker/Shiatsu-Praktikerin · FR praticien en shiatsu/praticienne en shiatsu
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Physiotherapists (2221)73,700 employed
- Occupational therapists (2222)56,000 employed
- Podiatrists (2256)16,200 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.
| 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 middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.03. 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 (29-1128).
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