Personal Essay Example: My Future Career in Sport
When most people think of sports, it’s just a game, but good coaches use sports to be as great of a learning tool as books in the classroom. Ever since I was a kid sports have been a central part of my life, and I’m always thinking about the numbers and statistics involved with sports. If you ask my parents, I’ve never been slow to put together my argument and try to sell them on my point of view. Sometimes my head gets a little too big and these arguments are brought into the math classroom with Mrs. Daniels, and I am brought back to the reality that although I am good with numbers, I am not at the level that I can eventually get to. These main interests have pulled me toward sports lawyer, sports agent, and financial analyst.
Without sports lawyers, athletes and teams would never be able to perform at their full potential. According to “The Most Prominent Sports Law Jobs in 2022” sports lawyers deal with contracts, endorsements, lawsuits, and help deal with the media, to keep players and teams focused on their performance. Sports lawyers need a bachelor’s degree in law at the least, and multiple tests and exams to become certified (“The Most Prominent Sports Law Jobs in 2022”). Sports lawyers will need to have multiple skills, including a good awareness of sports, being detail-oriented, skilled with numbers and analytics, and a charming personality (“The Most Prominent Sports Law Jobs in 2022”). “Sports Lawyer Salary'' on the Comparably website states that the average starting salary for a sports lawyer is around sixty to eighty thousand dollars. The top sports lawyers can take upwards of five hundred thousand dollars according to “Sports Lawyer Salary on the Salary website. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics claims there is a current projected nine percent growth for the next eight years, and there are over eight hundred thousand lawyer jobs and an expected forty-six thousand openings for the upcoming years. Bradley Louis Schencker, a lawyer in Illinois says, “people can use law degrees in various fields of law”. With sports law, people need a large amount of schooling after high school, and a lot of difficult tests and exams. They will also have lots of stress, while trying to keep their employer or their client focused on their job (“The Most Prominent Sports Law Jobs in 2022”), but sports lawyers will always get to be involved with sports.
Another career that will always be involved with sports in a sports agent. Sports agents work with athletes' contracts and promote and sell the athletes to get the most money for them. Sports Agents Worldwide declares this push for your athletes is very important because when your athlete gets paid, so do you. Agents’ salaries can range from tens of thousands to top agents making over a million dollars a year (Sports Management Worldwide). Agents need to know what they are talking about in the sports world, have good persistent sales skills, and good social skills (“The Most Prominent Sports Law Jobs in 2022”). Most sports agents have a bachelor’s degree in a field like sports management, but Emma Gosalvez of North Carolina State claims the highest regarded sports agents have a master’s or law degree. There are currently just over 16,000 agents in the USA, and agent jobs are set for a three percent decrease through 2026 (U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics). With not a large amount of agents and with them at a decrease, there is a reason for worry. “Pros & Cons” explains there can be long work hours depending on what is happening with the clients, and this can leave agents with limited time for themselves. They will get to always be around sports, and negotiating and salesmanship will be the main part of the job (“Pros & Cons”).
Financial analyst is another job that is always involved with numbers and money of business. Without the careful analysis of financials, businesses would fall apart. The Indeed Editorial Team (IET) states that financial analysts study certain parts of the economy and market trends, then use that to help make financial decisions for businesses with that knowledge. Financial analysts will need at least a bachelor’s degree in something relating to finance such as: accounting, finance, economics, statistics, or mathematics, but it is in their best interest to get a master’s degree or a Master's of Business Administration (IET). As a financial analyst, it is important to have excellent research skills, be good with numbers, and be able to communicate clearly (IET). The average starting pay for a financial analyst is around sixty thousand dollars. “Sports Lawyer Salary” studies show that there is much room for growth, with top analysts getting paid up to one hundred fifty thousand dollars. Current growth for financial analysts is at six percent for the upcoming years, and there are almost five hundred thousand financial analyst jobs in the U.S. (U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics). Financial analysts are stuck in an office building for the great majority of the job, but this comes with a large salary and compensation (U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics). “Financial Analyst Pros and Cons” says that there will be lots of stress with the high responsibilities of the job.
My love and knowledge of sports combined with my skill with numbers are the main factors for my three careers as being a sports lawyer, sports agent, and financial analyst. Of those careers, there is only one that jumps out to me, and that is sports lawyer. Being a sports lawyer will allow me to still be involved with sports, and get to work with numbers, and it provides an argumentative aspect to my career. When you look at those three interests, a sports lawyer puts everything together to provide a great profession for me.
Works Cited
“Financial Analyst Pros and Cons.” Corporate Finance Institute, 2022, https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/questions/analyst/financial-analyst-pros-and-cons/. Accessed 27 March 2022.
“Financial Planning Analyst II Salary.” Salary.com, 2022, https://www.salary.com/research/salary/alternate/financial-planning-analyst-ii-salary. Accessed 25 March 2022.
Gosalvez, Emma. “How to Become a Sports Agent | College of Natural Resources News.” NC State College of Natural Resources, 28 October 2020, https://cnr.ncsu.edu/news/2020/10/how-to-become-a-sports-agent/. Accessed 24 March 2022.
“Home : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : US Bureau of Labor Statistics.” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/. Accessed 2 May 2022.
Indeed Editorial Team. “What Is a Financial Analyst? (And How to Become One).” Indeed, 29 December 2021, https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/what-is-a-financial-analyst. Accessed 22 March 2022.
“The Most Prominent Sports Law Jobs in 2022 (5 new).” LegalJobs.io, 2022, https://legaljobs.io/sports-law-jobs/. Accessed 22 March 2022.
“Pros & Cons.” Sports Agent, https://sportsagentsrule.weebly.com/pros--cons.html. Accessed 27 March 2022.
Schencker, Bradley Louis. “Can I practice more than one type of law - Legal Answers.” Avvo, https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/can-i-practice-more-than-one-type-of-law-2406534.html. Accessed 7 April 2022.
“Sports Agent Salaries.” Sports Management Worldwide, 2022, https://www.sportsmanagementworldwide.com/program/salaries. Accessed 27 March 2022.
“Sports Lawyer Salary.” Salary.com, 2022, https://www.salary.com/research/salary/posting/sports-lawyer-salary. Accessed 25 March 2022.
“Sports Lawyer Salary.” Comparably, 2022, https://www.comparably.com/salaries/salaries-for-sports-lawyer. Accessed 25 March 2022.
