Also called: Professional Hockey Player
Plays professional ice hockey in the National Hockey League.
An 82-game season packed with travel, morning skates, video sessions, and physical recovery. Players often leave home at 16 to play junior hockey. The game is fast and physically punishing.
Estimate based on NHL contract data: minimum about $775k, median about $1.5M.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 3 years after high school. Most athletes start as kids and compete through high school and college; no degree is required, though many earn one. Most come up through junior hockey or college hockey.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Self-taught. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Kinesiology, Business.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years). BLS projects 5% growth for all athletes and sports competitors (2024-34), but roster spots in each league are nearly fixed, so competition is extreme.
Low risk for 10 years. Tracking data and AI video tag every shift; playing hockey stays human, and spots remain extremely scarce.
Classes: Weight training PE, NCAA-approved core courses, Health and nutrition.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-2021.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.