Do you think a career in intercollegiate athletics might be for you?

If you are a student-athlete, you have spent a great deal of time around the athletics department at your school. Can you picture yourself doing what someone there does?

If a career in athletics appeals to you, then you need to find out more about the variety of occupations within the profession. While you surely are aware of the obvious career choices, such as coach or professional athlete, you may not realize how many other options are out there.

"There are a lot of opportunities in intercollegiate athletics," said Lori A. Hendricks, NCAA education outreach program coordinator. "But you need to explore what you like and what your skills are. And it's never too early to begin. The sooner you get started, the more time you can devote to learning more about the different opportunities and where you might fit in."

Are you really going pro?

One reason many student-athletes put off the career search is that they have aspirations of playing professionally. The first thing you need to consider is that, realistically, your chances of becoming a professional athlete are quite slim. The NCAA has studied this issue and produced a document calculating the probability of NCAA student-athletes even beginning a professional career.

The statistics say it all:

Less than one in 75, or approximately 1.3 percent, of NCAA male senior basketball players will be drafted by a National Basketball Association team.

One in 100, or approximately 1 percent, of NCAA female senior basketball players will be drafted by a Women's National Basketball Association team.

One in 50, or approximately 2 percent, of NCAA senior football players will be drafted by a National Football League team.

Less than 11 in 100, or approximately 10.5 percent, of NCAA senior baseball players will be drafted by a Major League Baseball team.

Less than 1 in 24, or about 4.1 percent, of NCAA senior male ice hockey players will be drafted by a National Hockey League team.

Less than 1 in 50, or about 1.9 percent, of NCAA senior male soccer players will be drafted by a Major League Soccer team.

"I had aspirations of playing professionally," said Kurt Johnson, the life skills/study skills coordinator at James Madison University and a former baseball player there. "It wasn't until my junior year that I realized that was not going to happen."

Johnson, who graduated in 1991 with a degree in political science, spent about eight months after graduation working in the plumbing wholesale business.

"I realized that something was missing in my life, and that was the athletics component," he said. "I had been playing baseball since I was a little kid, and I missed that. A career in athletics was a natural choice because I figured that if I can't compete anymore, at least I can continue to be involved in athletics."

If you happen to be the one in 75 who gets drafted, there is no guarantee you'll make a team at training camp. Then, there is no guarantee that you won't blow out a knee or sustain too many concussions to continue.

Jennifer Bohac, director of student-athlete development and life skills at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, also notes that injuries are common and professional careers are short.

"Always have a Plan B," she said. "Even if you're a first-round draft pick, later on you're going to need something to fall back on. It's a safety net.

"My goal for student-athletes when they cross that stage (at graduation) is that they have a plan. They either already have a job, or they're admitted to graduate school or they plan to enter the draft. After you graduate is too late."

Explore your options

You've probably devoted a large part of your life to athletics already. How can you use that background and your love for sports in a career? There are so many different ways that they can't all be listed.

Becky Bell, director of the CATS student-athlete personal development program at the University of Arizona, encourages students to look around the athletics department for career ideas.

"There are so many different support services available now for student-athletes," Bell said. "Think about the people you come into contact with on a daily basis -- whether that person is an academic advisor, an athletic trainer, a nutritionist, a sports psychologist -- any one of those may appeal to you."

Bell said if any of those careers are appealing, you should make an appointment with the person who holds the position for a 15-minute informational interview. You should ask them about what skills are used in the job, what they majored in and what their daily life is like. Learn as much as you can about their responsibilities and the pros and cons of their job.

You may want to consider some of these more common career paths in intercollegiate athletics:

Athletics administrator/athletics director/senior woman administrator/commissioner

Compliance coordinator

Sports information director

Statistician

Athletic trainer

Athletics marketing and promotion

CHAMPS/life skills coordinator

Coach

But there also are positions you might not think of right away, and you may want to explore those as well. Those might include ticket sales manager, event coordinator, facilities manager, development director (fund raiser), motivational speaker or sports law attorney.

Faculty athletics representatives typically set out to have a career in academics rather than in athletics, but that might be a way for you to combine your love of history, for example, with athletics.

Or, you may want to pursue a career as an official. While many officials work part time in athletics and part time in another field, that combination may suit you.

The important thing is to look around at individuals you see working in athletics, whether they are orthopedic surgeons (a popular choice for many former student-athletes), academic advisors or sports psychologists. Do you see anything you could envision yourself doing on a day-to-day basis?

If you are early in your undergraduate career, you may not have selected a major yet. Finding out more about opportunities in athletics may help you in this regard. Or, if you've already found a major you enjoy, you may be able to use that major as a means to pursuing a career in athletics.

"There is a misconception that you have to be a sports management major to pursue a career in athletics, and that's not true at all," Johnson said.

"No. 1, you need to pick a major you will enjoy. If you can read and write and research, there's a place for you in intercollegiate athletics."

Bohac agreed. "Student-athletes sometimes really stress out about their major," she said. "And sometimes, they end up majoring in something that might not be their first choice. But I encourage them to take their major and get experience in what they really want to do. That's the important thing."

Bell encourages student-athletes to keep their options open. "While my background is in Division I athletics," she said, "there are a lot of opportunities on the Division II and Division III level as well. Don't limit yourself. Really explore and investigate what might interest you. That exploration is really critical."

Play to your strengths

A key part of any decision about your future is a thorough evaluation of your own strengths and values.

"You need to do some assessments," Bell said. "You need to look at what kind of work environment you're seeking, and you need to look at your own values, competencies and interests."

Your first step in that regard should be to take advantage of any opportunities presented by the CHAMPS/Life Skills office on your campus. Many institutions provide career counseling and career development services for student-athletes. You should begin to exploit these services during your freshman year.

"The life skills program is so critical," she said. "The value of it cannot be overestimated."

You also need to pay a visit to the career development center on your campus. Depending on the size of your institution, you may or may not have an athletics department laden with career resources. However, most institutions nowadays have a good -- or even excellent -- campus-wide center.

"Our career services people on campus are just amazing," said Arizona's Bell. "They can provide many more services than are available through the athletics department, and we have a number of services."

The campus-wide office can provide assessments of career interests as well as workshops and seminars on résumé writing, career planning, interviewing skills and internships.

Most campus career development professionals encourage student-athletes to begin thinking about careers their first semester on campus. At some institutions, student-athletes are given books or workbooks to help them assess their strengths or interests. If your school doesn't do that, take a look at the career development materials in your campus bookstore.

"You should get started early," Bell said. "When I speak to our teams about career development, I remind the student-athletes that they didn't get to be successful athletes overnight. It took a lot of time, practice and development. I tell them that career development is just like that. Also, finding a job is a job in itself. If you break it down into small chunks, though, it's easier to find the time to do it. I recommend that you start early and just do a little at a time."

So, spend some time in self-examination. What are your strengths? And what do you like to do? Do you enjoy teaching others a new skill? Are you a good communicator? Do you have an interest in business, mathematics, journalism, physiology, education, or marketing? Do you like a campus environment? Do you want to work behind a desk? Do you care if you have irregular hours?

You also need to ask yourself how you feel about student-athletes and student-athlete welfare because no matter what area of intercollegiate athletics you pursue, concern for the student-athlete will serve you well.

"To have a successful career in intercollegiate athletics, you need to have a passion for education and a passion for student-athlete welfare issues," said the NCAA's Hendricks. "If you don't have a passion for these issues, intercollegiate athletics is probably not for you."

Johnson also reminds students interested in intercollegiate athletics that they are not likely to earn salaries that stack up against those of their peers in, say, computer technology or banking.

"You're not going to get rich in this industry," he said. "Yes, there are many people who make a significant amount of money as an athletics director or commissioner. But the vast majority of those employed in athletics do not.

"But if you enjoy a flexible lifestyle, a rewarding work environment and being around athletics, you may be very happy. I always tell students that if you're looking for that quick fix of money coming out (of college) -- it's not going to happen for you in athletics."

Johnson also advises students that intercollegiate athletics is a field where hard work is taken for granted.

"Hard work goes without saying. If you work in sports, you're going to put in the hours," he said. "But I think most people who work in athletics really like what they're doing and wouldn't give it up."

Get your feet wet

It's one of the ironies of the working world that everyone wants someone who already has experience. That's where internships and volunteer experiences come into play.

"It's so important to do internships and job shadowing," Bell said. "It's a way to get experience, but it's also a way to find out what you do not want to do. Internships show you both the positives and the negatives about a job, and it's also a way for you to learn what a career is like day to day. Sometimes people come back from an internship and say, 'Yikes, I don't want to do that!' And that is just as valuable as finding out what you do want to do."

And as a student-athlete, your schedule may not permit much work experience. How can you make the most of the time you do have, and where should you direct your resources?

"I tell student-athletes that they must start getting experience while they're still in school," Bohac said. "Through internships, volunteer work and community service, they can get a wider range of experiences. Employers want to see something on the résumé besides athletics.

"If it's at all possible, you need to do an internship -- even if it's just for a few weeks," she said. "Internships are crucial. You learn about the field, you learn about just the daily life of work. And that experience also is crucial. You can't expect to go into the work world having never experienced it at all."

Community service is another useful way to further your career.

"Employers are looking for people who are well-rounded, and community service introduces you to a lot of experiences you would not otherwise have," Bell said. "It's also valuable for you on a personal level, because you get a chance to learn more about yourself and what you like and don't like. It puts you in touch with who you are and what you value."

Community-service opportunities also are a great way to work on your public-speaking skills. "Overall, community service is a big confidence booster and it's just as valuable for the student-athlete participants as it is for those they're serving," Bell said.

Opportunities like the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference and serving on campus-wide student-athlete advisory committees also are beneficial.

"In terms of experiences that help you meet people and develop your skills," said the NCAA's Hendricks, "I recommend the Leadership Conference, serving on student-athlete advisory committees -- at the campus, conference and national levels -- and being active in your campus' CHAMPS/Life skills program."

And don't forget to do your homework. You should be reading publications that focus on intercollegiate athletics or include news from college sports that goes beyond the scores.

"The NCAA News is a great place to start," Johnson said. "And I'd also recommend the Chronicle of Higher Education."

Those publications are available in many libraries at no charge, and you can read The NCAA News online for free at www.ncaa.org.

Besides keeping up with the issues in intercollegiate athletics, be sure to look at the job listings. It will be a long time before you're ready to be a director of compliance, for example, but if that interests you, you need to know what the typical qualifications are.

You also need to investigate fields that may interest you and find out if there are professional organizations that could provide you with information, particularly on their Web sites.

"For students and young professionals, it's really important to identify the professional organization for people who do what you want to do," Hendricks said. "They may have regional or annual conferences, and you may qualify for a reduced-rate student membership. Also, you meet individuals who can help you in your job search and as you develop as a professional. At minimum, I would consider paying for a student membership and start figuring out how I could save up to attend an annual conference or a summit."

Build your network

As you progress in your career, you'll need to draw on a network of professional colleagues and acquaintances. Johnson encourages freshmen student-athletes to make a conscious effort to meet others in intercollegiate athletics by taking part in as many activities as possible.

"I advise them to get involved in as many aspects of athletics as they can," he said. "Meet the trainers, get to know the sports information people. And if you have an opportunity to visit with those people and talk to them about what they do on a daily basis, you can eliminate some careers and focus on others. It's a way to start building your network, and you find out very quickly what you don't want to do."

Johnson also advises freshmen to start building their network early.

"You already have a network, you just don't think about it that way," he said. "But you need to start. You have friends who compete at other universities, you have teammates, you have roommates. I tell student-athletes to take their blinders off. Just because you're 18 or 19 years old, you already have a network in place -- you just don't know it."

Johnson advises student-athletes to bear in mind that intercollegiate athletics is a small world. An early misstep can be detrimental later.

"I've never been involved with an industry that is this tight knit," he said. "But if you start building a network and you have a reputation for working hard, you'll go places. Just remember something that my boss always says, 'Don't knock anyone off the ladder on your way up. You may see them again on your way down.' "

Clint Bryant, athletics director at Augusta State University and chair of the NCAA Division II Management Council, advises student-athletes to get involved on campus and in the athletics department.

"Getting jobs is all about networking. People hire people they know, and people hire people they feel comfortable with. I think it's important for student-athletes to get involved and get to be known outside the sports arena. They need to be known for more than just their jump shot or their fast ball. The student-athlete advisory committee is a great way to get involved," Bryant said.

Bryant points out that athletics administrators need to play an active role in recruiting student-athletes for careers in intercollegiate athletics.

"I think that it's important that those of us who are already in intercollegiate athletics do a better job of targeting the student-athletes on our campuses," Bryant said. "Sometimes I think we encourage our brightest student-athletes to pursue other careers instead of athletics. What kind of a signal does that send?

"I think it's important that we go out and cultivate the leaders of tomorrow. We need to look on our own campuses and get those student-athletes involved and make them the role models for the next (group of administrators) coming along.

"I really think that some of our brightest prospects for the future of intercollegiate athletics are on our own campuses right under our noses."

And you might be one of them .