what jobs might this major lend itself to?

[ProudGrandma]

My son is looking at majors at the college he is attending.  There is something called "recreation and sports studies".  Under than umbrella are these 3 majors: Recreation and Sports Management, Sport Communication and Recreation.   The first 2 seem fairly self explanatory...but the last one, not so much.  In the handbook it is described like this:

Create professional programs focused on healthy and balanced lifestyles for community and privately-based recreational programs.  Community programming and recreational administration are two areas in which students may apply courses in recreation program design and programs in sports, leisure and adventure activities, as well as recreation and sport facility management.

What Jobs do you think this might lead a student to if they explored this major based on that description?  I could list the classes, and if someone thinks that would be helpful, I will do that.  

Thanks. 

[Carol in Cal.]

Public rec center or gym management.

[fraidycat]

Community living centers for seniors, nursing homes, etc. might also fall under that umbrella along with public or private rec facilities and gyms as mentioned above. Also, community nature centers and parks or other such facilities that offer programs to the public - I'm thinking hikes, rock climbing, kayaking/canoeing, etc along with camp programs for sports or other recreational activities.

Edited December 23, 2021 by fraidycat

[happi duck]

Some corporations (at least pre-covid) have organized health and rec programs

[Hilltopmom]

Our town has a Recreation dept that runs all the town youth sports, town sport events (fun runs, kayak races, senior outdoor activities), outdoor concerts, and manages the rec dept parks & pavilions. 

[scholarly]

My aunt with more or less this major worked in a nursing home. Another girl I knew with it was interested in working at camps (although I'm not sure what she ended up doing).

[ProudGrandma]

thanks for these ideas.   Not sure what will happen here...but this does give me something. 

[Melissa in Australia]

One of my niece’s did something similar. She then did a masters in business management and is now an events coordinator for womens soccer  Australia wide. 

[plansrme]

I have a young friend whose major was recreation; she wanted to work in parks & rec department but says those jobs were very difficult to find. She managed an Orange Theory (gym) for a while. when it closed because of covid restrictions, she started selling real estate, which is how we met her.

Because of all of the years my kids have spent in sports, we know tons of people who do youth sports for a living--they coach gymnastics or own  gymnastics gyms; coach swimming or own swim clubs; manage baseball tournaments; manage public pools; coach youth baseball; run recruiting camps, etc. It can be a tough way to make a living, but plenty of people make it work. Other than the now-real estate agent, not one person we know who works in this area has an undergraduate major in it, though. They get hired because of their own athletic background and contacts.  

[teachermom2834]

Not exactly recreation but I have a son who works in sports. It was all he was really every interested in doing but we strongly discouraged him from getting a sports specific degree. It just seemed too limiting for a job that is tough to break into. He got a more general business degree with a concentration in sports and entertainment management and worked several sports related jobs and internships. He works for a Major League Baseball team now and it hasn’t hurt him not to have a sports specific degree and if he wants to make a career change he is in better shape. 
 

I know that isn’t what you asked but just jumping off of the previous poster who said the people she knew in sports and recreation jobs didn’t have sports specific degrees. I think personal and job experience is more important than the specific degree. My ds absolutely needed a degree even for very entry level positions he was interested in, but a pretty wide range of degrees would have worked. 

Edited December 24, 2021 by teachermom2834