Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary

Teach courses pertaining to recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, including exercise physiology and facilities management. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Most important skills

  1. Speaking
  2. Instructing
  3. Reading Comprehension
  4. Active Listening
  5. Writing
  6. Learning Strategies
  7. Critical Thinking
  8. Monitoring

Key knowledge

  1. Education and Training
  2. English Language
  3. Computers and Electronics
  4. Psychology
  5. Biology
  6. Customer and Personal Service
  7. Administration and Management
  8. Mathematics

What the work involves

  • Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
  • Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
  • Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as anatomy, therapeutic recreation, and conditioning theory.
  • Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
  • Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
  • Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
  • Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
  • Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Investigative, Conventional.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education
Doctoral Degree (74.2% of respondents)
Related experience
Over 6 years, up to and including 8 years (27.9%)
On-the-job training
Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (39.1%)
Preparation level
O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Licensing
Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
  • Licensing for Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
  • Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
  • Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
ConditionLevelCompared with other occupationsMost common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with othersVery highHigher on contact with others than 82% of occupations compared79% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the publicModerateHigher on dealing with the public than 57% of occupations compared37% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important”
TeamworkHighHigher on teamwork than 62% of occupations compared64% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Freedom to make decisionsVery highHigher on freedom to make decisions than 88% of occupations compared64% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom”
Time pressureLowLower on time pressure than 71% of occupations compared56% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day”
Conflict situationsHighHigher on conflict situations than 68% of occupations compared66% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry peopleModerateLower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 58% of occupations compared48% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Consequence of errorModerateLower on consequence of error than 53% of occupations compared38% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious”

Work-pressure profile

  • Time pressure: low
  • Conflict situations: high
  • Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
  • Consequence of error: moderate

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions

Contact with others

  • No contact with others: 0.33%
  • Occasional contact with others: 0%
  • Contact with others about half the time: 2.08%
  • Contact with others most of the time: 18.38%
  • Constant contact with others: 79.2%

n = 35, Incumbent 08/2019

Dealing with the public

  • Not important at all: 4.43%
  • Fairly important: 12.79%
  • Important: 23.13%
  • Very important: 36.66%
  • Extremely important: 23%

n = 35, Incumbent 08/2019

Teamwork

  • Not important at all: 0.33%
  • Fairly important: 4.17%
  • Important: 13.15%
  • Very important: 18.38%
  • Extremely important: 63.97%

n = 35, Incumbent 08/2019

Freedom to make decisions

  • No freedom: 0.6%
  • Very little freedom: 0%
  • Limited freedom: 0.54%
  • Some freedom: 34.51%
  • A lot of freedom: 64.35%

n = 34, Incumbent 08/2019

Time pressure

  • Never: 1.07%
  • Once a year or more but not every month: 3.48%
  • Once a month or more but not every week: 35.28%
  • Once a week or more but not every day: 56.41%
  • Every day: 3.75%

n = 35, Incumbent 08/2019

Conflict situations

  • Never: 2.08%
  • Once a year or more but not every month: 10.77%
  • Once a month or more but not every week: 66.19%
  • Once a week or more but not every day: 16.29%
  • Every day: 4.68%

n = 35, Incumbent 08/2019

Dealing with unpleasant or angry people

  • Never: 2.41%
  • Once a year or more but not every month: 41.74%
  • Once a month or more but not every week: 48.1%
  • Once a week or more but not every day: 4.5%
  • Every day: 3.24%

n = 35, Incumbent 08/2019

Consequence of error

  • Not serious at all: 6.19%
  • Fairly serious: 38.08%
  • Serious: 28.25%
  • Very serious: 12.77%
  • Extremely serious: 14.71%

n = 35, Incumbent 08/2019

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O*NET-SOC 25-1193.00 · SOC 25-1193 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8