Job description
Sports scouts search, study and recruit new members of an amateur, collegiate or professional sports team. They assess athletes’ physical skills, attitude, education and overall talent to determine if they would be a good fit for their team. Most scouts will either work for a specific sports team or an external organisation that offers information to teams.
Duties
- Peruse newspapers and online journals to locate potential fits to your roster
- Attend practices to personally evaluate athletes and assess their talent
- Watch videos study the minute details of every person you are interested in
- Determine if athletes have a spot in your organisation
- Read through pages of data analysis regarding players and if they fit your organisation’s goals
- Travel to other parts of the world to see athletes’ sporting abilities
- Send recruitment letters, meet athletes and offer incentives (scholarships or signing bonuses)
- Come up with new strategies to gauge players’ relevant skills to ensure they meet your needs
- Write reports explaining to your superiors why certain athletes would be suitable picks
- Compare prospective talents to players on competing teams or schools
Skills and qualities
Job outlook
Projected growth
11%
New jobs
30.5k
Automation risk
1.3%
Career progression
As a sports scout, you will typically begin your career as a talent spotter in a particular area or region. With experience, you can advance to becoming a supervising scout in an organisation.
Working conditions
Average hours
40h/ week
Typical schedule
Full Time
Nights, weekends, holidays occasionally
Sports scouts generally work during regular business hours, although they may occasionally be required to work evenings, weekends or holidays to evaluate an athlete and determine their fitness and eligibility to play on the team.
As a sports scout, you will primarily work in an office setting, combing through data, although regular travel (both home and abroad) to attend sporting events is to be expected.
Salary
Bottom 10%
$19k
Median
$34k
Top 10%
$78k
Annual salary estimates are based on percentile wage data collected through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey of US workers.
Qualifications and training
Education level
Undergraduate
Bachelor’s degree in business or related subject
Study time
4 years
To become a sports scout, you will typically need a bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, sales or sports management.
No previous playing experience is required, although it can improve job prospects.
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 2, 2022
