Science & Football CAREER INSIGHT
LJMU CAREERS TEAM 0151 231 2048/3719 ❚ careers@ljmu.ac.uk
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Career Insight: Sports and Exercise Science
Introduction A degree in science and football will open up a number of career options to you including support roles in professional sports, working in community sports and healthy lifestyle promotion or careers in allied health professions. The study of a range of modules in sport physiology and psychology, biomechanics, and physical activity research will help you identify your key interests and strengths within the sports science field, which in turn will provide a useful starting point for your careers research. However, you are by no means restricted to these areas and could use your skills, interests and work experience to enter careers in a variety of other sectors, including research, teaching, marketing, retail, consultancy, or finance and accountancy. Many graduate roles are open to candidates from any degree background or you could gain required qualifications by undertaking postgraduate study. In recent years, securing a graduate role has become increasingly competitive, so gaining relevant work or voluntary experience and engaging in extracurricular activities alongside your studies is crucial to demonstrate to prospective employers that you have the motivation to succeed in your chosen area and have developed the required skills. For some career paths like football coaching, gaining additional qualifications (e.g. http://www.thefa.com/my-football/footballvolunteers/CoachingVolunteering/Get%20Into%20Coaching/CoachingPathway) alongside your studies is a good way to make yourself stand out from other candidates and demonstrate your enthusiasm for a career in your chosen field. It is important to research different career pathways and entry requirements so that you can make an informed decision about your future career. Make sure that you attend career events or employer talks which are run by the Careers Team, and take every opportunity to network with professionals to find out as much as possible about the career areas that interest you.
Typical job options Some of those entering employment after graduation work in support roles in elite-level sports, community sports and sports development, as well as various roles in the health sector. Some graduates also find work outside of the sports sector and enter careers in areas like retail management, marketing or accountancy. You could start exploring typical job options via http://www.prospects.ac.uk/options_sport_science.htm
Please note that some of the jobs listed below or overleaf may require further study or training. Please use the website links given, to research each job further.
Your options within the sports and leisure sectors include:
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Sports Coach: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/sports_coach_job_description.htm
Sports Development Officer: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/sports_development_officer_job_description.htm
Sports Therapist: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/sports_therapist_job_description.htm
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Career Insight: Sports and Exercise Science
Sport and Exercise Psychologist: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/sport_and_exercise_psychologist_job_description.htm
Fitness Instructor: https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/fitnessinstructor .aspx
Personal Trainer: https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/personaltrainer. aspx
Exercise Physiologist: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/exercise-physiologist
Performance Analyst: http://www.eis2win.co.uk/Pages/Performance_Analysis.aspx
Other useful websites to research careers in sports include: http://www.bases.org.uk/Careers (download the careers guide for useful additional occupational profiles), http://www.careers-in-sport.co.uk/
Your options within the education sector include:
Primary/Secondary Teacher: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/primary_school_teacher_job_description.htm http://www.prospects.ac.uk/secondary_school_teacher_job_description.htm
Learning Mentor: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/learning_mentor_job_description.htm
Teaching post 16/FE Lecturer: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/further_education_lecturer_job_description.htm
Higher Education Lecturer: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/higher_education_lecturer_job_description.htm
Your options within the healthcare sector include:
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Dietician: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/dietitian_job_description.htm
Health Promotion Specialist: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/health_promotion_specialist_job_description.htm
Physiotherapist: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/physiotherapist_job_description.htm
GP Referral Exercise Consultant: http://www.bases.org.uk/Careers (download careers guide for detailed profile)
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Career Insight: Sports and Exercise Science
Nutritionist/Nutritional Therapist: https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/nutritionist.aspx http://www.prospects.ac.uk/nutritional_therapist_job_description.htm
Other options include:
Youth and Community Work: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/youth_worker_job_description.htm http://www.prospects.ac.uk/community_development_worker_job_description.htm http://www.nya.org.uk/
Civil Service Fast Streamer: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/civil_service_fast_streamer_job_description.htm http://faststream.civilservice.gov.uk/the-different-streams/
Working in the NHS: the NHS is a major graduate employer in the UK, not just in medical roles, but in a range of administration and management-related positions. http://www.nhsgraduates.co.uk/ and www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/ and http://www.jobs.nhs.uk/index.html
The suggestions listed here are by no means exhaustive so we would encourage you to conduct further research to find out about additional careers open to you and consider other relevant options, e.g. based on previous work or voluntary experience, skills and interests. To explore job options by sector, check http://www.prospects.ac.uk/types_of_jobs.htm You can also use career planning tools like http://www.prospects.ac.uk/myprospects_planner_login.htm and http://targetjobs.co.uk/careersreport to generate initial career ideas. Ensure you check entry requirements for each area, e.g. will you need a degree in a specific subject? Is a 2:1 degree classification essential? Will you need to complete a postgraduate degree? Is any specific work experience required? If it is, how could you go about gaining the required experience? We also recommend that you download a copy of our “Planning your Career” guide from the Careers website at https://www2.ljmu.ac.uk/careers/123871.htm. This includes a list of useful questions to help you explore your career options and introduces you to the DOTS model to help you with your career planning.
Main employers Sport Science graduates enter employment in a variety of organisations in the private, public and notfor-profit sector. Typical employers include
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professional sports clubs, like football, rugby or athletics clubs
sports governing bodies and national sporting associations, like the FA, Sport England, English Institute of Sport etc.
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Career Insight: Sports and Exercise Science
health and fitness centres, both in the private sector (e.g. Virgin Active, LA Fitness) and public sector (e.g. local council gyms)
local authorities, e.g. as a sport development co-ordinator or coach
schools, FE colleges and universities
the NHS (both allied health professions and management/administration roles).
All occupational profiles listed on http://www.prospects.ac.uk/types_of_jobs.htm include a section on typical employers and vacancy sources, so use these as a starting point to research potential employers within the career areas that interest you.
Useful links and websites
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My Jobs and Placements website - http://ljmu.prospects.ac.uk/
Prospects – Careers information and graduate jobs - http://www.prospects.ac.uk/
TargetJobs – Careers information and graduate jobs - http://targetjobs.co.uk/
Milkround – Graduate jobs, placements & internships - http://www.milkround.com/
Jobs in the public sector - http://www.lgjobs.com/, http://www.jobsgopublic.com/
Vacancies in higher education and research - http://www.jobs.ac.uk/
Graduate Talent Pool – Graduate internship opportunities http://graduatetalentpool.direct.gov.uk/
NHS Careers – www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/
British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences - http://www.bases.org.uk/Home
Information about postgraduate teacher training options http://www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching, http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/teachertraining, http://graduates.teachfirst.org.uk/
List of national governing bodies - http://sportscoachuk.org/site-tools/about-us/who-wework/national-governing-bodies
Coaching qualifications and training explained - http://sportscoachuk.org/coaches/i-wantcoach/qualifications-and-training
Sport England - http://www.sportengland.org/
English Institute of Sport - www.eis2win.co.uk/
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Career Insight: Sports and Exercise Science
The FA (Coaching and Volunteering) - http://www.thefa.com/my-football/footballvolunteers/CoachingVolunteering
Rugby Football Union - www.englandrugby.com/
UK Sport - http://www.uksport.gov.uk/
Merseyside Sports Partnership - http://www.merseysidesport.com/
HFI Group – provide professionally recognised courses in personal training www.hfigroup.com/
Prozone – performance analysis training courses - http://www.prozonesports.com/
The Training Room – provide professionally recognised courses in personal training www.thetrainingroom.com/
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy - http://www.csp.org.uk/professional-union/careersdevelopment
British Dietetic Association - https://www.bda.uk.com/careers/home
British Association of Sport Rehabilitators and Trainers - http://www.basrat.org/
Community Service Volunteers - http://volunteeringmatters.org.uk/
Vacancies in the sports and leisure sector - http://www.leisurejobs.com/, www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/, http://www.sportsrecruitment.com/
Jobs in Football - http://www.football-jobs.com/ and http://www.jobs-in-football.com/
Follow relevant companies/websites through Twitter, e.g.:
@LJMUCareers
@Prospects
@sportscoachUK
@basesuk
@Sport_England
@FA
@CareersInFooty
@JobsInFootball
@NHS_Careers
Depending on your specific career interests, you could also follow relevant websites and organisations e.g. @retailweek for news relating to the retail sector.
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Career Insight: Sports and Exercise Science
Sources of work experience Download our mini-guide on “Making yourself employable whilst at University” from https://www2.ljmu.ac.uk/careers/123871.htm for an overview of the different types of work experience available and some general suggestions about finding work experience opportunities. Some large employers may offer summer or year-long sandwich placements, but this depends on the type of industry. These are quite common in the financial and accounting, marketing, legal, retail, and business and consultancy sectors. Opportunities are generally advertised on websites like Prospects, Targetjobs or Milkround as well as the organisations’ own websites. Many placement schemes are open to students from any degree discipline. Check your eligibility before making an application, as some summer placements are specifically aimed at second-year students. Many undergraduate students also secure work experience through a more ‘speculative’ or ‘creative’ approach, i.e. after contacting organisations directly through networking events, via email or through LinkedIn. Once you have some initial career ideas, undertaking work experience or voluntary work in these areas can be a great way not only to find out whether this role would be right for you but also to build up a network of professionals and organisations in your chosen sector, which can often lead to further work experience or even a full-time role after graduating. Make sure you research the organisation beforehand and find out the best person to get in touch with. It is important that you demonstrate that you are interested in the organisation and have spent some time finding out what they do. When applying for work experience for the first time in this industry, show the employer what you have to offer. Briefly outline any relevant skills or knowledge you gained from your course. Look at the skills outlined under entry requirements in the occupational profiles on Prospects (http://www.prospects.ac.uk/types_of_jobs.htm) and try to outline these on your CV, drawing on examples from your course and work experience or extra-curricular activities to demonstrate how you developed these. Remember that if you are hoping to go onto a teacher training course after your degree course, it is essential to gain some work experience in a school with the age group of pupils whom you are hoping to teach in the future. You could contact LJMU Volunteering Manager Chris Prescott on 0151 904 6356 or c.j.prescott@ljmu.ac.uk to enquire about current opportunities to carry out voluntary work in local schools. Please also see this website: https://www2.ljmu.ac.uk/volunteering/ Another useful website to research a range of voluntary opportunities includes http://www.doit.org.uk/. It is also worth researching relevant organisations/charities and contacting them directly to find out about voluntary roles on offer. These could include
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Everton in the Community: http://community.evertonfc.com/
FA: http://www.thefa.com/my-football/football-volunteers/coachingvolunteering
Sport England: http://www.sportengland.org/sport-you/volunteers-and-coaches/
Merseyside Sports Partnership: http://www.merseysidesport.com/people/volunteers/
Active Sefton: https://www.sefton.gov.uk/sport-leisure.aspx
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Career Insight: Sports and Exercise Science
Recruitment schedule Recruitment cycles and deadlines will vary depending on the type of work you are applying for. Again, research is key to ensure that you do not miss relevant opportunities. As a rule of thumb, the selection process takes longer in larger organisations, as they tend to receive a higher number of applications and use several different stages to reduce the number of potential candidates. As a result, application deadlines can be as early as November in your final year of study for a start date in August or September of the following year. If you are considering postgraduate study, find out if there are any specific closing dates for applications. Please bear in mind that some postgraduate courses, e.g. in physiotherapy or teacher training, may require you to demonstrate a significant amount of relevant work experience so start looking for opportunities early on in your course. The majority of roles within the sports sector are likely to be based in small and medium-sized enterprises/businesses (SMEs). These types of organisations don’t usually have structured graduate training schemes but will recruit ‘as required’. They may use their own application form but most applications will be by CV and covering letter. These positions will be advertised on company websites, relevant recruitment websites, the Job Centre, and national and local newspapers. The ‘creative’ or ‘speculative’ approach to job hunting, outlined above, is also important when looking for graduate roles. Using your personal contacts and/or approaching organisations speculatively to look for work are common routes into employment. Vacancies in voluntary or not-for-profit organisations are often on a fixed-term basis if they are funded by temporary grants. Some graduates working in this sector secured a graduate role with an employer they had previously completed work experience with, so gaining experience and building up a network of professional contacts is important. For more information about the speculative approach to job hunting, download a copy of our guide to ‘The Hidden Jobs Market’ from https://www2.ljmu.ac.uk/careers/123871.htm Some of the larger sportswear manufacturers offer graduate training schemes in marketing (e.g. https://careers.adidas-group.com/teams/future-talents/functional-trainee-program#the-4-applicationessentials-for-the-ftp) which might be of interest, but many graduate training schemes with large companies are open to students of any degree background. This includes roles in e.g. retail, consultancy or finance and accounting. If you are interested in these roles, you will need to be aware of the graduate recruitment cycle. Many recruiters begin the graduate recruitment process during the autumn term for final-year students. Some placements are advertised then as well. Most closing dates are in November and December, but some are earlier so it is important to start researching companies that you want to apply to early on. The application process for graduate training schemes usually involves completing an online application form, which may require you to answer ‘competency based questions’. This may be followed by psychometric tests, a telephone interview and an assessment centre. You may also need to submit your CV. Most of the large recruiters have a section on the student/graduate pages of their website that outlines the different steps of their selection process, so check these to find out what is required. For more information about graduate schemes, download the ‘Graduate Schemes’ guide from https://www2.ljmu.ac.uk/careers/123871.htm You can get advice about the recruitment process by booking a one-to-one appointment with a careers or employability adviser or you can attend relevant workshops run by the Careers Team.
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Career Insight: Sports and Exercise Science
Key events and networking
Liverpool Careers Fair: usually held in the autumn and spring of each year, see fairs website http://www.liverpoolfairs.org.uk/ for additional events
Careers and employability events at LJMU: keep an eye on our events page at https://worldofwork.ljmu.ac.uk/events/ for details of upcoming employability workshops, networking sessions and employer talks. You might be interested in attending our employer event about “Working in Physiotherapy and Nutrition” which will take place in the Autumn Term. The date will be announced on the events page.
LiverpoolSU Clubs and Societies: www.liverpoolguild.org/main-menu/societies
Other information Centre for Entrepreneurship supports students and graduates who want to set up their own businesses. Whether you want to develop a new business idea, work as a freelancer or launch a product or service, the Centre for Entrepreneurship can help. To book a place at one of their free workshops or a confidential business advice session with one of their business advisers, call 0151 231 3300 or visit their website https://www2.ljmu.ac.uk/startup/
Careers Zones Campus-based Careers Zones provide easy access to careers support in convenient locations at Byrom Street, Aldham Robarts Library and at IM Marsh, staffed by the Careers Team. Support available includes CV and application form reviews, Careers Adviser appointments, drop-in quick queries, practice interviews and access to careers resources and information. The Zones also host regular employer visits during term time where you can meet and network with employers and discuss job and placement opportunities. For the latest updates and details of locations and opening times, try our Twitter and Facebook pages or call 0151 231 2048/3719.
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Career Insight: Sports and Exercise Science
NOTES
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Career Insight: Sports and Exercise Science
NOTES
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