Annual Salary
variable
Average UK salary in 2022 was £33,200
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Athletes compete in track and field events for their clubs, and some go on to represent their country at international level.
Average UK salary in 2022 was £33,200
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; away from home
There will be
0.5% more Athlete jobs in 2027.
Your day-to-day duties will depend on your event. You may:
You may need to wear a sports kit.
You could work on a sports field or at a sports arena.
Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers, physically and emotionally demanding and you may spend nights away from home.
You can get into this career through:
You can apply to do a course at university in the usual way through UCAS and join your university’s athletics development programme, if one is available.
You may be able to apply to a university for a sports scholarship, if you’ve competed at club, regional or national level and have shown the potential to go further.
You can get advice about combining university study with your athletics career from England Athletics.
You'll usually need:
Apprenticeships relevant to this role include:
These apprenticeships may give you opportunities to use your sports skills outside of a professional sporting career.
To get onto an apprenticeship, you'll find it useful to have:
You may be able to study for a qualification at college or university as part of the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme.
You must be 16 or over, be performing at a high level, and be nominated by your sport's national governing body, UK Athletics.
You can apply to join the Paralympic Development Academy, if you have the potential to perform at national and international paralympic level.
If you're already competing at a high level, you may be offered an opportunity to join the British Athletics Futures Academy Programme. This aims to help exceptionally talented athletes compete at World Championships, and Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Contact your nearest athletics club for information about how to get involved and for details of their athlete development programmes.
Many athletes combine their career in track and field with study or a second job.
You can get more details about how to become an athlete from British Athletics and UK Athletics.
You could move into coaching with clubs, colleges and universities. Your experience would also be useful for jobs in community sports development or sports management.
You might also take further training to become a sports physiotherapist, nutritionist or sports scientist.
You'll need: