What do you think of when someone tells you that they're an exercise science major? Do you think of people just concerned with exercise? Do you think our classes and major revolve around sports? I could go on and on about the misconceptions that us exercise science majors struggle with but here's just a few of them:
1. All the job possibilities and opportunities one can have.
Being an exercise science major opens up a world of opportunities for you. There are so many different and unique jobs someone can get with an exercise science degree. A few popular career paths include a Physical Therapist, Exercise Physiologist, Strength and Conditioning Coach, etc. Some unique careers include Cardiac Rehab, working for the military or NASA, becoming a doctor, and much more. Exercise science is just an umbrella with many different opportunities that fall underneath it. You can virtually do anything in the medical field with an exercise science degree.
2. The classes we need to take.
A big thing I always get when I tell people that I'm majoring in exercise science is “so all your classes revolve around sports? That's so cool! It must be so easy for you than!”. That is completely opposite of my course load! Our classes involve numerous anatomy and physiology courses, multiple science classes like biology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, exercise physiology, and multiple classes that revolve around how the human body reacts to different types of exercise. Our classes also show us how to write exercise prescriptions for someone trying to lose weight to become healthier. This is all a science, hence the term: exercise science.
3. Your major must be super easy.
Again, this is the complete & total opposite. Our classes are very demanding and very hard. On top of classes, we have labs so we learn how to do different things. We can't just see a VO2 Max Test being done once & be expected to know how to do everything, we take time out of our day to go into open lab and practice skills. Our major is all about real life application and working with clients. It takes time and practice to be able to not only learn what we learn in class but also apply it in the lab and in the real world. On top of our classes being difficult, we have difficult tests we need to study for, lab practicals we need to practice for, and lab reports we need to write. To add the cherry on top, we need to go out, shadow, and do clinicals with someone in our field of interest(s). These count for classes, are unpaid, done during the semester along with our classes, and we have to take time out of our day & rearrange our schedules with the healthcare professional we're shadowing. I would say our major is anything but easy.
4. Do you really think you're going to get a job right out of college.
No, no I don't. It's life and life is a game for everyone. Physical Therapy as a career is expected to rise 35% by the year 2017, way more than average! Exercise Physiologists positions are expected to see a rise of 28% by 2018 which is also way above average. Our field is one the fastest and more demanding fields that are rising today. As long as there are people around we will always be in business. You also have to remember a lot of these people go onto graduate school to have a better chance of getting a job right out of their undergraduate education.
5. Be prepared not to make a lot of money with your career.
First of all, with any career path you want to go into it without the intention of money. Yes money is nice and having financial security is great, but will you really be happy working a job that doesn't interest you if you just go into it for the money? Second of all, many exercise science graduates, without even going to graduate school, have a starting salary anywhere between $45,000-$75,000 a year, which personally I think is great. Depending on the career path and whether or not you go onto graduate school, that yearly salary rises…by A LOT! For example: Physical Therapists coming out of graduate school will have a starting salary anywhere from $80,000-100,000 a year. That's not too bad if I do say so myself.
