Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials vs Athletic Trainers
Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index
A factual, source-backed comparison of Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials and Athletic Trainers on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”
At a glance
| Dimension | Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials | Athletic Trainers |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $38,820 | $60,250 |
| Employment | 15,080 | 28,950 |
| Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection | About average (+5.7%) | Growing fast (+11.1%) |
| Annual openings · BLS projection | 4,600 | 2,400 |
| Typical education · O*NET | Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. | Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree). |
| AI exposure · published exposure studies | Low · 25th pct | Moderate · 34th pct |
| Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk | 71st pct · 37% of tasks | 45th pct · 25% of tasks |
| Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index | Augmentation-leaning (61.4%) | Augmentation-leaning (56.4%) |
| Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman | No | Yes |
Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.
Skills
Shared: Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Near Vision, Speaking, Problem Sensitivity, Speech Clarity, English Language, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Judgment and Decision Making, Deductive Reasoning, Speech Recognition, Monitoring, Flexibility of Closure, Reading Comprehension, Active Learning, Learning Strategies, Social Perceptiveness, Coordination, Complex Problem Solving, Written Comprehension, Inductive Reasoning, Education and Training, Instructing, Time Management, Written Expression, Information Ordering, Administration and Management, Writing.
Specific to Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials
- Far Vision
- Perceptual Speed
- Selective Attention
- Time Sharing
- Memorization
- Speed of Closure
- Trunk Strength
- Category Flexibility
Specific to Athletic Trainers
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- Psychology
- Therapy and Counseling
- Service Orientation
- Public Safety and Security
- Administrative
- Biology
Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).
Tools & technology
Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Electronic mail software , Presentation software , Word processing software , Data base user interface and query software , Internet browser software .
Specific to Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials
Specific to Athletic Trainers
Full profiles
This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials or Athletic Trainers — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.
More comparisons
Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.
- Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials vs Coaches and Scouts
- Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials vs Athletes and Sports Competitors
- Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials vs Amusement and Recreation Attendants
- Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials vs First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers, Except Gambling Services
- Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials vs Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors
- Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials vs First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives
- Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials vs Animal Trainers
- Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials vs Compliance Officers
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Singulariki. "Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials vs Athletic Trainers." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/umpires-referees-and-other-sports-officials-vs-athletic-trainers
Singulariki. (2026). Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials vs Athletic Trainers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/umpires-referees-and-other-sports-officials-vs-athletic-trainers
@misc{singulariki-umpires-referees-and-other-sports-officials-vs-athletic-trainers,
title = {Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials vs Athletic Trainers},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/compare/umpires-referees-and-other-sports-officials-vs-athletic-trainers}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.