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SOC 29-9091
Athletic trainers evaluate and treat musculoskeletal injuries or illnesses under medical supervision and provide preventive, therapeutic, emergency and rehabilitative care. On the US side this corresponds to O*NET 29-9091.00 (Athletic Trainers, Bright Outlook), in Job Zone Five (SVP 8.0+), usually through an accredited degree programme and clinical internship plus a national certification examination, with most states requiring a licence; mainland China statistics aggregate by industry sector and do not list this occupation separately, and do not cover performance pay, duty pay or travelling-with-team allowances.
Model impact index for three equally weighted representative core tasks; not a measured share of working time or a job-loss probability. floor((25+25+75)/3+0.5)=42; fermatmind-ai-impact-v1; 2026-10-18.
In one sentence: this is an occupation whose core is evaluating and treating musculoskeletal injuries under medical supervision and providing prevention, first aid, treatment and rehabilitation care. Competence depends on assessment and referral judgement, manual and technical skills, communication and record keeping, and the ability to stay within the scope of practice, not sports results or a single certificate.
Education and training must be checked separately: O*NET lists 29-9091.00 as Job Zone Five (SVP 8.0+), and among respondents 54% consider a master's necessary, 37% a bachelor's and 8% high school or equivalent; in the United States the occupation is certified by a national certifying body (such as the Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer) and most states require a licence to practise. Mainland China has no corresponding unified occupational registration, and related posts are spread across sports protection, rehabilitation therapy and physical education sequences. Certification does not equal a licence, and a licence does not mean it is transferable across institutions or jurisdictions; this page provides no diagnostic, medication or return-to-play standard.
Athletic trainers (US side O*NET 29-9091.00, Athletic Trainers) evaluate and treat musculoskeletal injuries or illnesses and provide preventive, therapeutic, emergency and rehabilitative care. The official duty text is Evaluate and treat musculoskeletal injuries or illnesses. Provide preventive, therapeutic, emergency, and rehabilitative care; typical tasks include making a preliminary assessment of an athlete's injury or illness to provide emergency or continued care and decide whether to refer, reporting recovery progress to the coach and physician, using physical therapy equipment and techniques to care for sports injuries, assessing an athlete's readiness to compete and giving return-to-play recommendations where necessary, implementing injury and illness prevention programmes, taping or using protective gear, developing rehabilitation plans with physicians, checking venues and developing emergency action plans, teaching coaches and parents care and prevention methods, and taking on administrative and record duties. The occupation in the United States is Job Zone Five (SVP 8.0+); mainland China statistics aggregate by industry sector and do not list this occupation separately, so industry figures can only serve as a broad comparison and cannot be taken as income for this occupation. This page does not constitute advice on diagnosis, medication, return to play, training or individual medical cases.
Career direction comparison
The table below compares athletic trainers with five adjacent directions on the same set of dimensions: occupational direction, core work and output, key differences, and which choice each preference suits better.
| Career direction | Core work and output | Key differences | Best-fit choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athletic trainers, and coaches and scouts | Designing training plans, guiding technique and tactics, and assessing and selecting players, with outputs mainly training plans, player development and team results. | Takes training others and talent selection as the output and is responsible for player development and team results, without diagnosing or treating; athletic trainers take injury assessment and care under medical supervision as their output. | If you would rather design training, guide technique and tactics and make selection judgements, compare coaches and scouts first; if you would rather do injury assessment, first aid and rehabilitation execution within the authorised scope, athletic training suits you. |
AI impact on this career
This round obtained no AI product effect, adoption or employment causality for this occupation; O*NET tasks and software hiring, and the overall BLS projection, measure different objects. The ILO introduction / extended summary and the NIST introduction are cross-occupation background, and the full text or the mapping for this occupation was not read. AI Impact Score 42% is an editorial estimate. Model impact index for three equally weighted representative core tasks; not a measured share of working time or a job-loss probability. floor((25+25+75)/3+0.5)=42; fermatmind-ai-impact-v1; 2026-10-18.The three tasks, ratings and sources are listed in the FermatMind method source record on this page.
FermatMind AI Impact Score estimation method v1
FermatMind / 费马测试 · 2026-10-18
Chinese mainland salary reference
US O*NET29-9091.00; the China 2022 occupational code entry 2-09-07-04 sports protection specialist has been read, and the item-by-item duty, licensing and wage statistic mapping was still not verified and is not transferred directly.
China's 2022 Occupational Classification Code lists sports protection specialist at 2-09-07-04, covering sports injury prevention, assessment, first aid, treatment and rehabilitation; the item-by-item duty and licence mapping with US 29-9091.00 was not verified, and a name translation is not used to conclude that the category does not exist.
Insufficient evidence: no national occupational monthly salary distribution corresponding exactly to athletic trainers was obtained.
Insufficient evidence: no verifiable city-level occupational income data was obtained, and this page does not present a city ranking.
U.S. salary reference
The US material gives the annual wage percentiles and the overall employment projection for this occupation, and the actual wage population, the annual data and the projection period are kept separate; this round the O*NET table gives annual wages only, and no claim is made to have read an n/a entry.
| Wage statistical position | Annual wage reference | Conversion boundaries | How to understand this position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | 48,180 USD/year (10th percentile) | Official annual wage, not personal monthly income | The 10th percentile is an annual wage of 48,180 US dollars; this is the low end of the distribution and does not represent all new entrants, nor does it constitute an income promise. |
| Median (50th percentile) | 62,520 US dollars per year (median) | Official annual wage, not an individual's actual take-home pay |
Career fit guide
Direct answer: the editorial observation questions include being able to complete injury assessment and first aid processes under supervision, make the referral decision by procedure, keep complete and traceable records and work with the injured person, parents, coach and physician; sports results or an interest label alone cannot decide it. This page did not verify the occupational predictive validity or weight of these clues and does not treat them as a validated screening standard.
You may be better suited to： You can complete injury assessment and first aid handling by procedure under supervision, can judge when referral is mandatory and record it truthfully, can hold to the procedure when the coach and parents apply pressure, and are willing to work with the physician and team and accept review and correction.
These situations require caution： You only want to attend matches or lead training and are unwilling to do assessment, recording and shift handover; you go beyond the scope of practice under pressure to diagnose or promise return to play; or you cannot accept continuous standby and travelling-with-team schedules; situations requiring caution also include difficulty bearing the uncertainty of the injured person's prognosis and the pressure of responsibility.
Do an entry-level exercise： Write a one-page practical and boundary plan note: include the assessment and first aid process, the referral decision conditions, record requirements, privacy and authorisation boundaries, and the emergency action plan and review arrangements, and ask a qualified supervisor to review it and record the reasons for changes. This does not constitute certification, a licence or practice permission and cannot replace institutional procedures and physician orders.
Work pressures, risks, and occupational boundaries
Editorial risk scenario: exceeding the scope, delayed emergency response, leakage of patient information, infected venues, records and competition authority; these are not a measured risk ranking or probability. The specific handling must follow the profession and the applicable system.
O*NET task context and BLS environment support the background; the BOC2026 standards were actually read for the clauses on physician direction or collaboration, clinical assessment, records and confidentiality. The consequences of the six scenarios are editorial summaries, and not all state laws, the Chinese system or specific accident penalties were verified.
Typical scenario：Diagnosing or prescribing outside the authorised scope, or promising a return-to-play arrangement that you have no authority to decide.
Roles most affected：The trainer and the employer
Possible consequence：
Getting started, qualifications, and career development
O*NET JobZone5/SVP8+, with 54% master's, 37% bachelor's, and 8% high school for education, are respondent data and do not represent current entry-level requirements; BLS typically master's, CAATE new programs at the graduate level, and BOC exam eligibility and state licensure must be verified separately. China's 2-09-07-04 athletic trainer has an entry, but the specific correspondence and registration system are unverified, and one should not claim there is no unified national registration.
Career prospects and related occupation transitions
U.S. 2025 annual salary and 2025—2035 total employment of 35,200, growth of 13%, and average annual openings of 2,400; the wage population differs from total employment, so subsidies and performance pay cannot be uniformly excluded. China's NBS broad averages are not occupational wages; the eight directions are editorial exploration, licensure and training must be verified separately, and a direct transfer is not promised.
United States · exact
35,200 people
Employment size
This occupation's 2025 employment is 35,200; sources round each value, and individual positions cannot be inferred.
Does not establish：O*NET broad industry: health care 45/education 40/other 15; BLS detailed categories differ, and the number of positions at specific institutions cannot be inferred.
They make an initial assessment of an athlete's injury or illness, determine whether it needs to be referred to a physician for a definitive diagnosis and treatment, provide emergency care at competition and training sites, use physical therapy equipment and techniques to care for sports injuries, assess recovery progress and readiness to compete and report to coaches and physicians, implement injury and illness prevention programs, taping, and use of protective equipment, collaborate with physicians to develop rehabilitation plans, inspect venues and equipment and develop emergency action plans, and also teach coaches and parents care and prevention methods and complete records. It is not simply leading training, but connecting assessment, treatment, referral, and recording into a chain of responsibility under medical supervision.
Coaches and scouts produce training for others and talent selection and do not diagnose or treat; physical therapists aim at long-term functional rehabilitation for a broader population and independently take on treatment; occupational therapists aim at daily activities and work ability; chiropractors mainly diagnose and treat with manual techniques and belong to an independent clinical sequence; fitness trainers provide fitness instruction to the public; recreational therapists use leisure activities to improve physical and mental function. The boundaries of an athletic trainer are the assessment of sports-related injuries, on-site first aid, prevention, and rehabilitation delivery, with referral to a physician required.
Choose a real task from this page for a small practice project or a conversation with someone in the field. Use the planning guides to set a date, an output and feedback questions before deciding whether to continue.
Signals for continued exploration: you can complete a preliminary assessment by procedure under pressure and explain clearly when a referral to a physician is mandatory, are willing to record and review over long periods and accept review and correction by the team doctor and supervising physician, can explain the boundaries of care clearly to athletes, students and parents, and are willing to take on duty and travelling arrangements at competitions and training venues.
Conditions for pausing investment first: you have not yet completed an injury assessment and first aid process under any qualified supervision, or you can only explain your ability through personal sports experience; also do not treat being a former athlete, a gym instructor certificate or a first aid training certificate as proof that you can diagnose, prescribe or independently decide return to play. Do not handle medication and return to play on your own.
One-sentence judgement: an athletic trainer is not someone who stretches players or a physical education teacher but evaluates and treats musculoskeletal injuries under medical supervision and provides prevention, first aid, treatment and rehabilitation care on site; the role links injury assessment, emergency handling and referral, return-to-play clearance, rehabilitation plans and record keeping into a reviewable chain of responsibility; people who only want to do fitness training and are unwilling to take on injury judgement and referral responsibility are not suited.
The work of athletic trainers falls into three categories: assessment and first aid tasks (making a preliminary assessment of an athlete's injury or illness, judging whether referral to a physician is needed for a definitive diagnosis and treatment, and providing emergency care at competition and training venues); prevention and rehabilitation tasks (developing and implementing injury and illness prevention programmes, taping and using protective gear, implementing rehabilitation plans with the physician, assessing recovery progress and reporting to the coach and physician); and collaboration and administrative tasks (records and reports, teaching coaches and parents care and prevention methods, checking venues and equipment, developing emergency action plans and handling insurance and administrative matters). All three categories are premised on working within the authorised scope and referring matters beyond that scope to a physician or other qualified personnel.
Assessment and first aid tasks
Prevention and rehabilitation tasks
Athletic trainers evaluate and treat sports-related injuries under medical supervision, covering on-site first aid, prevention and rehabilitation; coaches and scouts take training others and talent selection as their output and do not diagnose or treat; physical therapists and occupational therapists are responsible for functional rehabilitation and daily activity training for a broader population; chiropractors focus on manual diagnosis and treatment and form an independent treatment sequence; recreational therapists improve health through leisure activities; fitness trainers provide fitness instruction to the public. Adjacent occupations may all deal with the same athlete, but the scope of practice, regulation and responsibility boundaries differ.
| Dimension | Primary track | Comparison track |
|---|---|---|
| Core purpose | Under authorised and supervised conditions, completing a preliminary assessment, on-site first aid and implementation of prevention and rehabilitation for a sports-related injury or illness, and leaving reviewable assessment and handling records. | Injury assessment and care under medical supervision |
| Main objects and basis | The objects are the athlete's or student's physical state, injury and illness presentation, assessment and treatment equipment, protective gear and taping materials, and venues and equipment; the basis is the scope of practice and authorisation, institutional procedures, physician orders and recognised assessment and first aid processes. |
Assessment and first aid｜O*NET lists preliminary assessment, emergency care and the referral decision; the actual process and what may be handled follow your own qualification and the system, and this page does not exclude red flags or approve procedures.
Referral and collaboration｜The O*NET preliminary assessment task includes whether to refer to a physician for definitive diagnosis and treatment; the specific referral follows the actual need and jurisdiction, and it is not the case that all judgement can only be made by a physician.
Prevention and protection｜O*NET lists protective equipment and prevention programmes and venue checks; the degree of risk control and the authority to suspend use or repair must be checked against the real post.
Rehabilitation and return to play｜O*NET has tasks for collaborating with physicians, reporting recovery progress and, where necessary, clearance to compete; the specific authority follows state law and duty and cannot be uniformly reduced to giving advice only, nor can arbitrary prescribing authority be inferred.
Records and reporting｜O*NET lists administrative records, and the BOC requires lawful records and protection of patient information; the specific format and retention system are checked separately, and records do not guarantee full traceability.
Instruction and emergency｜O*NET lists teaching care and prevention and emergency action plans; the specific training, drills and emergency duties are checked against the applicable system, and the tasks are not treated as a complete clinical protocol.
At least six items must be verified before starting and practising: the occupational measure and employer entity (O*NET 29-9091.00 is the US measure, and in mainland China the post sequence and employer must be identified); education and certification programme requirements; licence or registration requirements and their validity period; the scope of practice and the situations requiring referral; medical documentation and privacy compliance requirements; and scheduling, team travel and event duty arrangements.
Occupational measure
Education and certification pathway
| Athletic trainers, and physical therapists | Assessing functional limitations and developing and implementing treatment plans and rehabilitation programmes, with outputs mainly treatment records and functional improvement. | Aims at functional rehabilitation and daily activity ability for a broader population and usually takes on long-term treatment independently; athletic trainers are bounded by on-site first aid, prevention and rehabilitation execution for sports-related injuries and must refer to a physician. | If you would rather follow up functional rehabilitation over the long term and independently design treatment plans, compare physical therapists first; if you would rather do assessment, first aid and protection around training and competition venues, athletic training suits you. |
|---|
| Athletic trainers, and fitness trainers | Designing and leading fitness classes and guiding movements and training plans, with outputs mainly classes, member improvement and safety instruction. | Provides fitness instruction and classes to the public and clients with the goal of health and fitness, without diagnosing or treating injuries; athletic trainers handle injuries under medical supervision. | If you would rather design and lead fitness classes for the general public, compare fitness trainers first; if you would rather do injury assessment, first aid and rehabilitation execution, athletic training suits you. |
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| Athletic trainers, and recreational therapists | Assessing interests and functional needs and designing and leading leisure activities, with outputs mainly activity plans and participation records. | Uses leisure and recreational activities as the intervention vehicle to improve physical and mental function, mostly for groups needing functional support; athletic trainers centre on assessing, providing first aid for and rehabilitating sports injuries. | If you would rather improve physical and mental function through leisure activities and do activity design, compare recreational therapists first; if you would rather handle sports injuries and on-site first aid, athletic training suits you. |
|---|
| Athletic trainers, and chiropractors | Assessment and manual diagnosis and treatment and developing treatment plans, with outputs mainly treatment records and symptom improvement. | Focuses on manual diagnosis and treatment and spine-related treatment and usually forms an independent treatment sequence; athletic trainers assess and handle within the authorised scope and do not diagnose independently. | If you would rather centre on manual diagnosis and treatment and bear independent treatment responsibility, compare chiropractors first; if you would rather do assessment, first aid and rehabilitation execution within a team and under medical supervision, athletic training suits you. |
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| Athletic trainers, and occupational therapists | Assessing work capacity and designing and implementing functional training and assistive plans, with outputs mainly work capacity improvement and plan records. | Aims at daily activity and work capacity and helps clients restore living and working function; athletic trainers centre on sports-related injuries and readiness to compete. | If you would rather help clients restore daily living and working ability, compare occupational therapists first; if you would rather handle sports injuries around training and competition, athletic training suits you. |
|---|
All six directions are premised on working with the body's function, injury and recovery, but their scope of practice, regulation and responsibility boundaries differ; the same sports or rehabilitation experience cannot be converted directly into another direction's certification, licence or treatment authority, and this page only compares the duty differences under the public measure.
Conclusion: the basis for choosing a direction is the scope of practice, the degree of regulation and the responsibility boundary, not whether both centre on sport or rehabilitation; once the direction is decided, verify the target direction's education, certification, licence and institutional authorisation requirements item by item.
Editorial ratings use the existing occupational responsibilities and AI task analysis on this page. They are not adoption rates, measured effects, job-disappearance or personal-unemployment probabilities, or official scores from Stanford or another external institution. No measured time weights or future robot deployment are assumed.
Organising fictional text and checking records are editorial trial candidates; the effects of imaging, load and clinical analysis were not validated, and rollback or safety of all processing is not guaranteed.
Actual use requires checking the institution's equipment, material authority and professional validation; this round obtained no adoption rate for this occupation, and it cannot be inferred that all statistics are absent or that any clinical use is permitted.
Exposure, adoption, productivity and employment are kept separate; the overall BLS2025—2035 growth of 13% does not prove AI adoption or employment causality.
| Work area | Task | Current change | Human control point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment and referral decision | Reading the referral and past records and making a preliminary assessment of the injury or illness and ruling out red flags. | Record and scale systems are candidates to be validated; the specific clinical and referral duties are checked against the profession and system and are not obtained from a model. | Judging the nature and urgency of the injury and deciding whether referral is needed. |
| On-site first aid | Providing on-site first aid and stabilising the injury as needed and carrying out emergency handling by procedure. | Reminders and equipment check tools are candidates to be validated and do not guarantee detecting an emergency; the actual first aid duties follow training and the emergency system. | Judging the on-site handling method and whether to call for help or send the person to hospital. |
| Prevention and protection | Developing and implementing prevention programmes, taping or using protective gear, checking venues and reporting hazards. | Checklists and reminders are candidates to be validated; the specific prevention, equipment abnormality and resumption authority are checked separately and are not approved by a system. | Check the protection plan and venue and equipment risks; a checking task does not mean holding full authority to suspend or restore all facilities. |
| Rehabilitation and return to play | According to training and state law, and under physician direction or collaboration, developing and implementing appropriate treatment, intervention and rehabilitation strategies, assessing progress and communicating reports; the specific post licence is checked separately, and not all prescribing or competition authority is conferred by the occupational title. | Progress record tools are candidates to be validated; treatment adjustment and competition duties follow training and regulation and are not uniformly monopolised by the physician or the trainer alone. | Assessing recovery progress and readiness to compete; whether clearance can be given must be checked against training, state law and the actual post. |
| Records and compliance | Recording assessments, handling and referrals promptly and completely and managing health and medical information according to privacy norms. | Data entry and archiving are editorial trial candidates; the specific material authority and documentation responsibility follow the jurisdiction and institution, and system security or sole responsibility by one person is not guaranteed. | Judging whether records are complete and whether privacy and authorisation are compliant. |
| Instruction and communication | Teaching coaches, parents and athletes care and prevention methods and explaining the boundaries of the scope of practice. | Producing fictional explanations is an editorial trial candidate; the content of real patient disclosure, authority and system are checked separately, and no product effect was read. | Judging whether the explanation of care boundaries to coaches, parents and students is clear. |
| Procedures and emergency | O*NET lists the task of developing emergency action plans; the drill and on-site execution requirements must be checked against the actual institutional emergency system and are not a uniform operating plan. | Plan archiving is a candidate to be validated; the specific on-site command and handling duties are checked separately and are not obtained automatically from a tool or occupational status. | Check the emergency action plan task and your own role; occupational status alone does not imply bearing all on-site command. |
The five evidence cards each explain the source, the object of study, the conclusion and the limits of use; they support official duties, task measures, industry distribution and technology signals, and are not automation substitution rates or job number forecasts.
The table below contains editorial trial candidates and duty check questions; the degree of automation across directions or real system effects were not measured.
AI primarily changesEditorial trial candidate: fictional assessment text, legally public material notes, data checking and document drafting; imaging recognition and clinical effects are checked separately.
Human responsibility remainsInitial injury assessment, on-site first aid and the referral decision, and responsibility for the consequences of handling and the scope of practice.
AI primarily changesWearable and imaging data collection and trend generation are system candidates to be validated and require checking the device, measurement measure and error; no product validation was read this round.
Human responsibility remainsMetric interpretation and treatment and training arrangements must be checked against your own qualification and the system; device output does not replace the applicable clinical assessment or approval.
AI primarily changesChecklists, plan archiving and reminders are candidates to be validated and do not guarantee identifying a hazard or completing an emergency process.
Human responsibility remainsVenue and equipment checks and emergency plans are listed among the tasks, and the specific on-site handling, referral and suspension or resumption authority are checked separately.
The five steps below are editorial trial check suggestions; no uniform mandatory AI process for the states or institutions was obtained, and this is not a complete clinical or emergency protocol.
First confirm the purpose of this assessment or handling, the scope of practice and authorisation, the injured person's condition and urgency, and your own duty boundary.
Editorial suggestion: first use fictional material to check tool errors and omissions and whether they can be corrected; it cannot be assumed that all records or material processing is safe or rollback-able.
The trainer checks the tool output against the physical examination and clinical observation and, where necessary, asks the supervising physician to review and records the reasons for the judgement.
Editorial record suggestion: keep the fictional input and corrections and check whether they can be looked up again; real patient records must follow the applicable law and system, and full traceability is not guaranteed.
Service authority follows training and state law and is carried out under physician direction or collaboration; the model does not produce prescribing, return-to-play or referral authorisation, and the specific duties are checked separately.
Treating a model suggestion or a single scale score directly as a diagnostic conclusion lets unverified judgements affect the injured person.
Control: Mark the tool output as reference and adopt it only after combining the physical examination, clinical observation and physician opinion.
Editorial risk scenario: if patient health, imaging or location data is protected, improper external transfer may breach the applicable law and system; this round did not verify the sensitive information classification of all jurisdictions and does not classify all material indiscriminately.
Control: Handle according to privacy law and institutional policy and do not provide identifiable health, imaging or location data to unauthorised channels.
Assessment and imaging data need to be traceable, and output without version and source notes will be hard to review.
Control: Keep the original data and record versions, noting dates and the traces of human edits.
Editorial risk scenario: mixing scale versions, units and populations may mislead interpretation, and the magnitude of the impact was not measured; actual clinical use requires professional checking.
Control: Check item by item against the device and scale measure, version and applicable population, and re-verify and record a correction immediately when an inconsistency is found.
Real referral and competition decisions should be recorded under the applicable rules, and the existence of a record does not guarantee traceability or grant uniform authority.
Control: Editorial record suggestion: check the actual jurisdiction's and institution's record, referral and reporting rules; this page obtained no uniform reporting or medication procedure.
For entry preparation first check the US accredited education and clinical programme, the examination, state licensing and the actual training conditions; editors suggest learning under the supervision of a lawful programme and not treating sports experience, a fitness certificate or a one-off first aid course as proof of practice.
Editorial trial suggestion: first use fictional assessment text and legally public material to check organisation, explanation and record errors; the real effects of imaging recognition, load analysis and scale tools were not verified, and no diagnosis or return-to-play approval is based on the output.
Editorial suggestion: clarify the trial use and material authority and check the actual medical, minor protection and emergency systems. This round did not read the complete legislation of each state, and no tool process sets a uniform final authority for the supervising physician or on-site command authority.
Focus teaching on assessment and referral judgement, first aid process execution, manual and protective techniques, and communication and record keeping, while also training critical use of model output and scale scores, and avoid replacing physical examination and clinical observation with a single metric.
This round obtained no evidence of wholesale substitution, and it cannot be guaranteed that a type of task will never be automated; clinical and competition duties follow the applicable profession and jurisdiction and are not obtained from model output.
Source: O*NET occupation summary / detailed profileOriginal source ↗
The O*NET/BLS material read sets no uniform entry requirement for analysis software, so it is not inferred that all posts have no requirement; the institutional tool conditions are checked separately, and the current entry-level education and certification are in BLS/CAATE/BOC.
Source: O*NET technology list / training and education informationOriginal source ↗
Editorial trial candidate: fictional assessment text, legally public material notes and record checking; real imaging and load systems were not validated, and rollback or reviewability of all output is not guaranteed.
Source: Editorial trial suggestion; the tasks do not prove AI effectsOriginal source ↗
The overall 2025—2035 growth for this occupation is 13%, and the 2,400 average annual openings include growth and replacement; this is not AI causality or a certification or licensing pass rate.
Source: O*NET occupation summary (employment and projection fields)Original source ↗
Tool output does not produce practice, prescribing or competition authorisation; the actual duties are checked against training, state law, physician direction or collaboration and institutional rules, and not all decisions are pushed to the individual nor uniformly limited to giving advice.
Source: BOC current practice standards and O*NET task backgroundOriginal source ↗
This round obtained no disappearance year for this occupation; exposure, adoption and job numbers are kept separate and no year prediction is made.
Source: Method statement for this pageOriginal source ↗
Prioritise mastering injury assessment and red flag identification, on-site first aid processes, the referral decision, manual and protective techniques, and record keeping and communication; tool capability comes after clinical judgement and the scope of practice. The specific requirements follow the employer and competent department.
Source: O*NET training and education informationOriginal source ↗
The content above distinguishes automation capability, actual deployment and employment outcomes; moving to the next section you can view the statistical scope and gap statement for the mainland China salary reference.
Insufficient evidence: this round obtained no verifiable monthly salary distribution for this occupation in other cities.
Scenario comparison requires the employer's nature, the post sequence, the scope of practice and the pay measure to be consistent; an industry proxy cannot replace the written pay conditions.
| Preparation background or conditions to be verified | Editorial exploration direction | Explanation and verification suggestions |
|---|---|---|
| Rehabilitation therapy, sports human science and related majors | Editorial exploration: hospital rehabilitation departments, rehabilitation institutions and sports medicine clinics; the actual recruitment, duties and China-US correspondence are to be verified and are not given as a national typical destination. | A qualification and a practice sequence are two different pathways; a qualification does not equal practice authority. |
| Sports colleges or related majors (some posts) | Editorial exploration: schools, clubs and sports training institutions; whether a protection post exists and what the requirements are must be verified. | Post titles vary with the employer, and the duty scope must be confirmed in the hiring conditions. |
| Practice qualification and institutional authorisation | The conditions for checking qualifications for diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and medication-related duties are looked up against the real jurisdiction and post, and this is not a post direction or a grant of authority. | The scope of practice and the situations requiring referral are decided by the competent department and institutional procedures and are not defined by the individual. |
| First aid and emergency qualification | On-site first aid and event medical preparation and authorisation check conditions, not a national post distribution. | The specific first aid training, qualification validity and renewal conditions must be checked against the real institution and jurisdiction; this round did not read the complete Chinese system and no uniform cycle is set. |
When checking a quote, first confirm the employer's nature, the post duties and scope of practice and whether pay is by fixed monthly salary, performance or project; do not treat an industry average as an individual's income or convert overseas figures into an expected yuan amount.
The 2025 health and social figures of 146,266 non-private and 75,631 yuan per year private have a broad background match with care duties; the unit is classified by its actual industry and this is not the wage for this occupation.
The 2025 education figures of 133,539 non-private and 63,908 private are a broad school background and do not equal the athletic trainer wage or the attribution of all protection posts.
The public administration figure of 119,465 is only another industry background, the attribution of this occupation's units was not verified, and it is not a precise occupational wage proxy.
This round obtained no Chinese AI income causality for this occupation; the statistical scope follows the corresponding release's definition, and a technical idea cannot be used to infer that the measure will change or never change.
| The median is an annual wage of 62,520 US dollars; it describes the midpoint of the whole distribution and does not represent an individual's take-home income. |
| 90th percentile | 88,760 USD/year (90th percentile) | Official annual wage, not an individual's actual take-home pay | The P90 annual wage of 88,760 US dollars is not a universal level; the percentile table does not break down causality by seniority, specialisation or management, so individual income is not inferred. |
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Salary · 10th percentile：48,180 US dollars per year (10th percentile)；The P10 annual wage of 48,180 US dollars is a statistical position that about 10% are not above, not the distribution minimum or a new entrant's starting pay； this round the O*NET table gives annual wages only.
Salary · 25th percentile：55,130 US dollars per year (25th percentile)；The P25 annual wage is 55,130 US dollars； this round's table gives no hourly percentile, and it is not inferred from this that all official sources never have an hourly wage.
Salary · median：62,520 US dollars per year (median)；It is the median annual wage on the 29-9091.00 occupation-specific measure (May 2025 OEWS), and the median does not equal an entry-level wage；BLS 2025 wage percentiles shown by O*NET
Salary · 75th percentile：74,630 US dollars per year (75th percentile)；On the same measure it is the 75th annual wage percentile；BLS 2025 wage percentiles shown by O*NET
Salary · 90th percentile：88,760 US dollars per year (90th percentile)；The P90 annual wage of 88,760 US dollars is not a universal level； this percentile table does not break down causality by seniority, specialisation or management responsibility.
The median and P10/P25 are overall distribution positions and are not grouped by entry-level experience; they are not treated as causality for new entrants or for seniority and regional factors.
This round the O*NET wage table gives annual wages only; without individual working hours and contracts, an individual hourly wage or take-home pay is not calculated from it, nor is it inferred that all official sources lack an hourly wage.
Wages are 2025 OEWS on this occupation's 29-9091.00 measure; employment is 2025 with the 2025—2035 projection, and the finer industry wages are in the BLS OOH.
Editorial quote check: the specific state, employer, specialisation and teaching management, scheduling and pay composition are checked separately, and not all factors are called independent income effects.
| Industry | Median wage for this occupation within the industry | How to understand this value |
|---|---|---|
| Education services (state, local and private) | 64,340 US dollars per year (2025 median for this occupation in the industry) | The BLS finer industry has 40% of employment and a median of 64,340; the O*NET education 40% is a broad measure and a particular school's wage cannot be inferred. |
| Physician clinics | 61,820 US dollars per year (2025 median for this occupation in the industry) | The BLS finer category has 11% of employment and a median of 61,820; it cannot be taken as the combined median for the whole O*NET health and social 45%. |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 71,810 US dollars per year (2025 median for this occupation in the industry) | The BLS finer industry has 7% of employment and a median of 71,810; it is not the O*NET other 15% combined wage or a specific club's quote. |
| Hospitals (state, local and private) | 62,690 US dollars per year (2025 median for this occupation in the industry) | The BLS hospital category has 16% of employment and a median of 62,690, while therapist clinics are separately 14% of employment with a median of 61,060; it is not a uniform wage for all rehabilitation institutions. |
Editorial quote suggestion: check the specific state, employer and licensing conditions, and do not use the overall percentile table to prove that these factors independently cause income differences.
Editorial quote suggestion: check education, specialisation and management responsibility; there is no independent causal evidence that a master's or a particular field is usually higher, and no range is guaranteed.
BLS supports that team travel may involve evenings, weekends and travel; the specific duty pay or time off in lieu must be checked against the contract, and extra income is not inferred from the schedule.
The 2025 employment for this occupation is 35,200； the finer BLS employers are education 40, hospital 16, therapist clinic 14, physician clinic 11 and arts, entertainment and recreation 7%, which must not be mixed with the O*NET broad 45/40/15.
The overall BLS2025—2035 growth is 13%, with about 39,600 expected in 2035 and a net increase of 4,400； this is not AI attribution.
It is the average annual openings over the projection period, including growth and replacement demand, not a net increase in jobs, and does not constitute a guarantee that an individual obtains certification or a position；O*NET 29-9091.00 occupation summary (employment and projection fields)
Which Holland interest type is closer to athletic trainer?
The Holland interest code is SRI (Social + Realistic + Investigative): Social corresponds to helping, teaching, counselling and serving others, subdivided to include medical care services and teaching; Realistic corresponds to work using the body, tools and equipment and involving hands-on operation, subdivided to include athletics and physical activity; Investigative corresponds to research and analysis, subdivided to include medical care services. O*NET lists this occupation as primarily Social, consistent with the working nature of assessing and caring for others under medical supervision while also requiring hands-on operation; it describes the interest characteristics of the occupational group, not an individual competence judgement.
Do not use it this way: Note: an interest test result matching the occupational interest code only indicates a close direction; it does not mean you already have assessment and first aid ability, awareness of the scope of practice or record-keeping ability, nor that you can obtain certification or a licence.
Test my Holland career interestsWhich Big Five traits are more relevant to this job?
Editorial observation suggestion: check records, process execution, communication under pressure and collaboration; this round obtained no correlation or causal research between Big Five scores and practice performance for this occupation, and occupational style is not treated as scale validity.
Do not use it this way: Note: treating personality scores as a conclusion about ability or hiring is a common misuse; this page provides no score thresholds or list of types.
View my Big Five personality traitsCan MBTI be used to judge whether I am suited to athletic training?
This round obtained no predictive or screening basis for MBTI type in this occupation; preferences can serve as discussion questions but are not used to judge clinical competence or hiring.
Do not use it this way: Note: this page does not list any best-suited type and does not endorse using one for selection or screening.
Can the Enneagram show whether I am suited to this occupation?
This round obtained no predictive or screening basis for the Enneagram in this occupation, and reflection does not replace training, licensing and actual tasks.
Do not use it this way: Note: this page does not provide a mapping between types and posts.
Explore my Enneagram patternIf I am not good at math, can I be an athletic trainer?
O*NET includes problem sensitivity, reasoning, information ordering, attention and expression, and the BLS courses include anatomy, physiology and physics; no uniform advanced mathematics admission requirement was obtained, which does not mean mathematics can be skipped or that individual ability is guaranteed.
Do not use it this way: Note: this page does not treat any test score as an admission or elimination basis.
Explore my intelligence and reasoning performanceDoes being an athletic trainer require high emotional intelligence?
Editorial observation suggestion: check patient communication, collaboration under pressure and process awareness; no emotional intelligence scale validity or threshold for this occupation was obtained, and occupational style is not treated as test validation.
Fits better when: Willing to design and lead fitness classes for the public and to guide movements and training plans, with a focus on health and fitness improvement.
Watch for: Fitness instruction and safety training need to be added; athletic training experience does not equal a qualification to instruct the general public and cannot replace injury treatment authority.
Explore related career: Fitness trainersFits better when: Willing to assess functional limitations, independently design treatment plans and follow up over the long term, and be responsible for functional improvement.
Watch for: Professional physical therapy training and practice qualification need to be added; sports protection experience does not equal physical therapy practice authority.
Explore related career: Physical therapistsFits better when: Willing to help clients restore daily living, learning and working ability and to design functional training and assistive plans.
Watch for: Professional occupational therapy training and practice qualification need to be added; sports injury care experience cannot replace occupational therapy training.
Explore related career: Occupational therapistsFits better when: Willing to design training, guide technique and tactics and make selection judgements, and to be responsible for player development.
Watch for: Coaching and training method training needs to be added; sports protection experience cannot replace training and guiding ability, and coaching posts do not diagnose or treat.
Explore related career: Coaches and scoutsFits better when: Willing to use leisure and recreational activities as the intervention vehicle to improve clients' physical and mental function and participation.
Watch for: Professional recreational therapy training needs to be added; activity organisation experience does not equal therapeutic intervention ability.
Explore related career: Recreational therapistsFits better when: Willing to centre on manual diagnosis and treatment and to bear independent treatment responsibility, and to be responsible for symptom improvement.
Watch for: Chiropractic professional training and the specific licence must be verified, and sports protection experience does not directly obtain another occupation's authority; the clinical duties the BOC allows follow training and state law, and it is not uniformly claimed that this occupation has no diagnostic ability.
Explore related career: ChiropractorsRather than a personality, it is a way of working: able to complete assessment and handling under supervision and procedures, maintain judgement in first aid and pressure situations, record fully and truthfully, and work with the injured person, parents, coach and physician.
This page does not judge fit by introversion or extraversion labels. The occupation requires both quiet focused assessment and recording and proactive communication at first aid and team scenes; whether one can communicate and follow procedures under pressure can be listed as editorial observation questions, whose effectiveness ranking against type labels was not verified. This page did not verify the occupational predictive validity or weight of these clues and does not treat them as a validated screening standard.
Introversion and extraversion do not directly determine competence; the material read sets no type-based entry standard, and the training, communication and licensing conditions are checked separately, with no guarantee that an individual can take up the post.
This round obtained no best-suited MBTI type or occupational prediction research, so type is not used for screening; preference discussions are combined with actual tasks.
O*NET lists the interest code for this occupation as SRI (Social + Realistic + Investigative): preference for helping and caring for others, hands-on procedures, and research and analysis. A matching interest only indicates a close direction and does not mean assessment ability, awareness of the scope of practice or record-keeping ability is present.
This page does not let a test directly decide service. Occupational personality validity was not obtained this round, and training, actual evaluation and licensing are checked separately; the O*NET description does not validate all tests.
Weak mathematics cannot directly determine suitability. The BLS courses include anatomy, physiology and physics, and the specific sport data and course requirements are checked separately; no exemption from study or hiring guarantee is given.
Editorial observation suggestion: check communication and collaboration in pain and pressure scenarios; the emotional intelligence scale validation for this occupation is missing this round, so a single score is not used in place of clinical training and licensing.
This round obtained no Enneagram occupational prediction basis, and it is not used for hiring or to judge practice ability; reflection needs to be combined with actual tasks.
Judge by reviewable outputs: a practical record containing assessment and handling records, the reasons for the referral decision, prevention programmes and return-to-play recommendations; the completed supervision hours and evaluations; and a complete example emergency action plan.
How to reduce risk：BOC services must follow training, state law and physician direction or collaboration; clinical diagnosis is listed in the standards and is not uniformly prohibited, nor does it confer arbitrary prescribing authority. The specific referral is checked against the actual situation and the system.
Evidence：O*NET 29-9091.00 occupation summary · BOC2026 professional practice standards (relevant clinical, confidentiality and record clauses)
Typical scenario：Underestimating the injury, not calling for help by procedure, or handling it alone without monitoring and equipment conditions.
Roles most affected：The injured person, the trainer and the employer
Possible consequence：Can delay rescue and worsen the injury, and in serious cases endanger life.
How to reduce risk：The specific first aid, calling for help, transport and emergency command follow the trained scope and the institutional plan; this round did not read the complete clinical process and no individual operating instruction is given.
Evidence：O*NET 29-9091.00 detailed profile (work context) · BOC2026 professional practice standards (relevant clinical, confidentiality and record clauses)
Typical scenario：Sending identifiable health, imaging or location information to unauthorised channels, or discussing injuries in public.
Roles most affected：Athletes, students and parents
Possible consequence：Can cause privacy infringement and compliance liability and affect the injured person's trust in the team.
How to reduce risk：The BOC requires protecting patient confidential information under the applicable law; the specific access, sharing and retention rules are checked separately, and occupational tasks are not treated as the privacy law of all jurisdictions.
Evidence：BOC2026 professional practice standards (relevant clinical, confidentiality and record clauses) · BOC2026 professional practice standards (relevant clinical, confidentiality and record clauses)
Typical scenario：Ignoring blood and body fluid protection, skipping venue checks, or missing hazards in a noisy and crowded environment.
Roles most affected：The trainer, the athlete and the employer
Possible consequence：Can cause infection exposure, secondary injury or a group incident.
How to reduce risk：O*NET lists cleaning and disinfection and venue checks; the specific infection control, post-exposure handling and equipment suspension and resumption procedures were not obtained and should be checked against institutional rules, with no uniform authorisation.
Evidence：O*NET 29-9091.00 occupation summary · O*NET 29-9091.00 detailed profile (work context)
Typical scenario：Recording afterwards, confused versions, or record content inconsistent with the actual handling.
Roles most affected：The trainer, the injured person and the employer
Possible consequence：Can cause missing records, untraceability and unclear responsibility, affecting subsequent diagnosis and compliance review.
How to reduce risk：The BOC requires recording services under the applicable rules; the specific format, retention and amendment system must be checked, and the existence of a record does not guarantee traceability.
Evidence：BOC2026 professional practice standards (relevant clinical, confidentiality and record clauses) · BOC2026 professional practice standards (relevant clinical, confidentiality and record clauses)
Typical scenario：Giving return-to-play clearance beyond authority under pressure from the coach or results, or arranging competition directly while bypassing the physician's opinion.
Roles most affected：Athletes, coaches and the medical team
Possible consequence：Can cause secondary injury, loss of the season and compliance liability.
How to reduce risk：O*NET has a task of giving competition clearance where necessary, and BOC clinical duties follow training and state law; the specific roles of the trainer and the physician must be checked, and it is not uniformly limited to giving advice nor does it confer full return-to-play authority.
Evidence：O*NET 29-9091.00 occupation summary · BOC2026 professional practice standards (relevant clinical, confidentiality and record clauses)
| Post direction | Starting tasks | Employer basis | Evidence that can be submitted with zero experience | Boundaries to distinguish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| School sports teams and physical education institutions | Assisting with pre- and post-training protection under supervision, helping record injuries and learning the first aid process. | Editorial preparation comparison: check the target school programme, clinical training, licensing and post conditions; there is no specific recruitment sample this round, so no uniform employer requirement is claimed. | Submit a fictional protection record containing assessment points, the handling process and a record template, without using real student or athlete data. | Internal school authorisation does not replace a state licence; the specific clinical diagnosis and scope of service are checked against qualification, jurisdiction and duty, and it cannot be concluded uniformly that school posts have no diagnostic authority. |
| Hospital rehabilitation departments and sports medicine clinics | Taking part in assessment, rehabilitation execution and follow-up records under the guidance of physicians and therapists. | Editorial preparation comparison: check the target medical post's education, training and statutory authority, and do not use O*NET group tasks in place of recruitment conditions. | Submit a fictional record containing assessment results, the rehabilitation plan and follow-up arrangements. | Diagnosis and prescribing responsibility belongs to physicians and authorised medical personnel; assistant posts cannot diagnose independently. |
| Professional clubs and professional sports teams | Taking on training and event duty, pre-competition protection and post-competition care, and travelling with the team. | Editorial preparation comparison: check the target team's credentials, scheduling, events and contract; no specific recruitment was read, so no general conditions or pay are inferred. | Submit a fictional note containing the season schedule, protection plan and emergency action plan. | Club authorisation is not the same as practice qualification; the return-to-play decision must be made by a physician or authorised personnel. |
| Rehabilitation and fitness institutions | Designing and implementing prevention and athletic ability training and providing rehabilitation assistance and guidance within the authorised scope. | Editorial preparation comparison: distinguish fitness instruction, rehabilitation assistance and clinical duties, and check the target institution's requirements; there is no actual recruitment sample. | Submit a fictional plan containing programme design, risk screening and a safety note. | Fitness instruction and injury treatment are different scopes, and in-house duties must be confirmed in writing. |
| Health service posts in school or community sports programmes | Taking on venue and equipment checks, first aid preparation, health education and maintenance of the emergency action plan. | Editorial preparation comparison: check the emergency, health education and specific authority conditions; the target unit's recruitment conditions were not read. | Submit fictional material containing a venue checklist and an emergency action plan. | Health education and first aid preparation do not equal treatment authority; abnormal injuries must be referred by procedure. |
BLS currently has a typical master's and certified programme classroom and clinical training; the CAATE moved new entry-level programmes to the postgraduate level, and the O*NET54/37/8 respondent education proportions are not a new admission substitute.
The China 2022 occupational code has 2-09-07-04 sports protection specialist, and the specific training and licensing system is checked separately; it cannot be claimed nationally that certain majors dominate.
The specific first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation qualifications, validity and renewal must be checked against the applicable certification and institution; this round did not read a uniform course standard.
The scope of practice and the situations requiring referral are set by state law, the competent department and institutional procedures and are not obtained automatically through a qualification or sports experience.
Key skills include active listening, critical thinking, monitoring and judgement and decision making; key knowledge includes medicine and dentistry, psychology, and therapy and counselling.
The interest code is SRI (Social + Realistic + Investigative); work styles include empathy, stress tolerance, self-control and cooperation. These fields describe characteristics of the occupational group and do not constitute an individual competency threshold.
All material is fictional and contains no real injured person's health information, medical records or institutional internal material.
All material and scenarios are fictional, and real injured person's health information, medical records or institutional internal material must not be used.
Complete within 90—120 minutes; public assessment and first aid material may be consulted, but real injured person or institutional material must not be used.
In the record write the objective observations, the handling and the judgement separately, and mark the parts requiring review.
Write the objective record, observations and judgement separately, and mark anything uncertain as requiring review.
Afterwards ask a qualified supervisor to review the assessment and records, and keep the reasons for changes.
Do not handle the health information of real injured persons in practice, or provide medication or return-to-play arrangements; such matters must be handled by qualified personnel.
Note the source and data period for each item; leave items that cannot be verified blank and mark them as insufficient evidence rather than filling them in with speculation.
List "degree", "certification", "licensure", "institutional authorization", and "specific job duties" separately to avoid conflating them.
Keep the review comments together with the reasons for the revisions, as evidence of whether you can accept clinical and documentation review.
Submit the debrief to a supervisor for review, and keep the review comments and the reasons for revisions as reviewable evidence.
Archiving health and medical data requires prior authorization, and the access scope, retention period, and destruction arrangements must be recorded.
| Stage | Possible assessment methods | Observable evidence | Boundaries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before the interview | Verify the position's scope-of-practice authorization, credential and licensure requirements, institutional protocols, and shift arrangements, and prepare practical and supervision records. | A requirements checklist with sources and data periods; able to explain clearly how this occupation differs from adjacent directions in scope of practice. | Do not treat athletic experience, a fitness coach certificate, or a single first aid training course as proof of independent diagnostic and treatment ability. |
| During the interview | Scenario question: how to handle and refer a suspected fracture or a head impact on site. | Able to first explain the injury assessment, emergency call, and transport process before discussing follow-up arrangements; able to clearly state one's own uncertainties and reasons for referral. |
Output: a one-page terminology reference table noting the source of each item.
Output: a checklist of the assessment process and referral judgments.
Output: a first aid process and equipment checklist.
Output: a sample prevention plan.
Output: a sample record and a privacy statement.
| Qualification / certificate | Who it applies to | Role in the position | Whether it is a universal threshold | Conditions | Investment | Boundaries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Degree program (CAATE accredited) | People who wish to enter this occupation | Determines whether you can obtain the corresponding degree and internship experience. | U.S. entry-level education pathway; specific programs and exam eligibility must be verified separately | CAATE entry-level program transitioned to the graduate level; BLS typically master's plus classroom and clinical coursework; verify specific admission conditions with the individual program | Complete according to the program length. | A degree does not equal certification or licensure. |
Typical scope：Take on assessment delivery and recording, and report anomalies.
Readiness evidence：Supervised assessment and treatment records.
Credential boundary：A degree in a related field and first aid credentials.
Next moves：Participate in assessment, treatment, and recording under supervision.
Typical scope：Take responsibility for assessment, treatment, and referral judgments.
Readiness evidence：Treatment and follow-up records for one complete season or cycle.
Credential boundary：U.S. certification and target state licensure status are verified separately; it is not a single nationwide step that grants all practice authorization.
Next moves：Independently take on routine assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation delivery.
Typical scope：Take responsibility for protocol implementation and team coordination.
Readiness evidence：Protocol and drill records.
Credential boundary：Has experience in multidisciplinary collaboration and protocol development.
Next moves：Participate in developing institutional protocols and emergency action plans.
Typical scope：Take responsibility for mentoring, quality, and management.
Readiness evidence：Mentoring and quality improvement records.
Credential boundary：Has mentoring and management experience.
Next moves：Take on mentoring, quality improvement, and departmental management.
Typical scope：Follow physician orders, record truthfully, and report anomalies.
Readiness evidence：Rehabilitation delivery and follow-up records.
Credential boundary：A foundation in rehabilitation therapy or a related field.
Next moves：Participate in rehabilitation delivery and recording under the guidance of physicians and therapists.
Typical scope：Take responsibility for treatment and progress assessment within the authorized scope.
Readiness evidence：Assessment and treatment plan records.
Credential boundary：Obtain the corresponding practice credentials.
Next moves：Assessment and treatment delivery in the rehabilitation therapy direction requires verifying the specific occupation, jurisdiction, and credentials; independent authority is not automatically obtained from athletic training experience.
Typical scope：Take responsibility for collaborative communication and referral coordination.
Readiness evidence：Collaboration and referral records.
Typical scope：Complete auxiliary teaching and athletic training tasks according to standards.
Readiness evidence：A teaching or athletic training assistance record.
Credential boundary：Related professional background and training.
Next moves：Assist with teaching and athletic training work.
Typical scope：Teaching and athletic training are different positions; the specific teaching qualifications and the scope of clinical service must be verified, and no uniform independent authority is set.
Readiness evidence：Course or athletic training plan records.
Credential boundary：Obtain teaching- or athletic-training-related qualifications.
Next moves：Take responsibility for course teaching or institutional athletic training duties.
Typical scope：Take on instructional and safety responsibilities according to institutional standards.
Readiness evidence：Course plan and safety statement.
Able to complete initial injury assessment and on-site first aid under supervision, determine according to protocol whether referral is needed, and record assessment and treatment truthfully and completely.
Able to independently complete assessment and treatment, judge referral according to the scope of practice, design and implement prevention and rehabilitation plans, and keep records that are complete and traceable.
Able to mentor newcomers, participate in developing institutional protocols and emergency action plans, and take on communication and coordination responsibilities in multidisciplinary teams.
Move into teaching, rehabilitation therapy, sports management, or other adjacent directions (requires the corresponding degree, credentials, and authorization).
United States · exact
13% (about 2,400 openings per year)
Growth rate and average annual openings
Overall growth 13%, ending at about 39,600, net increase 4,400; the average annual 2,400 openings include growth and replacements.
Does not establish：Growth is rounded to whole numbers and average annual openings are not net increases; do not infer certification or licensure pass rates, or AI causation.
Mainland China · industry_proxy
Insufficient evidence: national income and employment distribution for this occupation were not obtained
Average wage by industry category (reference definition)
The National Bureau of Statistics aggregates by industry category and broad occupation group: health and social work 146,266 yuan/year (non-private), 75,631 yuan/year (private); education 133,539 yuan/year (non-private); professional and technical personnel in above-scale enterprises 155,491 yuan/year.
Does not establish：NBS mixes multiple positions, so wages should be verified by population and payment nature, and performance pay, shift pay, or team travel allowances should not be uniformly excluded; broad averages are not occupational wages.
These are capability relationships, not automatic promotions or credential waivers.
Transfers：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): transferable are injury prevention experience, training methods, and understanding of sports.
Build next：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): need to add coaching and training methods, talent selection, and communication skills; athletic training experience cannot replace training and instructional ability.
View career profileTransfers：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): transferable are injury assessment and rehabilitation delivery experience.
Build next：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): need to add professional physical therapy training and practice credentials; athletic training experience does not equal physical therapy practice authority.
View career profileTransfers：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): transferable are exercise prescription and physical fitness knowledge.
Build next：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): need to add fitness instruction and safety training; the judgment requirements of an athletic training position cannot replace the ability to instruct the general public.
View career profileTransfers：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): transferable are load monitoring and assessment methods.
Build next：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): need to add professional exercise physiology training; assessment practice cannot replace physiological function testing and program design training.
View career profileTransfers：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): transferable are rehabilitation delivery and follow-up record experience.
Build next：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): need to add physical therapist assistant training and authorization requirements; the scope of duties and regulation differ.
View career profileTransfers：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): transferable are communication, activity design, and participation support experience.
Build next：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): need to add professional recreational therapy training; activity organization experience does not equal therapeutic intervention ability.
View career profileTransfers：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): transferable are musculoskeletal assessment and manual technique foundations.
Build next：Editorial exploration: chiropractic is a separate occupation, and the actual profession and licensure must be verified separately; do not use athletic training status to infer obtained authority, and do not claim that it has no clinical diagnostic duties at all.
View career profileTransfers：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): transferable are functional assessment and rehabilitation delivery experience.
Build next：Editorial transition comparison (mutual recognition or success rate not tested): need to add professional occupational therapy training and practice credentials; sports injury experience cannot replace occupational therapy training.
View career profileLook at observable behavior: whether you can complete injury assessment and first aid treatment according to protocol under supervision, accurately judge when referral is required, record truthfully and completely, and collaborate with the injured person, parents, coaches, and physicians. O*NET lists the interest code for this occupation as SRI (Social + Realistic + Investigative), but matching interests only indicates a similar direction and cannot replace assessment ability, awareness of the scope of practice, and record-keeping ability.
Steps that may be assisted: organizing assessment materials, imaging and movement analysis, load and rehabilitation progress records, and drafting documents and reports. But injury assessment, on-site first aid treatment, referral judgments, return-to-play clearance, and manual techniques are still carried out by people; the degree of task automation and the number of positions are different questions.
Injury diagnosis, prescriptions, return-to-play clearance, referral decisions, and the interpretation of health and medical data. These steps are undertaken by the individual according to the scope of practice and physician orders, and anything beyond that scope must be referred; tool outputs must be reviewed through physical examination and clinical observation before they enter records and communication.
U.S. side: O*NET lists 29-9091.00 as Job Zone Five (SVP 8.0+); among respondents, 54% believe a master's degree is required and 37% believe a bachelor's degree is required; this occupation typically involves an accredited degree program and clinical internship, obtaining certification through a national certification exam, and licensure in most states. Mainland China has no corresponding unified occupational registration, and related positions are spread across the rehabilitation therapy, athletic training, and physical education teaching sequences. Specific standards are set by the regulatory authorities and employers, and this page does not provide the standards.
Six types of risk need to be judged in advance: exceeding the scope of practice, delays in on-site first aid and referral, leakage of health and medical information, infection control and venue safety, loss of control over assessment and treatment records, and missing return-to-play clearance and authorization. The controls are to work within the scope of practice and protocols, refer promptly, keep complete records, report anomalies, and have authorized personnel handle them.
The BLS data shown by O*NET gives, on this occupation's own definition, about 33,900 people employed in 2024, growth from 2024—2034 much faster than average (7% or higher), and about 2,400 openings per year on average, mostly from growth and replacement needs. Directions one can move into include coaches and scouts, physical therapists, fitness trainers, exercise physiologists, physical therapist assistants, recreational therapists, chiropractors, and occupational therapists, but the degree, credentials, and scope of practice differ for each direction.
The 2025 wage percentiles shown by O*NET are on the 29-9091.00 occupation-specific definition (median annual wage 62,520 USD; 10th percentile 48,180 USD, 25th percentile 55,130 USD, 75th percentile 74,630 USD, 90th percentile 88,760 USD); this occupation does not publish hourly wage percentiles, so this page does not convert to hourly pay, and does not extrapolate to income in Mainland China.
Common misconceptions include: thinking that being a former athlete or holding a fitness coach certificate is enough to work as an athletic trainer (in fact certification and licensure are required); thinking one can handle diagnosis, medication, and return to play on one's own (in fact one must work within the scope of practice and refer to a physician); thinking this is purely a physical conditioning position (in fact it includes injury assessment, on-site first aid, and medical records); and understanding income only by the median annual wage (in fact income is affected by practice location, institution type, qualifications, and shift arrangements).
FermatMind career content editorial team: compiled from public materials from O*NET and the National Bureau of Statistics of Mainland China, with each item labeled with its definition, data period, and usage limits.
This round verified as of 2026-10-09; 2025 wages, employment, and recruitment, plus the 2025—2035 projection, with NBS2025 materials published in 2026; the BOC2026 standard published 2025-12 and implemented 2026-02; China's classification is the 2022 edition, the wage provisions were published in 1990, and the old URL2020 year is not used. O*NET respondent education does not represent the master's entry requirement of current new programs, and access and data periods are kept separate.
This round actually read the O*NET summary/details/wages/hot_tech/industry/trends for this occupation and the definitions of the eight adjacent occupations; BLS task environment, entry-level requirements, five detailed industries, wages, and projections; BOC2026 related standards, public protection eligibility, and CAATE professional programs; reused the same-window same-day NBS original text and additionally read the health industry line, wage provisions, OEWS methods, and the 2022 classification athletic trainer entry. The ILO introduction and extended abstract and the NIST brief were only broad background, and neither their full text nor this occupation's mapping was read; custom, certification discovery, and courses did not produce a complete report.
Limitations：U.S. occupational classification; does not directly prove China's position sequences or practice authority.
Limitations：The task list describes group work and does not mean every post carries out all tasks.
Limitations：Employment and projection on this occupation's standalone definition; cannot be extrapolated to a broader occupational group.
Limitations：This round's table gives annual wages only and does not give hourly wages; do not claim that all official sources have no data or n/a, and do not treat it as personal income.
Limitations：Verify by population and the nature of pay, and do not uniformly exclude performance pay, shift pay, or team travel allowances; broad industry and position averages are not occupational wages.
Limitations：Defines the pre-tax total wage bill; it does not equal take-home income.
Limitations：The work context field is a respondent percentage and cannot be used to infer individual job conditions.
Limitations：The education composition is a respondent percentage; U.S. certification and state licensure requirements are found with the relevant bodies.
Limitations：Employment and projection on this occupation's definition, not a guarantee that an individual will obtain certification or a position.
Limitations：Technology signals are not adoption rates or automation shares.
Limitations：Industry distribution cannot be used to infer industry wages or employment size.
Limitations：Certification is not the same as licensure or institutional authorization. This round did not output complete findings, courses, or custom material, so do not claim a new full-text verification.
Limitations：Recorded for editorial purposes; the actual link is the O*NET summary and does not prove that a separate editorial team published original text.
Limitations：Does not constitute certification, licensure, or practice authorization. This round did not output complete findings, courses, or custom material, so do not claim a new full-text verification.
Limitations：The official profile provides only occupational identity and duty descriptions. This round did not output complete findings, courses, or custom material, so do not claim a new full-text verification.
Limitations：Used to verify the original official duties text.
Limitations：Used for the work activity and skill definitions.
Limitations：24 group tasks; details include Importance, which is not frequency or an individual threshold.
Limitations：This round's table gives annual wages only and does not give hourly wages; do not claim that all official sources have no data or n/a, and do not treat it as personal income.
Limitations：Education composition does not constitute a uniform certification or licensure standard.
Limitations：Used for the work context and work style definitions.
Limitations：The statistical scope does not include self-employed individuals and freelance workers.
Limitations：Used to confirm field completeness.
Limitations：Annual wage percentiles on the OEWS definition for this occupation.
Limitations：A certification entry point, not for case-level determination; licensure and scope of practice are determined by each state's law.
Limitations：Only background on a cross-occupational task exposure method, not research on this occupation's adoption, wage and employment causation, or individual authority.
Limitations：A cross-industry organizational risk reference; does not provide this occupation's authorization, technical capability, actual adoption, or causal effects.
Limitations：Actually read articles 3/4/5/7/11 on the distinction between sports allowances and specified bonuses; does not equal a specific pay case
Limitations：Wage and salary workers, excluding the self-employed; incentive pay differs from non-production bonuses, and this is not the total income of all athletic trainers
Limitations：Not an item-by-item U.S.-China licensure mapping, precise wages, or a national registration system.
Limitations：The task environment, education, five detailed industries, wages, and projections were actually read; not a personal guarantee
Limitations：Overall growth and replacements, not treated as AI causation
Limitations：Read the relevant practice and responsibility clauses; does not represent all state laws or Chinese permits
Limitations：The actual entry point for certification eligibility and standards; does not represent state licensure or individual qualification review
Limitations：The actual entry-level graduate-level statement; does not represent admission to specific programs or the eligibility of previously certified holders
Limitations：Does not prove successful role change or exemption from training and licensure.
Limitations：Does not prove successful role change or exemption from training and licensure.
Limitations：Does not prove successful role change or exemption from training and licensure.
Limitations：Does not prove successful role change or exemption from training and licensure.
Limitations：Does not prove successful role change or exemption from training and licensure.
Limitations：Does not prove successful role change or exemption from training and licensure.
Limitations：Does not prove successful role change or exemption from training and licensure.
Limitations：Does not prove successful role change or exemption from training and licensure.
U.S. precise occupational statistics, BLS detailed industries, and NBS broad background are kept separate; the nature of pay determines whether performance and subsidies are covered, and they are not uniformly excluded. China's 2-09-07-04 athletic trainer entry exists, but wages, item-by-item correspondence, and the licensure system are unverified. Specific state laws, clinical emergencies, real AI effect causation, scale validity, and mutual recognition remain to be verified; conflicting shared identity/definitions/facts/FAQ are frozen, and no whole-page sign-off or formal acceptance is given.
Big Five (English) · MBTI (English) · Enneagram (Chinese) · IQ (Chinese)
| Injuries, assessment tools and rehabilitation plans |
| Core process | Read the referral and past records → preliminary assessment and rule out red flags → on-site first aid or treatment according to the plan → judge and carry out referral → record and report → adjust care and rehabilitation arrangements according to review comments. | Assessment—handling—review |
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| Main outputs | Preliminary assessment and handling records, referral and physician order records, rehabilitation progress and return-to-play recommendation records, and prevention programmes and emergency action plans. | Reviewable assessment and handling records |
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| Accountable party | Assessment, first aid and preventive handling within the authorised scope are borne by the trainer; diagnosis, prescription and return-to-play clearance are decided by a physician or authorised medical personnel according to the norms, and matters beyond the scope must be referred. | The trainer and the authorised medical institution |
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| Authority and approval | O*NET lists 29-9091.00 as Job Zone Five (SVP 8.0+), and among respondents 54% consider a master's necessary, 37% a bachelor's and 8% high school or equivalent; in the United States the occupation usually requires an accredited degree programme and clinical internship, certification from a national certifying body and a licence in most states. Mainland China has no corresponding unified occupational registration, and related posts are spread across sports protection, rehabilitation therapy and physical education sequences, with standards set by the employer and the competent department. | Education and qualification |
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| Conclusion boundaries | A qualification, certification, a state licence, in-house institutional authorisation and specific post duties are different states: a degree does not automatically bring certification, certification does not automatically bring a licence, and a licence does not mean one can practise in any institution or jurisdiction. | Not interchangeable |
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Licensing and scope of practice
Medical supervision and referral boundaries
Records, privacy and compliance
Scheduling and team travel arrangements
Do not use it this way: Note: this page provides no emotional ability threshold and does not equate a high score with competence.
The 2025 US associated unique hiring software proportions are Office 5%, Excel 3%, and PowerPoint, Outlook and Word 1% each; all 5 items have proportions, and no gap for other software or adoption rate is inferred.
Before using imaging and data analysis tools for assessment, the authority, version and review arrangements for health and medical data must be confirmed.
Practice does not replace certification, licensure, practice permits, or institutional protocols, nor does it constitute any medical opinion.
| Probationary period | Complete assessment, treatment, and recording according to institutional protocols, and accept supervisory review of judgments and documentation. | Assessment and treatment records are timely and complete; referrals and follow-ups are carried out according to procedures; privacy and authorization handling meets requirements. | Do not treat beyond the authorized scope, and do not independently take on high-risk procedures without supervision. |
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| First 90 days on the job | Verify licensure and authorization status, the validity of first aid credentials, and whether institutional protocols and emergency action plans are in place. | Able to independently complete routine assessment and treatment and accept review; credential and authorization status has been confirmed in writing. | Credentials and authorization must be confirmed in writing, and verbal promises are not a substitute. |
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Output: a set of review comments and a revision explanation.
Output: a one-page decision statement with an evidence list.
| BOC certification / ATC credential |
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| Those who complete an accredited program |
| Certification is obtained after meeting exam eligibility and passing the exam; the certification itself is not what allows you to sit for the exam |
| Verify the actual U.S. certification and state licensure rules; not a uniform sample across all positions |
| The BOC public page lists pathways via CAATE program graduation or ARTI/CATA qualifications, plus passing the exam; verify individual cases separately |
| Complete according to the certification cycle and renew periodically. |
| Certification does not equal a state license or institutional authorization. |
| State licensure | Those who practice in the United States | Determines whether you can legally practice in that state. | Nearly all states require a license or certification, with varying forms and conditions | Check the target state's regulation; do not assume that all states have the same additional examination | Renew according to the validity period. | Practicing across state lines requires verifying the requirements separately; the scope of the license is defined by state law. |
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| First aid and CPR credentials | Those to whom personal certification and institutional requirements apply | Serves as a basic credential for on-site first aid and emergency response. | Specific positions and certification conditions must be verified separately; not uniform across all on-site positions | Must attend training and pass the assessment. | Specific courses, validity periods, and renewal conditions must be verified separately | A credential does not equal practice licensure, nor can it replace medical judgment. |
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| Infection control and safety training | Positions involving on-site treatment | Serves as the basis for exposure protection and safe practice. | Actual institutional and jurisdictional requirements must be verified separately; do not infer uniform mandatory training from this task | Complete according to institutional and regulatory authority requirements. | Continuously or periodically updated. | Training does not mean exemption from responsibility; violations are still handled according to protocol. |
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| Teaching and mentoring qualifications | Those planning to move into teaching | Serves as proof of teaching and mentoring ability. | Basic AT clinical certification and teaching and mentoring position conditions are separate; the target institution's teaching qualifications and requirements must be verified | Must be combined with supervision and teaching practice. | Training and practice time. | Recognition of specific teaching qualifications must be verified with the target institution; one cannot claim that no institution recognizes them |
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Credential boundary：Has experience collaborating in sports medicine.
Next moves：Participate in the assessment, rehabilitation, and return-to-play transition for sports injuries.
Typical scope：Take responsibility for management, teaching, and quality.
Readiness evidence：Management and teaching records.
Credential boundary：Has management and teaching experience.
Next moves：Move into rehabilitation management, teaching, or research.
Credential boundary：Obtain fitness instruction or management credentials.
Next moves：Move into public fitness instruction or sports management.
Typical scope：Take responsibility for operations, personnel, and safety.
Readiness evidence：Program or management statement.
Credential boundary：Has practice credentials and program experience.
Next moves：Move into teaching, sports management, or rehabilitation institution management.
Limitations：Editorial ratings use the existing occupational responsibilities and AI task analysis on this page. They are not adoption rates, measured effects, job-disappearance or personal-unemployment probabilities, or official scores from Stanford or another external institution. No measured time weights or future robot deployment are assumed.
