What Can You Do With a Kinesiology and Exercise Science Degree?

Below are 15 occupations that kinesiology and exercise science graduates commonly move into, most common first. Exercise Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor leads at $47,160 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025); across the whole list the middle occupation pays $64,070 and 5 of 15 typically need a graduate degree. A major is a body of study, not a job assignment, so treat every entry as a common destination rather than a promise.

What the degree actually involves: Anatomy, biomechanics, exercise physiology, and hands-on assessment labs.

Kinesiology is a pre-professional degree far more often than people expect. The bachelor on its own leads to coaching, training, wellness and assistant-level clinical roles; the best-paid destinations on this list are graduate programmes you apply to afterwards, and the list marks them.

Common destinations: 15
Median pay range: $36,560–$102,760
Projected to grow: 15 of 15
Need a graduate degree: 5 of 15

How this list was built

The destinations are the occupations kinesiology and exercise science graduates commonly move into. They are ordered by how common the destination is, not by what it pays, so the ordinary outcomes sit at the top where they belong rather than being buried under the flattering ones.
Every destination is matched to a real occupation in the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. A destination that does not resolve to a bank occupation is dropped rather than shown without data.
All pay, growth, openings and education figures come from that bank: BLS OEWS May 2025 for wages, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 for projected change, annual openings and the typical education needed for entry, and O*NET 30.3 Database for what the work involves. Nothing is estimated and no figure here is generated by an AI model.
Destinations whose BLS typical entry education is a master’s or a doctoral or professional degree are marked Graduate study on the list. That flag is read from the federal data, not asserted by us.
What this list is not: a ranking of which destination you should pick, a statement of how many graduates reach each one, or a promise that the degree entitles you to any of them. Read the full methodology.

15 careers a kinesiology and exercise science degree commonly leads to

Most common destination first. Every card carries the national median annual wage, projected employment change and openings over 2024–2034, and the typical education people already in the job hold.

1. Exercise Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor
Personal Care and Service
Median pay
$47,160
Growth
+11.9%
Openings/yr
74,200
Education
High school
Instruct or coach groups or individuals in exercise activities for the primary purpose of personal fitness.
Exercise Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor salary & outlook →
2. Coach and Scout
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Median pay
$47,320
Growth
+6.4%
Openings/yr
41,800
Education
Bachelor's
Instruct or coach groups or individuals in the fundamentals of sports for the primary purpose of competition.
Coach and Scout salary & outlook →
3. Athletic Trainer
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Graduate study
Median pay
$62,520
Growth
+11.1%
Openings/yr
2,400
Education
Master's
Evaluate and treat musculoskeletal injuries or illnesses.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
4. Exercise Physiologist
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Median pay
$59,460
Growth
+9.5%
Openings/yr
1,700
Education
Bachelor's
Assess, plan, or implement fitness programs that include exercise or physical activities such as those designed to improve cardiorespiratory function, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, or flexib…
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
5. Physical Therapist Assistant
Healthcare Support
Median pay
$68,380
Growth
+22.0%
Openings/yr
19,800
Education
Associate's
Assist physical therapists in providing physical therapy treatments and procedures.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
6. Occupational Therapy Assistant
Healthcare Support
Median pay
$72,300
Growth
+19.2%
Openings/yr
7,200
Education
Associate's
Assist occupational therapists in providing occupational therapy treatments and procedures.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
7. Fitness and Wellness Coordinator
Management
Median pay
$69,770
Growth
+6.5%
Openings/yr
2,100
Education
High school
Manage or coordinate fitness and wellness programs and services.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
8. Recreation Worker
Personal Care and Service
Median pay
$36,560
Growth
+4.1%
Openings/yr
68,100
Education
High school
Conduct recreation activities with groups in public, private, or volunteer agencies or recreation facilities.
Recreation Worker salary & outlook →
9. Massage Therapist
Healthcare Support
Median pay
$58,450
Growth
+15.4%
Openings/yr
24,700
Education
Certificate
Perform therapeutic massages of soft tissues and joints.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
10. Health Education Specialist
Community and Social Service
Median pay
$64,070
Growth
+4.5%
Openings/yr
7,900
Education
Bachelor's
Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
11. Recreational Therapist
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Median pay
$61,960
Growth
+3.3%
Openings/yr
1,300
Education
Bachelor's
Plan, direct, or coordinate medically-approved recreation programs for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, or other institutions.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
12. Orthotist and Prosthetist
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Graduate study
Median pay
$81,110
Growth
+13.3%
Openings/yr
900
Education
Master's
Design, measure, fit, and adapt orthopedic braces, appliances or prostheses, such as limbs or facial parts for patients with disabling conditions.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
13. Chiropractor
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Graduate study
Median pay
$79,200
Growth
+9.5%
Openings/yr
2,800
Education
Doctorate
Assess, treat, and care for patients by manipulation of spine and musculoskeletal system.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
14. Occupational Therapist
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Graduate study
Median pay
$100,330
Growth
+13.8%
Openings/yr
10,200
Education
Master's
Assess, plan, and organize rehabilitative programs that help build or restore vocational, homemaking, and daily living skills, as well as general independence, to persons with disabilities or developmental delays.
Occupational Therapist salary & outlook →
15. Physical Therapist
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Graduate study
Median pay
$102,760
Growth
+10.9%
Openings/yr
13,200
Education
Doctorate
Assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and improve or correct disabling conditions resulting from disease or injury.
Physical Therapist salary & outlook →

Does a kinesiology and exercise science degree decide your career?

For most people, no. Federal survey data has consistently found that only a minority of US graduates work in a job closely related to their degree field, and that share falls further with each year after graduation. The exceptions are the fields where a licence sits at the end of the degree, and they are exceptions precisely because the route is fixed.

The practical reading of the list above is this: 10 of the 15 destinations are typically entered with a bachelor's degree or less, and 5 typically need a master's or a doctoral or professional degree (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034). If the destination you want is in the second group, the extra years are part of the decision from day one, not a detail to sort out later.

Not sure this is the right major in the first place? Take the free college major quiz — fifteen questions that score what you like doing against what each major actually asks of you, and show the same real occupations underneath every match.

Kinesiology and Exercise Science degrees: FAQ

Do you need a master's degree after a kinesiology and exercise science degree?

For 10 of the 15 destinations on this page, no: BLS Employment Projections (2024–2034) list a bachelor's degree or less as the typical entry requirement. The other 5 typically need a master's or a doctoral or professional degree, and each is marked on the list below. "Typical" describes what people already in the job hold, not an admissions rule.

What is the highest-paying career a kinesiology and exercise science degree leads to?

Of the 15 destinations on this page, Physical Therapist has the highest national median wage at $102,760 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), against $50,980 for all US occupations. Typical entry education for it is doctorate, so it usually means further study after the degree. A median is the midpoint of everyone in the job today, so a first salary normally sits well below it.

Which of these careers hires the most people each year?

Exercise Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor, with about 74,200 projected openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034). Across all 15 destinations on this page the combined figure is roughly 278,300 openings a year. Openings include replacing people who leave, not just new jobs, which is why a slow-growing occupation can still hire heavily.

Is a kinesiology and exercise science degree worth it?

That depends on the price you pay for it, which this page cannot know. What it can tell you is where the destinations sit: the middle occupation on this list pays $64,070 a year against $50,980 for all US occupations, the range runs $36,560–$102,760, and 15 of the 15 are projected to grow over 2024–2034 (BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034).

How was this list of careers put together?

The destinations were curated as the occupations kinesiology and exercise science graduates commonly move into, ordered by how common rather than by pay, then matched against the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. Every figure shown comes from that bank: wages from BLS OEWS May 2025, projected change and annual openings and typical entry education from BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, and occupation descriptions from O*NET 30.3 Database. Nothing is estimated, and no figure on this page is generated by an AI model.

How this list was built

15 careers a kinesiology and exercise science degree commonly leads to

1. Exercise Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor

2. Coach and Scout

3. Athletic Trainer

4. Exercise Physiologist

5. Physical Therapist Assistant

6. Occupational Therapy Assistant

7. Fitness and Wellness Coordinator

8. Recreation Worker

9. Massage Therapist

10. Health Education Specialist

11. Recreational Therapist

12. Orthotist and Prosthetist

13. Chiropractor

14. Occupational Therapist

15. Physical Therapist