Degrees, masters & working in sport

Degrees, masters & working in sport

You probably already know by now that getting a job in sports usually requires a degree of some sort. The whole landscape of degrees and higher education has changed a lot over the last ten years or so and if you are serious about a career in sports analysis, you may need to plan the route you want to go down.

To start with, I will paint the picture of what it was like when I was at university (I graduated 10 years ago!). I selected my course as it had a module on analysis in the second year. I wanted to be an analyst and this course was local to where I lived and offered a relevant module. To be honest, my options were limited.

Back then, analysis was much less popular than it is now. An odd module here and there on an undergraduate degree and if you wanted a masters, maybe just 1 or 2 options.

Nowadays you are seeing courses solely dedicated to analysis and a course without a single analysis module is much rarer.

So, what degree do you need?
This really depends on the type of analyst that you want to be. For example, if you are looking to be a data analyst then that would require a different education to that of a traditional 'video' or 'performance' analyst.

Sticking to the traditional analyst, you would be looking to do some form of sports science or sports coaching degree that includes a sports analysis module. You could then compliment this with some work experience whilst at university and even additional qualifications such as coaching courses.

For these roles, if you have seen any job adverts, you will see that they all ask for a degree. It seems like that is used as a simple way to initially filter through a lot of applications.

If you want to get into a data role, you don't really need a sports degree at all to be honest. Clubs are now hiring people from outside of the industry to fill data roles and so you could be valuable if you have a degree in something like:

  • Data science
  • Mathematics / statistics
  • Computer science
  • Engineering / Physics
  • Economics / Business

Granted, you may be paid more outside of sport when it comes to data, but if that's what you are passionate about, you could make a great career if you have the desired skills.

Can you do it without a degree?
Yes, but it will be A LOT harder. If you don't have a degree you will have to excel in other areas and personally, I would say the only ways in which you could get a job without a degree would be to build a strong portfolio of work and also leverage a good network (which of course, takes time to build up).

However, if you consider that a degree takes 3 years, imagine what you could get done in that time if you were working on your own projects and actively looking to collaborate and share ideas with other people. It will be tough at the start but if you keep going and want it enough, it can certainly be done.

The path without the degree is definitely a much rarer one. It is possible, but it will slash your chances considerably and mean, as mentioned, that you have to put in A LOT of work in other areas to make up for it.

I have seen people get into full time data positions that worked a job outside of sport and demonstrated their football skills and passion by building a personal brand on the side.

I've actually done a video on the exact topic of this newsletter and so why not check that out here...

Masters or work experience?
A long standing debate in the industry. Personally, I would favour experience if I had to choose one over the other. That doesn't mean masters aren't useful, as they definitely can be.

However, I think some people are very naive and think that if they go through their undergraduate degree and get a masters, they should get a job no problem... Wrong!

If you can get both then that would be the ideal situation. We are starting to see a lot more masters degrees that are coupled with an industry placement which do seem like a good option. Not only are you getting the masters qualification, but you are spending valuable time within a club setting which will do wonders for getting your ready for when your masters is completed.

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