Athletic Trainer job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 5 of 5

extensive preparation

Typical entry education

Master's degree

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$62,520

BLS May 2025

1. Assess and report the progress of recovering athletes to coaches or physicians. importance 4.7 of 5
2. Care for athletic injuries, using physical therapy equipment, techniques, or medication. importance 4.7 of 5
3. Evaluate athletes' readiness to play and provide participation clearances when necessary and warranted. importance 4.6 of 5
4. Perform general administrative tasks, such as keeping records or writing reports. importance 4.4 of 5
5. Clean and sanitize athletic training rooms. importance 4.4 of 5
6. Instruct coaches, athletes, parents, medical personnel, or community members in the care and prevention of athletic injuries. importance 4.2 of 5
7. Apply protective or injury preventive devices, such as tape, bandages, or braces, to body parts, such as ankles, fingers, or wrists. importance 4.2 of 5
8. Collaborate with physicians to develop and implement comprehensive rehabilitation programs for athletic injuries. importance 4.2 of 5
9. Travel with athletic teams to be available at sporting events. importance 4.1 of 5
10. Plan or implement comprehensive athletic injury or illness prevention programs. importance 3.8 of 5
11. Inspect playing fields to locate any items that could injure players. importance 3.8 of 5
12. Advise athletes on the proper use of equipment. importance 3.7 of 5
13. Confer with coaches to select protective equipment. importance 3.6 of 5
14. Develop training programs or routines designed to improve athletic performance. importance 3.6 of 5
15. Massage body parts to relieve soreness, strains, or bruises. importance 3.4 of 5
16. Accompany injured athletes to hospitals. importance 3.3 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Assisting and Caring for Others, Documenting/Recording Information, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge and Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• File athlete insurance claims and communicate with insurance providers.
• Teach sports medicine courses to athletic training students.
• Perform team support duties, such as running errands, maintaining equipment, or stocking supplies.

Knowledge areas: Medicine and Dentistry, Customer and Personal Service, Psychology, Therapy and Counseling and English Language.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, BioEx Systems Exercise Pro. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a master's degree as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 5 of 5 (extensive preparation). Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become an athletic trainer.

Most athletic trainers surveyed by O*NET (54%) name a master's degree as the education the job requires.

Job title: Athletic Trainer
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring an Athletic Trainer to evaluate and treat musculoskeletal injuries or illnesses.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Assess and report the progress of recovering athletes to coaches or physicians.
- Care for athletic injuries, using physical therapy equipment, techniques, or medication.
- Evaluate athletes' readiness to play and provide participation clearances when necessary and warranted.
- Perform general administrative tasks, such as keeping records or writing reports.
- Clean and sanitize athletic training rooms.
- Instruct coaches, athletes, parents, medical personnel, or community members in the care and prevention of athletic injuries.
- Apply protective or injury preventive devices, such as tape, bandages, or braces, to body parts, such as ankles, fingers, or wrists.
- Collaborate with physicians to develop and implement comprehensive rehabilitation programs for athletic injuries.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a master's degree as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in active listening, judgment and decision making and speaking
- Working knowledge of Medicine and Dentistry and Customer and Personal Service
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Office software or Microsoft Excel]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $62,520 in May 2025. BLS publishes annual wages only for this occupation, so no hourly figure is shown. BLS estimates about 30,500 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of athletic trainers to grow 12.7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,400 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full athletic trainer salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real athletic trainer posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Assess and report the progress of recovering athletes to coaches or…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only athletic trainer work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (active listening and judgment and decision making); athletic trainer interview questions turns them into practice questions.