Figuring out what is out there in the sporting world.

Sport today has become one of the upper echelon businesses in the world. When you think about top things that employ people in the US, and offer successful job opportunities, sports are on that list. Things like finance, banking, food industry, stock broking, teaching, being a lawyer or doctor; sport now offers jobs and opportunities that are just as desirable as all of these, and it is was not always this way. In fact, a few decades ago, if a person said they wanted to pursue a career in sport, it meant they were headed down the path to becoming a gym teacher. Today, there is sports advertising, sports law, countless sport media outlets, public relations in sport, and many more areas of sport that offer great opportunities for people to have successful positions in the sporting world.

That brings me to myself. Along with the hundreds of other students at Ithaca College who are participating in some sort of sport studies. And of course we can't forget about the thousands more at all the other colleges and universities around the country who are studying the same things, all of who are looking to become successful in the world of sport, without actually playing it. What is out there for us? How vast is this sports society? I for one do not know exactly what I have got myself into. I decided to choose sports media as my major when I enrolled at Ithaca College based on the fact that I like sports. I felt that I could be successful at something that I am passionate about, and so I decided to look into this so-called "sports media" and run with it for awhile. Well in my third year into college, and internship-less, I am still unsure of what career path I am headed down. So why not take this time to look at some aspects of sport that seem appealing to me.

One thing that is appealing to me, and maybe can be something like a goal, is to reach a job on the professional level. By this I mean with a professional team, preferably in the big three: the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Professional Sports teams are big businesses, and they offer many jobs within their organizations. I am very interested in what goes on behind the scenes within the sports organizations, such as management, marketing, media relations, and things of that sort. Now obviously, money comes into play at some point. Everyone wants to make the big bucks, and a lot of areas in sport are known to not pay out very well. It seems like in sports, you're either making a lot, or you're not bringing in as much as you would like. It depends on what team you're working for, and what league that team is in. Obviously there is going to be a difference in what the Public Relations Director for the Arena Football League Chicago Rush makes, to what the same position on the National Football League Chicago Bears makes.

That brings me to why I chose Ithaca as the school I wanted to enroll in. Hopefully having a degree in Sports Media will give me the opportunity to find a job that has a good salary, and that I enjoy as well. Some different organizations in which previous graduates of IC have gotten jobs with include The Boston Celtics, Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Dodgers, the Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner, and many others.

I am excited to see where I end up in the future, and hopefully it will be with an organization that I can be successful in. One in which I can continue to rise in ranking in years to come, and become an important part of whatever organization that may be.