Athletes and Sports Competitors vs Craft Artists: $67K vs $46K Median Pay

Athletes and Sports Competitors vs Craft Artists: what changes?

Consider Athletes and Sports Competitors if you want to compete in athletic events. Consider Craft Artists if you would rather create or reproduce handmade objects for sale and exhibition using a variety of techniques, such as welding, weaving, pottery, and needlecraft. Both list no formal educational credential; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Athletes and Sports Competitors and Craft Artists. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Athletes and Sports Competitors

National median pay (2025): $66,710
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Assess performance following athletic competition, identifying strengths and weaknesses and making adjustments to improve future performance.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 2,200

Know before you choose

This is a small national occupation (22,900 jobs in 2025), so location and employer concentration can matter more than the national median suggests.

See the full Athletes and Sports Competitors brief

Craft Artists

National median pay (2025): $46,080
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Select materials for use based on strength, color, texture, balance, weight, size, malleability and other characteristics.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 1,000

Know before you choose

This is a small national occupation (11,500 jobs in 2025), so location and employer concentration can matter more than the national median suggests.

See the full Craft Artists brief

How the national numbers differ

Athletes and Sports Competitors has the edge on median pay

Athletes and Sports Competitors is at $66,710, compared with $46,080 for Craft Artists.

Athletes and Sports Competitors has the edge on projected growth

Athletes and Sports Competitors is at 5.5% projected growth, compared with 2% projected growth for Craft Artists.

Typical preparation differs.

Athletes and Sports Competitors: No formal educational credential; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Craft Artists: No formal educational credential; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Athletes and Sports Competitors has the edge on annual openings

Athletes and Sports Competitors is at 2,200 annual openings, compared with 1,000 annual openings for Craft Artists.

58.5/ 100

Athletes and Sports Competitors

29.3/ 100

Craft Artists

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Athletes and Sports Competitors vs Craft Artists

Dimension	Athletes and Sports Competitors	Craft Artists
Median pay (2025)	$66,710	$46,080
Pay percentile	58.4 percentile	20.5 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	5.5%	2%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	2,200	1,000
2025 employment	22,900	11,500
How you qualify	No formal educational credential; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	No formal educational credential; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 3
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

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Athletes and Sports Competitors vs Craft Artists: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Athletes and Sports Competitors

Craft Artists

How the national numbers differ

Athletes and Sports Competitors has the edge on median pay

Athletes and Sports Competitors has the edge on projected growth

Typical preparation differs.

Athletes and Sports Competitors has the edge on annual openings

Athletes and Sports Competitors vs Craft Artists

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