Sports Psychologists

While employment in the general field of psychology is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2033, it is hard to say how this prognosis affects the subspecialty of sports psychology. Few people leave the field entirely because so much time is required for training. Many stay in the general field of psychology and merely move around, switching specialties, but even this is rare. The pandemic affected sports and athletes around the world in 2020 and 2021. Sports psychologists helped athletes and teams cope with the sports slowdowns and lockdowns, by holding remote video sessions and social-distancing sessions. Post pandemic, sports are back in full force, the public's demand for sports continues to grow, and opportunities continue to exist for sports psychologists.

Competition is keen for positions with elite athletes, most experts believe that other areas of sports psychology will continue to offer a substantial number of jobs to new graduates, especially in academe.

Sports psychology can lack the steady income of a private practice or academic teaching post because practitioners are frequently only on call, not steadily billing for their time. It can also be difficult to get work because while they might have a great, famous athlete for a client, chances are pretty good that the athlete doesn't want the public to know they are getting counseling for a bad marriage, a slump, or a drug problem. This forces the sports psychologist to rely on referrals, which they may not receive all that often when athletes and their agents are trying to keep the athlete's therapy a secret.