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119 New Athletic Trainer Jobs — Monday, March 2nd, 2026
- Kyle Peckham
- 1 hour ago
- 7 min read
Happy National Athletic Training Month!
Across the country, athletic trainers will be recognized with appreciation posts, posters, and well-deserved thank-yous. That visibility matters. Our profession plays a critical role in the health and safety of the athletes and workers we serve.
But recognition alone doesn’t move a profession forward.
This month, I’d encourage every athletic trainer reading this to take one intentional step to strengthen how athletic training is understood in your community.
Maybe that means scheduling a brief conversation with an administrator to walk through the full scope of your role, not just game coverage, but injury prevention, clinical evaluation, return-to-play decision-making, emergency planning, and risk management. Maybe it means quantifying your impact, the number of athletes you serve, the injuries you manage, the protocols you oversee. Maybe it’s simply being more precise in how you describe what you do, owning your identity as a licensed healthcare professional rather than minimizing it.
Progress in this profession doesn’t hinge on one campaign or one organization. It happens when thousands of athletic trainers consistently advocate, educate, and communicate their value with clarity and confidence.
A poster is a symbol. Aligned action creates momentum and ultimately change.
If 60,000 athletic trainers move in the same direction, toward transparency, professionalism, and visibility, the impact will extend far beyond a single month.
National Athletic Training Month is about recognition. It can also be about responsibility, not just celebrating the work, but elevating how the profession is understood. My contribution this year is this platform and this weekly newsletter.
We saw lower volume this week, but a noticeable uptick in quality. There were a couple of six-figure professional roles, a handful of top range secondary school/outreach roles, and several non-traditional roles that continue to raise the salary bar. We’ll get into those highlights shortly.
On the not so positive side, I came across a role from the University of Virginia that I planned to highlight, but not for the reasons a Division I ACC logo usually earns attention.
The role: Seasonal Certified Athletic Trainer University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
$19.00 (hourly)
Assistant Professor Julie Cavallario of Old Dominion University did an excellent job breaking down the hourly math and why clinicians should anchor to annual expectations rather than a posted wage on Linkedin this week. That conversation was necessary, but I wanted to piggy back and highlight a few other things to keep in mind about this and similar roles.
The original posting lived at https://virginiasports.com/atc-intern-positions. It has “intern” in the URL and offered $18 per hour. In the most recent posting, it is now rebranded as a “seasonal” certified athletic trainer position at $19 per hour, capped at 1,500 hours, ineligible for benefits, and requiring prior NCAA institutional experience. The terminology shifted. The pay increased by a dollar/hour. The experience requirement increased, but the structure remained the same.
Across the profession, “intern” has developed baggage, often associated with low wages and heavy workloads. Moving to “seasonal” may attempt to improve optics, but it does not change the economic design of the role.
What is also notable is what is not mentioned. There is no reference to housing support, stipends, insurance options, CEU assistance, or other offsets that have historically made these types of capped roles remotely livable. When you combine a 1,500-hour ceiling, no benefits, a higher experience requirement, and no supplemental support in a market like Charlottesville, the conversation shifts from hourly math to structural reality.
I’m not suggesting NIL dollars are writing payroll checks for staff. We know they are not. But when a nationally prominent program operating in the upper tier of NIL activity, (14th nationally) structures certified athletic trainer roles at $19 per hour, capped and non-benefited, it sends the wrong message to programs with fewer resources that these rates are ok. It sets the wrong standard and if schools are just trying to rebrand intern roles as seasonal or any other title for that matter, while grossly underpaying, that is something we should be scrutinizing when we compare these roles against the various other opportunities in the market.
Let’s get into my picks of the week!
Head Athletic Trainer
Portland, OR
$100,000–$125,000 (annual)
This full-time leadership role places you at the center of a brand-new WNBA expansion franchise, responsible for building and leading the athletic training operations within a modern, athlete-centered performance model. The position includes oversight of injury evaluation, acute care, return-to-play execution, EMR compliance, league and CBA medical compliance, coordination with physicians, management of budgets and equipment, and direct supervision of the Assistant Athletic Trainer. The salary band sits firmly in six-figure territory and includes health insurance, a retirement plan, opportunities for advancement, and performance-based incentives. The role requires extensive travel, long and variable hours, and experience in elite or professional sport, but it also offers the rare opportunity to shape a high-performance medical program from the ground up. For experienced athletic trainers with a background in professional or Division I environments, this is upper-tier compensation paired with true program-level authority in women’s professional basketball.
Professional Athletic Trainer
Seattle, WA
$90,000–$120,000 (annual)
This full-time professional role places you directly inside a WNBA organization, collaborating with the Director of Player Health and a multidisciplinary medical and performance staff to deliver injury prevention, rehabilitation, emergency care, and return-to-play management for elite female basketball athletes. The position includes travel for all preseason, regular season, and postseason road trips, hands-on injury evaluation and treatment, EMR documentation, league compliance reporting, and support of individualized rehab and performance plans. The salary band is strong for the profession, with a near six-figure floor, and the benefits package includes medical, dental, vision, life and AD&D insurance, 401(k), long-term disability, EAP access, and paid time off. The organization also operates out of a new Center for Basketball Performance, purpose-built for team and medical operations. For athletic trainers with Division I or professional basketball experience who want to work at the highest level of women’s sport while being compensated at a premium tier, this is a legitimate upper-market opportunity.
Sports Med Ath Trainer 3
San Francisco, CA
$72,000–$154,600 (annual)
This full-time, Monday–Friday role is based at UCSF’s Orthopaedic Institute and blends physician clinic support, high school outreach coverage, and administrative project work into one structured position. The clinical responsibilities extend beyond sideline care to include patient intake, post-operative support, and rehabilitation within a multidisciplinary medical environment. The salary band is one of the widest posted this week, with a ceiling that exceeds most collegiate and secondary caps, signaling real upward mobility within a major academic health system. For athletic trainers looking to integrate more fully into a healthcare setting while maintaining sports medicine involvement, this hybrid structure is worth serious consideration especially on the higher end of the pay band.
Sports Performance Coordinator
Washington, DC
$63,113–$103,515 (annual)
This full-time secondary school role blends traditional athletic training responsibilities with structured strength and conditioning leadership across grades 6–12. The position oversees injury prevention, emergency care, rehabilitation, facility management, program policy development, and strength programming, making it more comprehensive than a sideline-only assignment. The salary band is wide, with a ceiling that reaches six figures, and includes health and disability insurance benefits. The schedule runs 9:30 AM–6:00 PM Monday through Friday, with additional evenings and weekends as needed, reflecting the realities of school athletics. For athletic trainers who want autonomy in building and managing a performance program while maintaining full-scope clinical practice, this structure offers both leadership responsibility and upward earning potential within a school-based setting.
Athletic Trainer
Indianapolis, IN
$75,000–$85,000 (annual)
This full-time, Monday–Friday regional industrial role focuses on onsite injury prevention, early discomfort management, and ergonomic services across multiple utility, manufacturing, and warehouse sites in Indiana. The position includes a $500 hiring bonus and $500 one-year retention bonus, along with a comprehensive benefits package featuring medical, dental, vision, 401(k)/ROTH IRA with employer match, up to 120 hours of PTO in the first year, professional development reimbursement, and additional company-supported perks. The schedule averages 40 hours per week with no required weekend or holiday shifts listed, and the role emphasizes autonomy, relationship-building, and applied ergonomics rather than traditional athletic coverage. For athletic trainers interested in industrial settings with structured hours, defined regional coverage, and strong benefits support, this is a well-compensated and clearly outlined opportunity.
Staff Athletic Trainer
Lawrenceville, NJ
$69,137.70 (annual)
This is a full-time, 12-month NCAA Division I role within the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, supporting all aspects of sports medicine services including injury prevention, evaluation, rehabilitation, documentation, travel coverage, and supervision of part-time seasonal athletic trainers and student workers. The position requires prior intercollegiate experience and New Jersey licensure, signaling that this is not an entry-level post. The notable development here is compensation: this same Rider position was listed in February at approximately $9,000 less, and it has since returned at $69,137.70 annually. That adjustment suggests the institution recognized market pressure and increased pay to try to attract candidates. While no supplemental compensation or retirement details are listed, a 12-month contract at this salary level in the collegiate setting especially after a documented pay increase makes this role worth a closer look for athletic trainers evaluating Division I opportunities in the Northeast.
Industrial Certified Athletic Trainer – Night Shift
Trenton, SC
$74,000–$82,000 (annual)
This full-time, on-site industrial role focuses on injury prevention, ergonomic assessments, OSHA-aligned first aid, and wellness program development within a manufacturing setting, operating on a dedicated night shift. The responsibilities include musculoskeletal evaluations, case management, safety collaboration, and leading structured wellness initiatives, with a clearly defined pathway toward promotion to a Level 2 specialist role. The $74,000–$82,000 salary band stands out in this region — the top end approaches roughly double the estimated living wage for the area, which materially changes the financial picture compared to many traditional athletic training roles. The night shift schedule will not be for everyone; it requires lifestyle adjustment and comfort working outside standard daytime hours. That said, for clinicians who can tolerate or even prefer a night schedule, the compensation relative to cost of living makes this one of the stronger financial plays on the board this week.
Verified Jobs of the Week
The Following salary ranges have been independently confirmed by the employer
Athletic Trainer l Sweetwater School District #2 l Green River, WY l $56,189.00–$60,345.16 (annual)
National Athletic Training Month is a great time to celebrate the work we do. It’s also a good time to examine what we accept. The market is speaking. There are six-figure roles posted this week. There are secondary schools publishing six-figure ceilings. There are industrial and healthcare systems building structured compensation models with retirement contributions and upward mobility. At the same time, there are still capped, non-benefited seasonal roles asking for experience at $19 per hour. Both exist in the same profession. The difference isn’t geography — it’s standards. If we continue to apply pressure toward transparency, fair compensation, and full-scope recognition, the ceiling rises. If we quietly accept less, it doesn’t. Appreciate the month. But evaluate the market. Make informed decisions. Share this with someone who needs it. And as always — stop looking, start finding
