Athletes and Sports Competitors vs Musicians and Singers: 5.5% vs 0.3% Job Growth

Athletes and Sports Competitors vs Musicians and Singers: what changes?

Consider Athletes and Sports Competitors if you want to compete in athletic events. Consider Musicians and Singers if you would rather play one or more musical instruments or sing. 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 Musicians and Singers. 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

Musicians and Singers

National median pay (2025): —
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: Perform before live audiences in concerts, recitals, educational presentations, and other social gatherings.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 17,400

Know before you choose

BLS projects essentially flat employment (0.3%) through 2035. Annual openings mostly reflect replacement, not a rapidly expanding field.

See the full Musicians and Singers brief

How the national numbers differ

Musicians and Singers has the edge on annual openings

Musicians and Singers is at 17,400 annual openings, compared with 2,200 annual openings for Athletes and Sports Competitors.

Athletes and Sports Competitors has the edge on projected growth

Athletes and Sports Competitors is at 5.5% projected growth, compared with 0.3% projected growth for Musicians and Singers.

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 Musicians and Singers: 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.

58.5/ 100

Athletes and Sports Competitors

48.9/ 100

Musicians and Singers

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 Musicians and Singers

Dimension	Athletes and Sports Competitors	Musicians and Singers
Median pay (2025)	$66,710	—
Pay percentile	58.4 percentile	Unavailable
Projected growth (2025–2035)	5.5%	0.3%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	2,200	17,400
2025 employment	22,900	170,400
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 4
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.

Read Athletes and Sports Competitors brief Read Musicians and Singers brief

Athletes and Sports Competitors vs Musicians and Singers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Athletes and Sports Competitors

Musicians and Singers

How the national numbers differ

Musicians and Singers has the edge on annual openings

Athletes and Sports Competitors has the edge on projected growth

Typical preparation differs.

Athletes and Sports Competitors vs Musicians and Singers

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