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Healthcare

Exercise physiologists

Typically requires Bachelor's degree

What is this page & how do I use it?

This is a research report for one career — the kind an analyst would write for a stock. The rating at the top is the neutral baseline (same for everyone); below it come the cases for and against, how the last official forecast for this career actually aged, and what the education path costs and pays.

How to use it: read the bulls-vs-bears case, then hit Score this career to weigh it against your other options with your own interests factored in.

CareerStar rating
MixedMedium uncertainty
top 14% of all 730 careers

Analyst take: Strong market prospects — +9.5% projected growth, low AI exposure (26/100).

58
/ 100
low riskhigh
top row = high reward

Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. Narrow = some shelter, but AI can reach a real share of its tasks.

The small grid is a style box (borrowed from Morningstar’s fund reports): the blue square places this career on reward (top row = high) versus risk (left column = low), against all 730 careers. Medium uncertainty means the score leans partly on forward-looking bets like AI exposure, so treat the exact number loosely.

🐂 Bulls say
  • +Strong projected growth — outpaces 92% of careers (+9.5%).
  • +Low AI exposure — resilient (26% of tasks exposed).
🐻 Bears say
  • Its softest spot: pay is mid-pack ($58,160).
📜 Reality check — how the last forecast for this career fared

In 2014, the U.S. government projected +10.3% growth for this career by 2024. What actually happened: +64.8%. Reality beat the forecast — a reminder that every number on this page is an estimate, and this is how the last one aged. Full back-test →

Was this rating fair?
Projected growth
+9.5%
Median pay
$58,160
AI exposure
26/100
share of tasks exposed to AI — not job loss

Education & ROI — how to get here

Real outcomes for the college majors that feed this occupation, across 1,455 bachelor’s programs.

Median earnings
$28,600
1 year after graduating
Typical debt
$25,629
median federal debt
Pay-to-debt
1.1×
first-year pay ÷ debt
Feeder majors
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/FitnessExercise Physiology and KinesiologyAssistive/Augmentative Technology and Rehabilitation Engineering
Selective schools offering these majors
Northeastern University
MA · 5% admit rate
$84,641/yr
$92,538 grad pay
Duke University
NC · 6% admit rate
$87,072/yr
$97,800 grad pay
Rice University
TX · 8% admit rate
$79,788/yr
$89,718 grad pay
Barnard College
NY · 9% admit rate
$89,538/yr
$80,516 grad pay
University of California-Los Angeles
CA · 9% admit rate
$38,614/yr
$82,511 grad pay
University of Southern California
CA · 10% admit rate
$90,300/yr
$92,498 grad pay

Earnings & debt from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard; majors mapped to this occupation via the NCES CIP→SOC crosswalk. A grounded ROI snapshot, not a guarantee — pay varies widely by school and specialty.

What this work involves

healthcaremedicinecarepeoplescience