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Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary

Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary: Job Description

Teach courses pertaining to recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, including exercise physiology and facilities management. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

What Tasks Do Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary Take On?

The day-to-day responsibilities of recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary span:

  • Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
  • Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
  • Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
  • Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
  • Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as anatomy, therapeutic recreation, and conditioning theory.
  • Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
  • Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
  • Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.

Key Skills and Knowledge

Top recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Key Skills

The competencies that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Speaking  4.1 / 5
0
5
Instructing  4.1 / 5
0
5
Reading Comprehension  4.0 / 5
0
5
Writing  4.0 / 5
0
5
Learning Strategies  4.0 / 5
0
5
Active Listening  4.0 / 5
0
5

Top Knowledge Areas

Education and Training  4.7 / 5
0
5
English Language  4.1 / 5
0
5
Computers and Electronics  3.6 / 5
0
5
Psychology  3.6 / 5
0
5
Biology  3.5 / 5
0
5
Customer and Personal Service  3.4 / 5
0
5

Types of Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary Jobs

This career also goes by job titles like:

  • Adjunct Instructor
  • Adjunct Professor
  • Aquatic Instructor
  • Assistant Professor
  • Associate Professor
  • Athletic Instructor
  • College Faculty Member
  • College Professor

Job Outlook

There are roughly 534,840 recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to grow by +11.6% over the projection horizon.

Forecasted number of jobs for Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary

Salary for Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary

Statistic Value
Annual median $84,688
Hourly median $40.72
10th percentile $52,580
25th percentile $68,634
75th percentile $100,743
90th percentile $116,797

Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.

Salary ranges for Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary

Pay by State

State Annual median salary
California $130,340
Arizona $94,660
New York $82,770
Nebraska $82,400
Idaho $82,220
Maryland $81,110
Michigan $80,310
Massachusetts $80,270
Tennessee $79,410
South Carolina $78,280
Minnesota $77,080
Missouri $76,890
Illinois $75,840
Texas $75,570
Oregon $75,180
New Mexico $75,170
Pennsylvania $72,390
Connecticut $71,180
New Jersey $69,550
Oklahoma $69,270
Florida $68,140
Washington $66,840
Alabama $66,270
New Hampshire $66,160
Wyoming $65,460
Wisconsin $65,070
Maine $64,940
Puerto Rico $64,520
West Virginia $64,430
Iowa $64,230
Mississippi $64,160
Indiana $63,960
Louisiana $63,510
North Carolina $63,450
Georgia $63,260
Kentucky $63,190
Colorado $62,530
Arkansas $61,490
Ohio $61,090
North Dakota $60,130
South Dakota $59,980
Kansas $59,070
Virginia $57,930
Utah $55,770

Top-Paying U.S. Regions

Pay for recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary shift depending on where you work. These regions lead on median pay:

Region Median annual wage Share of U.S. jobs Location quotient
Far Western US $115,522 20.4% 1.38
Middle Atlantic $77,313 14.0% 0.97
Southwest $76,163 13.6% 1.18
New England $75,074 4.3% 1.14
Plains States $70,608 6.3% 1.03
Great Lakes $69,727 14.5% 1.13
Southeast $65,826 22.9% 1.48
Other U.S. Territories $64,520 0.3% 0.50

Where the Jobs Cluster

Metro area State Median annual wage Employment
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA CA $143,060 190
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA CA $136,970 140
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA CA $132,210 780
Fresno, CA CA $130,410 60
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA CA $127,900 230
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA CA $118,390 50
Champaign-Urbana, IL IL $101,620 110
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ AZ $99,600 80

Which Industries Hire Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary

The bulk of recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary are concentrated in the following sectors:

Industry Employment Median annual wage
Educational Services 12,680 n/a

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

Tech Stack

  • Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
  • Word processing software: Google Docs (hot technology)
  • Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
  • Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
  • Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
  • Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
  • Project management software: Microsoft Project (hot technology)
  • Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
  • Computer based training software: Learning management system LMS (in demand)

The Day-to-Day Environment

Daily working conditions for recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary tends to involve the following characteristics:

  • E-Mail
  • Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
  • Contact With Others
  • Freedom to Make Decisions

Getting Started in This Career

This career aligns with Extensive Preparation Needed (Job Zone 5), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.

Similar Occupations

Top Programs to Study For This Career

Aspiring recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary often complete programs in:

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, Fitness Studies, and Kinesiology

4 programs across 2 majors

Education

1 programs across 1 majors

About the Data

Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:

  • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
  • BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
  • O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 25-1193.00 (Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary).

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