Sports Science Careers & Employability

Student talking to employee at Careers Fair

Careers Support in Sport and Exercise Sciences

Career Prospects

Here in the department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, we are very proud of the excellent career prospects of our graduates.

We are ranked 7th in the UK for our Graduate Prospects (The Guardian University League Table 2020) and 100% of our graduates are in employment or further study within 6 months of studying (16/17 Graduate DLHE).

The average starting salary at 6 months after graduating for one of our Sport and Exercise Science graduates is £18,000 (16/17 Graduate DLHE).

We are continually striving to improve the employability of our students, by cultivating strong relationships with graduate employers and by ensuring our students are as prepared as they can be for the world of work.

Employability Module

We have specially designed an Employability, Innovation & Engagement module, which has the following aims and objectives:

To be aware of my strengths, weaknesses and skills
To understand how I can make more effective career decisions
To reflect upon how I can develop my skills and to evidence these
To discover what employers are looking for (enterprise, identifying a need, business planning)
To develop an action plan that identifies areas of employability I need to improve
To develop an awareness of entrepreneurship, commercial activity and business skills

The module gives an insight into the possibilities which exist for students to make contributions within small and large business settings and to consider self-employment or setting up their own business. Students are asked to work in groups or teams and are asked to develop a business plan for their own business. A Dragon's Den event is held at which the students do a pitch.

Work Placements

Through Swansea University's Paid Internship Network we seek to connect our students to employers for graduate level placements. We offer paid internships between June and September each summer. All participating students receive a free employability master-class and are assessed via a mandatory employability assessment centre.

Find more information about our Work Placements here.

‌The International Development Office have opportunities for students to gain international work experience and take part in work abroad programmes as part of the degree (depending on scheme). Summer work placements are also available. Find out more about working abroad here.

Careers in Sport and Exercise – Useful Resources

A career in the competitive field of sport and exercise can be rewarding and challenging, but perhaps the biggest challenge is getting your foot on the first step on the ladder.

In addition to the support you can expect from us here at Swansea University, there is also a lot of external resources to help you.

So you don’t have to do the hard work of finding them yourself, we have collated a few of the main websites together here so you can browse them at your leisure.

The more information you have and the better prepared you become, then the more likely it is that you will succeed and land that dream job.

British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES). The professional body for the sector, all students have BASES membership. In addition to loads of information about the industry, BASES also produce their own careers guide which can be found here.
Careers in Sport. Careers in Sport offer advice, guidance and a resource of job opportunities across the sport and exercise sector. Well worth keeping an eye on the site for what they have available.
Supporting Champions. Run by highly regarded professional sports coach, Steve Ingham, Supporting Champions is useful for anyone who is really committed to a career in the sector. Memberships and courses available.
Target Careers. Some good information on the sorts of careers available in the sector.
Don’t forget LinkedIn. A free business oriented social media site that enables you to connect to professionals working in the sports and exercise sciences sector across the world. Build yourself a profile and start to explore what is on offer across the industry.