A career in Sports Management seems very competitive. Is there a minor in particular related to the Sports Industry that I should look into majoring in to secure me a position in today's workforce?

I would recommend a minor in graphic design or videography. If you would like to get into sports marketing, having a strong knowledge in video editing/photoshop/photography, etc. is very attractive to employers. All companies (sports related or not) need graphic designers. Wish I had added that as a minor...

Hi Kayla,

Like any industry specific job in a popular field, such as sports, it tends to attract a lot of interest from candidates, which does make it competitive.

The first question you should ask yourself is what specifically do you want to do in "sports", there are many different avenues to pursue and like many other organizations, there are different needs based on skill and experience. You may also be surprised as there are several companies out there that do business with sports organizations that you may not think of as being a "pure-sports" company (example: Pepsi will have a team dedicated to their sports marketing).

If someone wanted to work in an industry, like "tech" for example, there are many different avenues. Are you interested in web-design? Are you interested in software development? Are you into sales? Marketing? Public relations? All are essential roles within the industry to help an organization grow and be profitable. Sports is no different. I would advise to simply look at the different roles available with a league or a team and see what type of role interests you the most. You will find that there are a wide arrange of needs that include ticket sales, hospitality, business development, media relations, finance, and the list goes on and on and on.

While having a major in Sports Management may help, it certainly does not guarantee one a role in the industry. Most employers are looking for someone with the right skill set and experience to help them succeed. Find out what that skill set is and be the best candidate for that role.

I hope this helps and best of luck!!!

All of the comments above are awesome. You need to be around sports in any way possible. Doesn't matter what it is. If it's video, training or marketing, all of those industries are a stepping stone to getting your foot in the door.

Hi Kayla!

A big piece of advice that I was given that I didn't even consider in college was to be incredibly open to Sales. I scoffed at this because I didn't think I was good at it and I wanted to do something else.

Where did I get my first job? In Sales!!! Many pro sports teams have inside sales programs and that's where a majority of my friends and I started. I don't do sales now, but it taught me MANY different kinds of skills that I use in my career today.

Hope this helps!

If you have the passion and drive you will succeed.