Athletic Training Job or Career?

Are we treating our employment in athletic training as a job or a career? Are employers giving ATs the opportunity to create careers?

Job: Steady, usually short-term, goals achieved through one role, task or duty transactionally performed for money.

Career: Sum of all your previous job experiences, long-term aspirations with responsibility progression through a combination of roles, experiences, education, and new pathways to achieve the next level in your career ladder. Usually including a well-rounded sense of fulfillment.

A career increases the likelihood that you'll earn higher pay and better benefits. You'll be of greater value to employers as you progress in your career, and you'll be rewarded accordingly.

Pursuing career-relevant jobs gives your life a more thoughtful trajectory. Each role builds on the last to offer a professional roadmap, which means you avoid randomly jumping from job to job without understanding where you’re headed. If you use your jobs to build a satisfying profession you might feel less aimless and dissatisfied with your work. You feel like you are contributing to the bigger picture, fulfilling your passion.

When searching the differences between a job and a career, a common reoccurring point of advice that came up was:

"Work your way up: A career is something you build over time as you climb your industry-relevant ladder. Don’t feel hesitant about starting from the bottom and working your way up."

In the realm of athletic training many traditional AT departments do not provide a tall ladder in the sports medicine space. Usually there is one head athletic trainer and maybe an associate head athletic trainer, but what happens when the AT team is made up of 3 ATs? Where does an AT move up in that institution?

Many athletic departments do not offer promotions, pay raises, merit increases, or bonus pay to help progress in your career.

Where are ATs supposed to climb on this organizational "ladder" other than getting off and starting over to climb another short ladder with too many ATs on it already?

Shelby 8/2024