Education & Library
Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary
Also called: Adjunct Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Health and Human Performance Professor
US median pay
$77,270
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+2.2%
about average or slower
Openings a year (US)
1,000
15,200 employed
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree
Preparation 5/5 · Extensive preparation
What this job is
Teach courses pertaining to recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, including exercise physiology and facilities management. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
What they do day to day
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as anatomy, therapeutic recreation, and conditioning theory.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
- Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Instructing4.1/5
- Time Management3.8/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.8/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.6/5
- Systems Analysis3.1/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.1/5
- Persuasion3.1/5
- Coordination3.1/5
Knowledge
- Education and Training4.7/5
- English Language4.1/5
- Computers and Electronics3.6/5
- Psychology3.6/5
- Biology3.5/5
- Customer and Personal Service3.4/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 5 of 5 — Extensive preparation. Usually a graduate degree (master's, PhD, MD, JD) and extensive experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Doctoral or professional degree.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Doctoral degree74%
- Master's degree21%
Who this job suits
Mostly Social
Helping, teaching and caring for people
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.