Low Pay. Long Hours. Fewer College Athletic Trainers. A Profession at a Crossroads.

From Scienceline: For Lauren Pinzka, the breaking point came quietly. Long hours, low pay, and growing burnout began to take a toll on both her work and her well-being. Earning $32,000 a year while working nearly 60 hours a week as an Athletic Trainer, she realized something had to change.

“Instead of being happy-go-lucky, like I usually am, I would take my frustrations out on athletes, which I didn’t want to do,” said Pinzka, formerly at Case Western Reserve University. “I was drowning in a way.”

Pinzka’s story reflects a growing challenge across the profession. Athletic Trainers provide critical healthcare for student-athletes, guiding them from injury through recovery, yet many face lower salaries than comparable healthcare professionals despite advanced education and certification requirements.

With average student loan debt around $62,000 and salaries often lagging behind similar fields, financial strain is common.

Staffing shortages only deepen the issue. Lauren Fry, another former Athletic Trainer, recalled the consequences of limited coverage while working at Gettysburg College before moving into a leadership role with NovaCare Rehabilitation. During one high school football game she could not attend due to staffing shortages, a player suffered commotio cordis and went into cardiac arrest. Emergency responders revived the athlete, but no Athletic Trainer was present to activate them.

“Until more catastrophic injuries and, unfortunately, deaths happen, that’s when people are going to start waking up and saying, ‘okay, we need athletic trainers,’” Fry said.

Research also highlights structural challenges within the profession. Julie Cavallario, associate professor at Old Dominion University, noted salary comparisons often disadvantage collegiate Athletic Trainers.

“It doesn’t do them any favors if they are not benchmarked against other healthcare professionals,” she said. Meanwhile, Fry believes change must start within the profession. “Until our athletic trainers stop accepting those types of jobs… we’ll continuously see the downfalls of this career path,” she said.

Despite the challenges, some remain hopeful. Researcher Caliee Welch Bacon believes the next generation of Athletic Trainers may help reshape the profession through stronger advocacy for fair pay, support, and work-life balance. 

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