Are exercise physiologist job opportunities growing or declining?

Are jobs in this industry on the rise? Are there any sub-sectors that are growing?

Where are the jobs? Which places have the most exercise physiologist opportunities?

turns and turns--exercise physiologist positions in MN are being eliminated, as hospitals/clinics prefer an RN to perform this job.

What about the rest of the US? I'm deciding on whether or not to get my master's in EP? Should I get my Masters in Sports Management or EP?

DO not make mistake of getting your ep degree espescially at the graduate level. All the jobs are now being given to people with hs diploma which is about right for the pay. Most I have seen is 8-10/hr for tremendous amount of responsibility, with your Masters you will be over educated out of the job market. I graduate in 2003 got laid of in 2005 and have been looking from then on. The guy from MN is right they are just giving the work to RN's cheaper.
EP MS

Wow - this is sad to hear. I see personal trainers at gyms doing absolute no-no's and I was hoping an EP degree would give me an edge as I would have the knowledge as well as the passion. There's no hope for EP grads at all? No wonder there's an RN shortage - they are being hired for pretty much everything these days it seems!

JC in Detroit, Michigan said: Wow - this is sad to hear. I see personal trainers at gyms doing absolute no-no's and I was hoping an EP degree would give me an edge as I would have the knowledge as well as the passion. There's no hope for EP grads at all? No wonder there's an RN shortage - they are being hired for pretty much everything these days it seems!

Jobs I have found to be very difficult to find if you are professional. You are right about the personal trainers doing activities that would get you sued as an EP or PT. I love the field, found it to do wonders for patients when correctly implimented, but you can not make a living at it. You would be better of getting a PTA degree or RN. I have been exploring sonography especially cardiac (echo), I hear they are doing better than RN in some markets and they have an orginaztion to protect the jobs. The PTA is good although there are rumours that medicare may stop paying for service and if that happens they will be in same boat as EP since medicare does not reimburse speicifically for that title. This info came from a PT who told me if you want job security in this field he recomended the PT or OT route if you don't mind the extra schooling and you can get into it very restrictive entrance.
Good Luck
EP MS

That's what I was afraid of. I was hoping for more of a preventative(? - sorry, rushing as it is almost 5) approach as opposed to getting them back healing as in phys. therapy. My mom is an RN but I'm totally not interested in that - looking at echo and biomedical equipment tech also, but my understanding is even those fields are saturated - too many grads, not enough openings.

I was told for sonography there is going to be a 11 percent shortage in next years nationwide. I am not sure about biomedical equipment tech though??

I do agree with the person saying don't get your MS in exercise physiology. It's a waste of time and money. Most of the jobs are given to RNs or EKG technicians.

I'd look into health promotion. There is some crossover from EP in the health promotion field. From the looks of it, that is where my next job will be.

How do you even get a job in health promotion? Seems like no matter where you're at, you're better off starting your own business in whatever field you're passionate about.

As far as sonography it's in trouble like most everything else - the baby boomers that were supposed to start retiring now have to hold on to their jobs thanks to the stock market crash. I know 'cause my mom's an RN nearing the age and who knows when she'll be able to retire now!

JC in Detroit, Michigan said: Wow - this is sad to hear. I see personal trainers at gyms doing absolute no-no's and I was hoping an EP degree would give me an edge as I would have the knowledge as well as the passion. There's no hope for EP grads at all? No wonder there's an RN shortage - they are being hired for pretty much everything these days it seems!

I know it's a little late, but I just stumbled on this site. How's the job search coming? There's always hope!!! Sometimes the competition is just a little stiffer. The person who made the statement about personal trainers doing activities that would get an EP or PT sued...uh..no. It's not the activity that gets anyone sued...it's the injury that sometimes comes from said activity. Trainers can be sued just as easily as anyone else...that's why most carry insurance. You probably would make a world of difference in some of these joke commercial gyms, but you're pay wont reflect it. Most gyms pay scales are based on your ability to sell training, not your ability to help people...and they honestly don't care if you change someone's life or not! That's why I removed myself from LifeTime Fitness. It was no different than selling cars...not for me! Since you thought about personal training at a gym, have you given thought to strength and conditioning? Athletes are way more fun to work with! From what I hear, it's one of those professions where you have to know someone to get in, but worth a shot. I'm really interested in an organization called Athlete's Performance, owned my Mark Verstegen. They train many many professional athletes as well as collegiates. There are 3 locations...FL, AZ, & CA. From what I understand, they have people with PhD's down to Bach's working for them. I'm sure you've figured it out by now...this posting's 5 months old now! HAHA!!! Let me know what you've run across. I'm giving grad school some thought as well and could probably use a little advice too! Thanks, Jay

AS a EP in chicago I paid my dues to secure a great job and pay..I started out working in corporate fitness and then landed a job with teh same company as a EP doing mostly CR3 and Fitness testing..I will say it seems like it is extremely hard to find a decent paying (50+) job as an EP..Currently I am thinking of going back to school for OT..As people who work in fitness know there is not alot of room to grow, unless you want to manage..Plus with the economy the way it is people stop the gym membership firsts..All in all I do not regret my decision, but at the same time I need something new..I truely love the field but the growth and money is limited..