Athletic Train Career Essay

For my networking assignment I chose a professional in my field whom I know very well. The professional is my previous athletic trainer, who is the reason I wish to pursue this line of work. Her name is Jaime Aji, she has her Masters of Science in Athletic Training as well as Athletic Trainer Certified (ATC). Jaime has been working as the Athletic Trainer at Nutley High School for the past eight years. Before asking some general questions about Mrs. Aji’s job, I thought it would be best to start off with the pros and cons of the career field. When answering what the pros were Aji listed: most of the summer off, the relationship that is built with the athletes, working with great coaches, and getting paid to watch sporting events. The pros seemed to be the exact pros I thought of when thinking about the career. For the cons she listed: all year trainers have no summer off, hours can be terrible, some coaches do not show respect, and some parents and coaches do not understand exactly what she does. Overall I feel that the pros outweigh the cons, because every up comes with downs. When interviewing Mrs. Aji I asked questions I thought would be relevant to get to know more about the career of being an athletic trainer. When asked why she felt the occupation was changing, she said that

I found it extremely interesting and beneficial to be able to talk someone that has the career that you wish to have down the road. Although, I knew my professional, I had never talked to her really about all of these aspects of the job and I feel I most definitely have more perspective for what the future holds. Since I knew my person, there was not any awkward, stranger conversation, however, I did reach out as if I was talking to a professional I did not know, as opposed to someone I see as a mentor. This was a great experience, and I feel that I would certainly be able to do this again in the