In college football arenas, beach volleyball lots or elementary school playgrounds, athletes engaged in competition and play can pull a shoulder or break an ankle. Both athletic trainers and physical therapists can treat these injuries without resorting to invasive and expensive surgery. However, because of their differences in training, their areas of focus vary, and so do their salaries.
Athletic trainers can work on sports fields, preventing injuries by applying tape and other protective devices, and discussing options with coaches, team physicians or athletic directors. When injuries occur, they are often at the scene first to administer first aid or emergency care. They then develop and carry out treatment programs for the injured. Athletic trainers, who are health care professionals, are not the same as fitness trainers, who are exercise instructors. Physical therapists do not focus only on sports injuries, but deal with a wider range of movement problems such as arthritis, birth conditions and stroke, as well as athletic injuries, such as sprains and strains. They see patients only after they’ve developed illnesses or injuries, and use a wider range of treatment, including hands-on therapy and equipment.
The training period for physical therapists is longer than that of athletic trainers. A PT must first get an undergraduate degree, which takes four years of full-time study. Though the degree does not have to be in physical therapy, it must have courses in anatomy, physiology, biology and chemistry. Students must then obtain a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, which takes about three years. Many therapists complete residency programs after graduating, which may take from nine months to three years. An athletic trainer needs only a bachelor’s degree, although many have master’s degrees, which takes two years beyond the undergraduate program.
Athletic trainers earned less than physical therapists, with mean wages of $44,640 per year, as of May 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The highest earning 10 percent received over $65,970, and the lowest paid made under $26,170 yearly. Most worked in colleges, universities and professional schools, where mean salaries ran $44,560 per year. The best paying employers were performing arts companies, averaging $56,790 yearly. Physical therapists averaged an annual $79,830, with lows under $54,710 per year, and highs beyond $110,670 yearly. Most worked in offices of other health practitioners, including physical therapist facilities, to make a mean $78,120 yearly. Their best wages were in management, scientific and technical consulting services, averaging an annual $91,020.
Physical therapists will enjoy faster employment growth than athletic trainers, with a predicted increase of 39 percent from 2010 to 2020, according to the BLS. The increases for athletic trainers are expected at 30 percent. However, both rates are greater than the 14 percent forecast for all jobs in all professions. Fueling the demand for physical therapists will be an aging baby boomer population, who are more active than the elderly of previous generations, and may consequently have more movement-related injuries that require therapist attention. For trainers, the increases will stem from the increasing awareness of sports injuries at a young age, increasing employment in schools and youth leagues.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: What Athletic Trainers Do
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: What Physical Therapists Do
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: How to Become a Physical Therapist
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: How to Become an Athletic Trainer
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011, Athletic Trainers
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011, Physical Therapists
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Job Outlook for Physical Therapists
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Job Outlook for Athletic Trainers
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