If you are interested in going into the sports entertainment field and you are a sports fanatic what career path should you follow?
Ever since I was a little kid I enjoyed watching sports, such as football, hockey, and baseball. I would watch games on tv and end up analyzing the play before the announcer would. #sports #sports-management #recruiting #statistics #data-analysis #staffing
5 answers
Kazim Reza
Kazim’s Answer
Hi Brittney, degree in journalism will prepare you on how to communicate to your audience and being knowledgeable about a sport (of your choice) will be essential.
Zach’s Answer
Howard Berzack, MBA
Howard’s Answer
I don't believe being a 'sports fanatic' really helps much in the industry, but if you do love a specific sport or team then that might be the best place to start looking. Being intimately knowledgeable about that sport/team might help you get a foot in the door and you can build a career beyond that initial opportunity. A typical starting role would be working as a local ambassador for a team or in ticket sales.
John’s Answer
There are a ton of different ways to get your foot in the door in Sports Media and Entertainment. Being a sports fanatic, though, does ont qualify you automatically. If you want to get in to the industry and don't care what you function is, try everything! If you already know what you are most interested in or best at, focus on that. Some entry level jobs you might consider applying to are: writer (blogging, most likely), social media manager, PR associate, statistician, marketing associate, financial analyst, etc. Sports teams and the media entities that cover them are businesses, and require a plethora of different skill sets to succeed.
You can look at jobs available directly through teams (on their websites) or at media /pr / sports agencies and see which job descriptions appeal to you
Michael’s Answer
It all depends on what you want to get out of a career in the Sports Industry. There are many avenues like Marketing, Management, Analytics, Communications, etc.
You mentioned that you like analyzing the play calls in sports. Perhaps, sports broadcasting or data analysis is your calling. If so, then college degrees in communications or data science may be the path to take.
If you are in high school, you can check with the Athletic Director and Coaches for advice. The Athletic Director may let you sit in the broadcast booth during a football game to see how the announcers work. Or, the coaches will allow you to observe from the sidelines. You can also use this approach if a college is nearby and check with the Athletic Department for additional insights.
Another suggestion is to contact your local news stations, especially the Sports Director. Shadowing can allow you to gain a better insight and understanding on what it takes to be a broadcaster. You can learn about how the professional got into his/her line of work, what he/she went to college for, internships completed, etc. Also, you may want to reach out to the bigger sports broadcasting networks like ESPN, FOX Sports, NBC Sports, CBS Sports and ABC Sports for additional guidance to break into the Sports Industry.
Hope this helps and best wishes in your career journey!
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