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Physical Fitness Technician

Types of Degrees Physical Fitness Technician Majors Are Earning

Those studying Physical Fitness Technician can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	183
Associate’s Degree	165
Bachelor’s Degree	240
Master’s Degree	602

What Physical Fitness Technician Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Physical Fitness Technician emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Physical Fitness Technician graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Physical Fitness Technician emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Therapy and Counseling — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Physical Fitness Technician program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Monitoring — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Physical Fitness Technician careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Physical Fitness Technician graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.8 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.7 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.5 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.0 / 7
Getting Information	3.9 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.8 / 7
Performing General Physical Activities	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Physical Fitness Technician professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Premier Software Simtrak Mobility	Data base user interface and query software	—
Injury tracking software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Database software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—
Spreadsheet software	Spreadsheet software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Physical Fitness Technician graduates include:

• Fitness Specialist
• Personal Trainer
• Physical Trainer
• Clinical Athletic Trainer
• Athletic Trainer
• Women’s Athletic Trainer
• Certified Athletic Trainer
• On-Site Industrial Athletic Trainer
• Athletic Instructor
• Outreach Athletic Trainer
• Licensed Athletic Trainer
• Athletic Lecturer
• Clinical Athletic Instructor
• Sports Medicine Trainer
• Sports Trainer

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Physical Fitness Technician graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	49.7%
Bachelor’s degree	34.5%
High school diploma or equivalent	8.4%
Postsecondary certificate	3.9%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.0%
Less than a high school diploma	1.5%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Physical Fitness Technician?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 51.4% women and 48.6% men among Physical Fitness Technician graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	672	51.4%
Men	636	48.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Physical Fitness Technician graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	557	42.6%
Asian	54	4.1%
Hispanic or Latino	349	26.7%
Black or African American	145	11.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	12	0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	2	0.2%
Two or More Races	100	7.6%
Race Unknown	54	4.1%
International Students	35	2.7%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Physical Fitness Technician Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Physical Fitness Technician graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$34,425
4 years	$47,075
5 years	$55,516

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $55,516 — roughly 61% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Physical Fitness Technician Programs

Online study is reported by IPEDS for Physical Fitness Technician. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	3	4

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Physical Fitness Technician Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Physical Fitness Technician graduates earn a median of $47,075 four years after completion — roughly 24% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	31.05
Exercise Science and Kinesiology	31.0505
Sport and Fitness Administration/Management	31.0504
Sports Studies	31.0508
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, General	31.0501
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, Other	31.0599

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.