Career Path To Becoming A Career

The industry of sport and business management is one that is growing extremely rapidly. One of the most popular career paths within this industry is that of a head athletic director, especially those at division I universities. Plenty of undergraduates, and recent graduates just entering the work force do not often have a clear view on the path that they should take en route to their dream job of becoming a head AD. Gone are the days where the head coach would retire from the football field to become the head AD of his alma mater (Hardin et. al 2013). The position of AD is much more specialized, and as such, requires much more specialized education and career path in order to properly prepare someone to become an AD. The first step in becoming

Entry-level jobs in collegiate athletics work as a transition from school to work (Lynch 1993). With the rapid expansion of collegiate athletics, there are many different areas in which one can gain entry-level work based upon their future career aspirations (Fitzgerald et. al 1994). For a sales orientated AD, working for a major university’s ticket sales team would be the first step. While, someone more absorbed with fundraising may find work within a school’s alumni or donor organization. There are also many opportunities within marketing, promotion, event management, and communication for entry-level employment (Fitzgerald et. al 1994). Entry-level jobs are similar to internships in that they both are used to educate and develop students and employees for the next step in their career. However, entry-level jobs often come with longer hours, as well as more responsibility than internships provide (Lynch 1994). Entry-level jobs do though; still develop employees’ skills while giving the opportunity to expand the employees’ network, one of the essential steps in becoming a head

There are certain steps that one can take, as pointed out in this paper, that can help increase their chances of becoming a head AD. It is imperative, for success in collegiate athletics; to obtain a business and management orientated education, while gaining valuable skills and knowledge through internships and entry-level jobs. Finally, a prospective AD must always be growing their professional network along every step of their career path in order till eventually become an AD at a DI