Employers
There are about 408,300 recreation workers, not counting summer workers or volunteers, employed in the United States. About 29 percent work for local government agencies, and about 16 percent are employed by nursing and residential care facilities, such as halfway houses, institutions for delinquent youths, and group homes or commercial recreation establishments and private industry. Another 14 percent work for civic and social membership organizations such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, YMCA, or YWCA.
Starting Out
College career services offices are useful in helping graduates find employment. Most college graduates begin as either recreation leaders or specialists and, after several years of experience, they may become recreation directors. A few enter trainee programs leading directly to recreation administration within a year or so. Those with graduate training may start as recreation directors.
- Adventure Travel Specialists
- Aerobics Instructors and Fitness Trainers
- Amusement Park Workers
- Arborists
- Archaeologists
- Archivists
- Athletic Directors
- Baggage Porters and Bellhops
- Baristas
- Bartenders
- Bed and Breakfast Owners
- Bicycle Mechanics
- Botanists
- Cancer Exercise Specialists
- Caterers
- Civil Engineers
- Cooks and Chefs
- Cruise Ship Workers
- Ecologists
- Environmental Education Program Directors
- Environmental Lawyers
- Environmental Planners
- Environmental Restoration Planners
- Environmental Scientists
- EPA Special Agents
- E-Sports Professionals
- Event Planners
- Exercise Physiologists
- Fast Food Workers
- Fish and Game Wardens
- Fitness Directors
- Flight Attendants
- Food Service Workers
- Foresters
- Forestry Technicians
- Gaming Occupations
- Geological Technicians
- Geologists
- Geophysicists
- Green Hotel/Resort Ecomanagers
- Grounds Managers
- Health Club Owners and Managers
- Historians
- Hosts/Hostesses
- Hotel and Motel Managers
- Hotel Concierges
- Hotel Desk Clerks
- Hotel Executive Housekeepers
- Hotel Restaurant Managers
- Housekeepers and Maids
- Inbound Tour Guides
- Jockeys
- Kinesiologists
- Land Acquisition Professionals
- Land Trust or Preserve Managers
- Landscapers
- Lifeguards and Swimming Instructors
- Marine Biologists
- Museum Attendants
- Museum Directors and Curators
- Music Venue Owners and Managers
- National Park Service Employees
- Naturalists
- Occupational Safety and Health Workers
- Park Rangers
- Parking Attendants
- Personal Shoppers
- Personal Trainers
- Physical Education Teachers
- Physical Therapists
- Physical Therapy Assistants
- Pilots
- Professional Athletes, Individual Sports
- Professional Athletes, Team Sports
- Range Managers
- Recreational Therapists
- Reservation and Ticket Agents
- Resort Workers
- Restaurant and Food Service Managers
- Rewilders
- Ship's Captains
- Ski Resort Workers
- Soil Conservationists and Technicians
- Soil Scientists
- Spa Attendants
- Spa Managers
- Space Tourism Managers
- Sports Agents
- Sports Broadcasters and Announcers
- Sports Equipment Managers
- Sports Executives
- Sports Facility Managers
- Sports Instructors and Coaches
- Sports Photographers
- Sports Physicians
- Sports Psychologists
- Sports Publicists
- Sports Scouts
- Sports Trainers
- Sportswriters
- Stadium Ushers and Vendors
- Strength and Conditioning Coaches
- Swimming Pool Designers
- Tour Guides
- Travel Agents
- Umpires and Referees
- Wedding and Party Consultants
- Wildland Firefighters
- Yoga and Pilates Instructors
- Zoo and Aquarium Curators and Directors