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Is a career in a physical activity profession right for me?

This is an excerpt from Introduction to Kinesiology 7th Edition With HKPropel Access by Duane V Knudson,Timothy A Brusseau.

Becoming Well Suited for a Career in a Physical Activity Profession

What Specific Physical Activity Professions Align With My Attitudes, Interests, and Talents?

Professions have unique knowledge and skills that define their scope of practice, so as a student seeking a professional career, you would be wise to consider whether your attitudes, interests, and talents match the specific characteristics of the occupation that you are considering. For example, if you envision a career in therapeutic exercise or physical therapy, consider whether you enjoy interacting with people who are sick or injured. Do you have a caring and empathetic perspective that is often needed for people on difficult paths to recovery? You must understand, fairly early on, your degree of comfort with the environments in which medical and allied health professionals work. If you like being around people who are vigorous, healthy, and active, then you might enjoy a career in physical fitness counseling, personal training, coaching, or athletic training. Or do you have a special place in your heart for people with a disability, such as intellectual disability, autism, blindness, or deafness? Would you enjoy the challenge of helping such people maximize their physical and mental potential? If so, then a reasonable goal might be a career as an adapted physical education specialist. Most professions also have additional specializations that allow them to focus their services on specific conditions or populations (e.g., children, disabilities, elderly people).

Making a Commitment in Preparing to Be the Best Professional Possible

At the first practice of the season, coaches often ask their teams, “How bad do you want it?” They refer, of course, to the team’s willingness to invest the time, energy, and hard training and practice needed to win a championship. So, how badly do you want to be a [insert your dream profession here]? How much effort are you willing to invest in order to succeed in your chosen profession? Are you willing to excel in all the knowledge, skills, and values that this profession requires? You may have had little difficulty answering these questions up to this point, but if you aren’t committed to consistent success, then there’s little point in going through the motions. Let’s preview some of the ways in which this commitment is usually manifested for success in professional training and certification or licensure.

Excellence in Academic Work

Graduating with a superb academic record is regarded by most employers as a baseline indicator of your level of commitment to becoming an outstanding professional. Of course, some people are more academically gifted than others, but students can often overcome slight shortcomings in academic ability with planning and effort. Few things make a more indelible impression on professors than a student’s willingness to work hard to achieve academic success. Employers and graduate admissions committees also appreciate graduates who show evidence of commitment that resulted in academic excellence.

KEY POINT
Perhaps the best predictor of your success in the physical activity professions lies in your level of commitment to preparing yourself to be the most knowledgeable and skilled practitioner possible.

A high grade point average and sometimes a national test are the first steps in screening potential professionals. Some strong students might seek honors courses, an honors designation, or a national honor society membership (e.g., Phi Beta Kappa or Phi Kappa Phi) to set them apart. Some universities host a chapter of Phi Epsilon Kappa, a national professional honor society in health, kinesiology, recreation, and related fields. All students seeking professional careers need to show their undergraduate professors the behaviors typically required for those careers. Such behaviors include attending class regularly and on time, regularly using the library resources, asking questions and contributing to class discussions, consistent study throughout the term, and reading assigned and unassigned journal articles and books about the topics that you are studying in class. In addition, most professors will help strong students who also seek additional development in preparing for professional schools and their competitive admissions process.

Early Identification and Experience in a Professional Field

Another important commitment by undergraduates seeking professional careers is early identification of that career interest and systematic effort to gain experience. Perhaps the most reliable indicator of commitment is the act of obtaining an undergraduate membership in a professional association, many of which are referred to in the chapters that follow. Professional associations usually admit preprofessionals at reduced rates and offer them reduced registration rates at conferences. Student members often receive the organization’s publications and other information on a regular basis. Establish the habit of reading the primary journal of a profession to dramatically increase your understanding of and appreciation for your chosen career.

Students can also indicate commitment by attending professional conferences. Professional associations usually hold annual regional and national meetings that feature lectures, workshops, and exhibits of equipment used in professional practice. Attending professional meetings can be expensive, but, then again, taking a spring break trip to the beach is also costly—and it does not provide professional connections.

When you identify with your chosen profession, you should also seek advice from veteran professionals and observe them in practice; in this way, you can begin to establish a communication network with practicing professionals. You can learn the language of the field, receive current updates to disciplinary knowledge, and begin to feel comfortable around experienced professionals while still in the preparation phase of your career. Many professional schools expect applicants to have many hours of volunteer or paid clinical experience. It is essential to volunteer as an assistant to an athletic trainer or to a physical therapist both to confirm your interest in one of these careers and to begin to acquire the skills and professional references you will need for admission to a professional graduate program. Top candidates for professional schools may have field experience hours in several different contexts and with different populations of clients, and not just in one internship.

Another way to identify early with a physical activity profession is to obtain certification in an area in which you plan to work. Respected certifications are available to graduating kinesiology majors from such groups as the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Having a variety of field experience and respected certifications are all ways to advance your expertise and improve your chances of admission and success in professional school.

KEY POINT
To get a head start on a successful career, take steps to identify early with your chosen profession. Specifically, join appropriate student clubs and professional organizations, attend conferences, establish alliances with veteran professionals, get experience in the field, and obtain professional certifications.

Participating in Volunteer Services

We have seen that a key characteristic of professions is to improve the quality of life for others. Although it is easy for preprofessionals to say that they want to serve others, nothing speaks louder than actions. As a result, if two students have approximately equal academic records, the advantage always goes to the one whose resume displays clear evidence of volunteer service to community agencies beyond clinical experience. These groups might include such programs as Meals on Wheels, Boys and Girls Clubs, local food banks, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, shelters for homeless persons, church-based programs, walkathons for various charities, and the American Red Cross. This additional service indicates that a student embodies the high ethical standards of professionals to serve others and the profession.

KEY POINT
Volunteering regularly for a community agency indicates that you share your profession’s commitment to service, and it constitutes an investment in your future career in the physical activity professions.

Attending Graduate or Professional School

Evidence of commitment to a profession can also be reflected in plans to pursue advanced graduate work. In fact, in some professions, such as physical therapy and athletic training, a master’s or professional doctoral degree is required for entry into the field. Permanent certification for teaching physical education requires a master’s degree or its equivalent in many states. Making an early decision to continue with advanced graduate education in the kinesiology-related professions is another indication of commitment.

Generally, master’s programs in kinesiology offer advanced education both in a number of subdisciplines (e.g., exercise physiology, motor learning, sport history) and in professional areas (e.g., teaching physical education, fitness leadership, athletic training, sport management). In determining which institutions to consider for your own graduate work, you might find a faculty member at your institution to be an excellent source of information.

Master’s programs typically require 30 to 36 credit hours of graduate course work, depending on the specialization. In most cases, full-time master’s students can complete their degree requirements in 2 years. Programs that require a thesis involve slightly fewer hours of course work but include an in-depth research project that may take up to a year to complete. If you delay attending graduate school until after you have secured a job and plan to do your graduate work by attending classes in the evenings or online, you may need more than 2 years to complete a master’s degree. Doctoral training for a PhD in kinesiology should be considered by those who envision a career as a professor at a college or university or as a researcher.

More Excerpts From Introduction to Kinesiology 7th Edition With HKPropel Access

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