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Exercise Physiologists

US occupation · SOC 29-1128

Job titles people report: Bariatric Weight Loss Counselor, Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Practitioner, Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Therapist, Certified Exercise Physiologist (Certified EP), Clinical Cardiac Exercise Physiologist, Clinical Exercise Physiologist, Clinical Exercise Specialist, Exercise Scientist, Exercise Specialist, Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$59,460
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$49,620 – $67,230
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
8,560
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+12.8%
Growing at twice the all-jobs rate or more (7%+)
Openings a year (projected)
1,400
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Bachelor's degree
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Assess, plan, or implement fitness programs that include exercise or physical activities such as those designed to improve cardiorespiratory function, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, or flexibility.

Main tasks

  • Explain exercise program or physiological testing procedures to participants.
  • Develop exercise programs to improve participant strength, flexibility, endurance, or circulatory functioning, in accordance with exercise science standards, regulatory requirements, and credentialing requirements.
  • Provide clinical oversight of exercise for participants at all risk levels.
  • Provide emergency or other appropriate medical care to participants with symptoms or signs of physical distress.
  • Interview participants to obtain medical history or assess participant goals.
  • Demonstrate correct use of exercise equipment or performance of exercise routines.
  • Prescribe individualized exercise programs, specifying equipment, such as treadmill, exercise bicycle, ergometers, or perceptual goggles.
  • Interpret exercise program participant data to evaluate progress or identify needed program changes.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Bachelor's degree
O*NET Job Zone 4
Considerable preparation
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
  • Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
  • Social: helping, teaching and caring for people

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 3 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Biology & Life Sciences

  • Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Biology & Life Sciences at the Major step.

Where many students take biology & life sciences

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Health & Nursing

  • Kinesiotherapy/Kinesiotherapist

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Health & Nursing at the Major step.

Where many students take health & nursing

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Kinesiology & Sports Science

  • Exercise Science and Kinesiology

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Kinesiology & Sports Science at the Major step.

Where many students take kinesiology & sports science

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk