Exercise Science Specializations for Your Career Success

Key Takeaways

Exercise science degrees open up various career paths
Exercise science specializations like rehabilitation, sports performance, and occupational therapy offer appealing career possibilities
Each specialization in exercise science requires specific educational requirements, such as certifications or advanced degrees
Consider personal interest, career demand, and work-life balance when choosing a specialization
Continuous learning and seeking advice are crucial for success in the exercise science field

It’s quite an accomplishment to work your way through an undergraduate program in exercise science, and it is exciting to think about all of the career possibilities that such an education will unlock. Whether you are already nearing the end of your exercise science undergrad work or you are just getting started and want to think ahead, it’s a good idea to have a specialization in mind to open up as many appealing career paths as possible.

Below, you’ll find a detailed discussion of some of the various specializations that are available in exercise science. Some of the top exercise science careers will be represented on this page, and you can think about how these options line up with your personal interests and strengths to determine how to proceed.

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What Are Exercise Science Specializations?

It’s great to obtain a general education in exercise science, but you may be able to make yourself more appealing to potential employers by specializing in one specific area of this field. Exercise science is a rather general term, and plenty of specific areas of focus exist within this category. The best exercise science specializations are those that line up with a personal area of interest and also give you plenty of attractive career possibilities.

Some of the Top Exercise Science Specializations

You certainly don’t have to pick one of the most popular exercise science career paths, but these directions tend to be popular because they are interesting and offer plenty of employment opportunities after graduation. So, it would make sense to at least consider these specialization options and then dive in further to see which is the best fit.

Rehabilitation. Although it is a sad reality, the truth is that the need for rehabilitation work isn’t going away anytime soon. People regularly experience events that require rehab work to be done, whether that means suffering an injury, going through surgery, dealing with the effects of aging, or something else entirely. If you think a clinic setting would be a good fit for your future, specializing in rehab is worth consideration.
Sports performance. Are you particularly interested in athletics and helping athletes get the best out of themselves? The growing field of sports performance has been getting a lot of attention recently and seems to be growing rapidly in many directions. Within the specialization of sports performance, there are sub-specialties like sports psychology and nutrition that can be careers of their own.
Occupational therapy. For some, this specialization will feel like the most meaningful and impactful of the options. Occupational therapists help people develop the abilities they need to get through day-to-day life comfortably and safely. If you feel a strong passion for helping patients improve their lives through your work, it’s hard to beat this specialty.

Any of these can be lucrative exercise science specialties if you are able to find the right employment opportunity in the right place. Of course, earning potential is just one of many factors you’ll need to consider as you move forward, as things like personal interest and job satisfaction should weigh in your decision, as well.

Understanding Exercise Science Specialization Educational Requirements

Before you start looking too far into the future regarding employment opportunities, it’s important to understand what the educational demands will look like for various exercise science degree specializations. Any type of exercise science education is going to feature demand coursework and will put pressure on your time, but the choice of specialization will determine what else is needed from you to become qualified to work in that field.

For example, if you want to work in sports performance, you’ll want to consider going after a certification as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, or CSCS. This is in addition to successfully obtaining your bachelor’s degree in exercise science or kinesiology.

Additional studies will be needed for some of the other specializations, like rehabilitation or occupational therapy. In these fields, you are going to need to obtain a master’s degree in physical therapy or occupational therapy, and you’ll have to confront a licensing exam to become fully qualified to get a job.

Consider a Specialization with a Strong Demand

We already mentioned how a field like rehabilitation is always going to maintain a reasonable level of demand. That’s because of the realities of life and the various ways people can become injured and in need of rehab. But this is not the only specialization that has a good outlook for demand, so you might want to explore some other high-demand exercise science fields.

Perhaps no specialization in this category has experienced more recent growth than sports performance. It seems that everyone is trying to get an edge in the field, and as a result, many of the career opportunities in exercise science fall into this category. The potential employment opportunities within sports performance can range all the way from professional sports teams at the top of the game down to college and high school sports, private training facilities, and more. There is no guarantee of a big salary when you enter this field, of course, but it is possible to find high-paying positions if you work your way up and establish yourself as a leader in the industry.

If sports performance isn’t of interest to you, wellness coaching is another interesting specialization that has been growing in popularity, as well. Individuals who work in this space might create wellness programs for corporations, work at fitness centers, or take on private clients. As with sports performance, the potential for significant earnings exists here if you are successful.

How to Choose the Right Specialization For You

In the previous section, we discussed looking at market demand as one way to gauge career opportunities in exercise science. That’s a good starting point, but it’s far from the only factor that you want to look at in this process. There are a few other points that you may want to weigh, including those listed below –

Personal interest. This point might be an obvious one, but it’s easy to overlook if you get distracted by other motivations like making a lot of money. If you are going to work in your chosen career for decades, you want to make sure it’s something that you love and find interesting. With so many exercise science specialization options available, it’s likely that one will stand out to you above the rest in terms of personal interest and excitement.
Opportunity to make a difference. There is a feeling unlike any other that comes from helping someone else reach their goals. Many of the popular exercise science careers check this box, from an occupational therapist helping someone walk again to a sports performance expert helping a player reach the top of their game.
Lifestyle away from work. It’s easy to forget about this final point, but it’s also critical – think about what your life will look like when you aren’t working. If you value your free time to spend with family and friends, going with a path that offers you a consistent work schedule from Monday to Friday might be a better fit than something that will have you regularly working weekends and evenings.

The Learning Never Stops

You spend plenty of time keeping up with your studies in an exercise science program, but the work doesn’t stop there. In addition to learning the fundamentals that will allow you to work in this field, you need to also learn about the field itself. This can be accomplished by reading resources like this page, along with seeking out advice from advisors, going to career fairs, and more.

Do you have an idea about which of the leading specializations in exercise science is going to be the best fit for you? We hope the information on this page has helped you start to imagine what shape your future career could take, and we wish you nothing but the best moving forward.

Best Exercise Science Specializations for Your Career