4 answers
Lane
Student
Salem, South Dakota
2
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Hi my name is Lane I am stuck between witch career to do. I am in between athletic trainer because I love helping people and i love sports, but i want to be a game warden because i love the outdoors. I would be nice if someone could give me benefits and other ideas for each career idea.
#sports #career #outdoors #Priorities
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4 answers
Jamie Prosser
Manager - Security Engrg - App Pen Testing
10
Answers
Worthington, Ohio
Updated
Jamie’s Answer
This is a touch choice if you enjoy both equally. I'm neither, but I have been a boy Scout Leader for 20 years, grew up on a farm where the land was half woods and love the outdoors. I also have had 3 adult sons who all played sports for all of their youth years - 2 of which had multiple concussions that took them out of sports their senior and junior years. So maybe I have some experience with Athletic Trainers from that aspect, but not as doing the job by any means. I have a niece who recently graduated from UC in sports medicine. She works with both the college football team and a local high school football team. She loves it, but she has been about nothing but sports her whole life and is very social.
Now as to pros/cons of each:
Here's what I've seen (and know from my niece)for Athletic trainer. It requires you to be at every game for every sport for every level (Varsity, Jr Varsity, Freshman) etc, depending on what level you work at. This means traveling with the teams as well. So that's a big time commitment. Most often you are going to start at the middle school/High School level for an number of years before you can work with college or professional teams. You also have to have medical knowledge, which means medical training. So just liking sports and liking to help people is not enough for that career. You have to like (and be able to stomach) the medical aspect while also being able to be firm with coaches when you feel a player needs to be out of the game regardless of how they claim to feel or how badly the coach needs them playing to win. So being confident, firm, and able to hold your ground are important characteristics to have. Additionally, thinking on your feet. You have to be able to make these medical based decisions somewhat quickly. There are also, usually, only a couple of Athletic Trainers per school, so even with the number of schools there are in the country that have sports, it's still somewhat finite and people rarely leave.
My experience with Game Wardens is about the same as Athletic Trainer lol. As I stated, I grew up on a farm. My family has 100s of acres and a hunting lodge in another state. I grew up hunting, so I've seen my fair share of interaction with Game Wardens, but again, I've never been one. Here's what I know. As a Game Warden you spend your days mostly out and about, sometimes on foot, but mostly in some vehicle, somewhere in the vast woods and forests across the country. And there are hundreds of thousands of acres of forestry to cover and monitor. So there is a need for a lot of Game Wardens to cover those areas. And last I knew, there is not a lot of folks going into that career field, though it could've changes. If you are an avid hunter, Game Warden would interfere because that would be your busiest season and you would spend all of hunting seasons doing your job. In this role, you also have to be confident, firm and stand your ground on things because you will have hunters that argue whether they are in violation or not as they want their kill. Whether it be for the prized antlers or the meat to feed their families, either way you deal with sob stories, begging, bribery and angry hunters lol. You are outside in all weather and all seasons. So if you like being outside in the summer/fall, but not so much in the winter, trecking through parks, or woodlands, for hours every day, then maybe not the job for you.
I hope someone who has actual experience in these fields can answer as well. But ultimately just do your research, talk to game wardens (or even park rangers as that's close) and see if you can shadow them a few days in diff parts of the year, etc. Try and do the same for Athletic Trainer (well talk to them, you prob can't shadow them), then think about what you think you'd enjoy doing more 5 years after graduation. Don't look at today or even 1 yr after grad. Always ask yourself "Where do I want to be in 5 years" when making any life altering decisions.
Hope this helps at least a little bit. If nothing else, but to get the brain pistons firing.
Now as to pros/cons of each:
Here's what I've seen (and know from my niece)for Athletic trainer. It requires you to be at every game for every sport for every level (Varsity, Jr Varsity, Freshman) etc, depending on what level you work at. This means traveling with the teams as well. So that's a big time commitment. Most often you are going to start at the middle school/High School level for an number of years before you can work with college or professional teams. You also have to have medical knowledge, which means medical training. So just liking sports and liking to help people is not enough for that career. You have to like (and be able to stomach) the medical aspect while also being able to be firm with coaches when you feel a player needs to be out of the game regardless of how they claim to feel or how badly the coach needs them playing to win. So being confident, firm, and able to hold your ground are important characteristics to have. Additionally, thinking on your feet. You have to be able to make these medical based decisions somewhat quickly. There are also, usually, only a couple of Athletic Trainers per school, so even with the number of schools there are in the country that have sports, it's still somewhat finite and people rarely leave.
My experience with Game Wardens is about the same as Athletic Trainer lol. As I stated, I grew up on a farm. My family has 100s of acres and a hunting lodge in another state. I grew up hunting, so I've seen my fair share of interaction with Game Wardens, but again, I've never been one. Here's what I know. As a Game Warden you spend your days mostly out and about, sometimes on foot, but mostly in some vehicle, somewhere in the vast woods and forests across the country. And there are hundreds of thousands of acres of forestry to cover and monitor. So there is a need for a lot of Game Wardens to cover those areas. And last I knew, there is not a lot of folks going into that career field, though it could've changes. If you are an avid hunter, Game Warden would interfere because that would be your busiest season and you would spend all of hunting seasons doing your job. In this role, you also have to be confident, firm and stand your ground on things because you will have hunters that argue whether they are in violation or not as they want their kill. Whether it be for the prized antlers or the meat to feed their families, either way you deal with sob stories, begging, bribery and angry hunters lol. You are outside in all weather and all seasons. So if you like being outside in the summer/fall, but not so much in the winter, trecking through parks, or woodlands, for hours every day, then maybe not the job for you.
I hope someone who has actual experience in these fields can answer as well. But ultimately just do your research, talk to game wardens (or even park rangers as that's close) and see if you can shadow them a few days in diff parts of the year, etc. Try and do the same for Athletic Trainer (well talk to them, you prob can't shadow them), then think about what you think you'd enjoy doing more 5 years after graduation. Don't look at today or even 1 yr after grad. Always ask yourself "Where do I want to be in 5 years" when making any life altering decisions.
Hope this helps at least a little bit. If nothing else, but to get the brain pistons firing.
thanks, this will help a lot
Lane
John Lowe
Teacher
56
Answers
Seal Beach, California
Updated
John’s Answer
With sports, you become part of a competitive endeavor. You're with a group of people who are all striving for the same goal. And with every game, you get a result.
Jakayla Shurm
Registered Behavior Technician
3
Answers
DeSoto, Texas
Updated
Jakayla’s Answer
Hello Lane, there are many careers that you can pursue based on an athletic trainer and a game warden such as, Agricultural Inspectors, Forestry Technicians, Chiropractors, Occupational Therapists, or Recreational Therapists. I hope this advice is helpful!
Lisa Tetrault Sonterre
4
Answers
Updated
Lisa’s Answer
Hello Lane,
My son is the Head Athletic Trainer at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. He loves his job but it does consume most of his time. I would recommend reaching out to a local college and seeing if you could job shadow an athletic trainer to see what their job consists of doing. Maybe do this for a Park Ranger at a local park near you too. You'll understand more fully what the job entails and if it fits your goals.
My son is the Head Athletic Trainer at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. He loves his job but it does consume most of his time. I would recommend reaching out to a local college and seeing if you could job shadow an athletic trainer to see what their job consists of doing. Maybe do this for a Park Ranger at a local park near you too. You'll understand more fully what the job entails and if it fits your goals.