Institute for Career Research

Careers in Professional Baseball Institute for Career Research

YOU DON'T HAVE TO HIT A NINETY-FIVE-mile-an-hour fastball or throw a wicked curve to have a successful career in professional baseball. In fact, you might not even have to hit or pitch at all. What better job could there be than to spend your life in America's pastime? You get up every morning and go to work at the ballpark. Baseball is big money today. Whether you wear a baseball uniform to work or a jacket and tie, you are still going to have to produce results to make it in this game. Many people think professional baseball starts and ends with the major leagues, but it doesn't. There are many minor league baseball clubs across the nation and plenty of jobs for baseball enthusiasts who want to trade in their fan status for a paycheck. Besides all the action you see on the field, you will find there is constant activity going on behind the scenes to make the fans experience at the ballpark so memorable they want to keep coming back for more, and bring the next generation of fans along with them. People rarely realize what it takes to be a general manager on any level of baseball, or the director of marketing, or a scout for a major league ball club. It takes more than a love of the game to succeed as a baseball professional - it requires a real obsession. When you work in professional baseball, you have to look at all aspects of the game, and you have to make tough decisions because everything you do involves one goal - to make the organization better. You never answer to just one boss; you have to please thousands of people. At every home game, the fans will let you know what they think of the job you are doing. If you are having a tough day, there is usually no place to hide. No matter how badly things are going, and how much you hope things turn around, you have to face the crowd. Whether you are on the field or in the front office, fans will find a way to let you know how they feel, especially during a losing streak. Yet, it's all worth it, because when you finally do hold up that championship trophy, you realize that there is no other job that can make you feel that good.