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Athletic Trainer

Healthcare

Evaluate and treat musculoskeletal injuries or illnesses. Provide preventive, therapeutic, emergency, and rehabilitative care.

Allied Health

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Conduct an initial assessment of an athlete's injury or illness to provide emergency or continued care and to determine whether they should be referred to physicians for definitive diagnosis and treatment.
  2. 2Assess and report the progress of recovering athletes to coaches or physicians.
  3. 3Care for athletic injuries, using physical therapy equipment, techniques, or medication.
  4. 4Evaluate athletes' readiness to play and provide participation clearances when necessary and warranted.
  5. 5Perform general administrative tasks, such as keeping records or writing reports.
  6. 6Clean and sanitize athletic training rooms.
  7. 7Instruct coaches, athletes, parents, medical personnel, or community members in the care and prevention of athletic injuries.
  8. 8Apply protective or injury preventive devices, such as tape, bandages, or braces, to body parts, such as ankles, fingers, or wrists.
  9. 9Collaborate with physicians to develop and implement comprehensive rehabilitation programs for athletic injuries.
  10. 10Travel with athletic teams to be available at sporting events.
  11. 11Plan or implement comprehensive athletic injury or illness prevention programs.
  12. 12Inspect playing fields to locate any items that could injure players.
  13. 13File athlete insurance claims and communicate with insurance providers.
  14. 14Advise athletes on the proper use of equipment.
  15. 15Develop training programs or routines designed to improve athletic performance.
  16. 16Confer with coaches to select protective equipment.
  17. 17Massage body parts to relieve soreness, strains, or bruises.
  18. 18Accompany injured athletes to hospitals.
  19. 19Teach sports medicine courses to athletic training students.
  20. 20Lead stretching exercises for team members prior to games or practices.
  21. 21Conduct research or provide instruction on subject matter related to athletic training or sports medicine.
  22. 22Recommend special diets to improve athletes' health, increase their stamina, or alter their weight.
  23. 23Perform team support duties, such as running errands, maintaining equipment, or stocking supplies.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Sports Trainer
  • Athletic Trainer
  • Personal Trainer
  • Physical Trainer
  • Athletic Lecturer
  • Athletic Trainers
  • Fitness Specialist
  • Athletic Instructor
  • Sports Athletic Trainer
  • Sports Medicine Trainer

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. Typical entry

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationMaster's degree

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

BiologyDraws directly on Medicine and Dentistry — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
ChemistryDraws directly on Medicine and Dentistry — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Sports ScienceDraws directly on Therapy and Counseling — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
BusinessDraws directly on Administrative — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Medicine and Dentistry93%

    BiologyChemistry

  • Customer and Personal Service87%
  • Psychology83%
  • Therapy and Counseling77%

    BiologySports Science

  • English Language74%

    English

  • Education and Training73%

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Leading or coordinating othersHigh
  • Handling conflict situationsOften
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherOften
  • Noisy environmentEvery day

Where this job is heading

Newer tasks O*NET has flagged for this occupation, a hint at how the role is changing.

  • Develop emergency action plans for sports facilities.

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

33%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Growing role in the US

US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Dentist

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

Diploma

Skill-first qualification. Work after, or enter degree Year 2. Polytechnics keep it affordable.

2.5–3 years

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Athletic Trainers

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Public universities (UPU)

Private institutions (MQA-accredited)

Search the programme catalogue