Kinesiology and then Nursing?

Editorial Team / Admin · Nov 15, 2015

Honestly, if it's nursing you want to work in, just skip the kinesiology degree. Why spend the money and the extra time in school?

Seattlemamalama · Nov 16, 2015

I don't know anything about kinesiology and my intention is not to be rude or disrespectful but I have a friend who was in a similar position as you. This friend got their bachelors in kinesiology and has returned back to school to get their BSN because they were unhappy with their first degree. According to them when I had asked what a kinesiologist does, they explained it as "an over qualified personal trainer."

If I were you I would search up realistic/ attainable job opportunities for someone with a degree in kinesiology (ex: not becoming the personal trainer for the Seahawks) and see if you feel like it's something you would like.

My impression from reading your post is that you have a ton of things you would like to pursue but aren't aware of what compromises each of them.

Look at everything realistically... Realizes it costs time and money... And know your limits.

Have fun!

p.s. Sorry for spelling errors, I'm typing on my phone!

txstudent6, BSN, RN · Nov 16, 2015

A lot of people do choose nursing as a second degree. But if you already have the intention of doing nursing, I say you go for nursing first! I was going to major in kinesiology at first to then go to grad school for occupational therapy. I realized if something were to happen like not get into grad school, babies or something, I couldn't find a good job with a bachelor In kinesiology. I've always had my heart in nursing so I chose nursing :)

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Nov 16, 2015

It really depends upon what you intend to do with the Kines degree. If it's Sports Med and you want to be a Certified Athletic Trainer, then that's not a bad way to go, just know that you really can't do both at the same time because of the internship requirement. In short, doing a double major with this combo isn't a good idea nor is it going to be actually possible. If you want to be both, get your Kines/Sports Med degree done first, apply to BSN programs, test out your ATC, and also apply to ELM programs for Nursing. The knowledge and experience you'd gain in physical assessment, physiology/exercise phys/injury phys, and the like will definitely help you down the road, mostly if you decide to do NP or PA school.

If you're looking to do Exercise Science as your Kines degree option, you're ultimately probably looking at a Physical Therapist Masters/PhD track. Sports Med is more of a Terminal Degree, but you could go from there into PT/OT, or PA without too much difficulty.

A Kines/Sports Med degree doesn't make one an "overqualified personal trainer" although any ATC should be able to pass the exams to become a certified personal trainer. An ATC is someone that's highly educated in the prevention, care, and rehab of athletic injury, from the youngest athlete to the oldest, in all sports, be it non-contact, contact, or collision. My own background is Sports Med. Given the education I got from my SM program, Paramedic was stupid easy and the NREMT-P exam was moderately difficult and Nursing School was mostly redundant from that, just done from a Nursing viewpoint, but the NCLEX-RN was very, very challenging because of how it's designed. Yes, I easily passed with 75...

Although not exactly planned this way, my educational path to now has been: Sports Med (BS minimum for entry to the field) ->EMT->Paramedic->RN.

crystalq1 · Nov 17, 2015

It really depends upon what you intend to do with the Kines degree. If it's Sports Med and you want to be a Certified Athletic Trainer, then that's not a bad way to go, just know that you really can't do both at the same time because of the internship requirement. In short, doing a double major with this combo isn't a good idea nor is it going to be actually possible. If you want to be both, get your Kines/Sports Med degree done first, apply to BSN programs, test out your ATC, and also apply to ELM programs for Nursing. The knowledge and experience you'd gain in physical assessment, physiology/exercise phys/injury phys, and the like will definitely help you down the road, mostly if you decide to do NP or PA school.
If you're looking to do Exercise Science as your Kines degree option, you're ultimately probably looking at a Physical Therapist Masters/PhD track. Sports Med is more of a Terminal Degree, but you could go from there into PT/OT, or PA without too much difficulty.
A Kines/Sports Med degree doesn't make one an "overqualified personal trainer" although any ATC should be able to pass the exams to become a certified personal trainer. An ATC is someone that's highly educated in the prevention, care, and rehab of athletic injury, from the youngest athlete to the oldest, in all sports, be it non-contact, contact, or collision. My own background is Sports Med. Given the education I got from my SM program, Paramedic was stupid easy and the NREMT-P exam was moderately difficult and Nursing School was mostly redundant from that, just done from a Nursing viewpoint, but the NCLEX-RN was very, very challenging because of how it's designed. Yes, I easily passed with 75...
Although not exactly planned this way, my educational path to now has been: Sports Med (BS minimum for entry to the field) ->EMT->Paramedic->RN.

Thank you! I was concerned because I'm already on my second year in of college and I felt that if I switched then all that I've done would go to waste, but then I had a break-through and realized that the pre-req's are pretty similar to each other.. Lol but thank you again, this helps a lot.

crystalq1 · Nov 17, 2015

A lot of people do choose nursing as a second degree. But if you already have the intention of doing nursing, I say you go for nursing first! I was going to major in kinesiology at first to then go to grad school for occupational therapy. I realized if something were to happen like not get into grad school, babies or something, I couldn't find a good job with a bachelor In kinesiology. I've always had my heart in nursing so I chose nursing

Oh wow I hadn't thought about that! (If something happens to me in that nature) yes that's very true. Thank you! :)

crystalq1 · Nov 17, 2015

Honestly, if it's nursing you want to work in, just skip the kinesiology degree. Why spend the money and the extra time in school?

This is true! It would be better to just go straight into it, I mean right now my classes are covered with the BOG C Waiver, so I should be taking advantage of that while I can haha

crystalq1 · Nov 17, 2015

I don't know anything about kinesiology and my intention is not to be rude or disrespectful but I have a friend who was in a similar position as you. This friend got their bachelors in kinesiology and has returned back to school to get their BSN because they were unhappy with their first degree. According to them when I had asked what a kinesiologist does, they explained it as "an over qualified personal trainer."
If I were you I would search up realistic/ attainable job opportunities for someone with a degree in kinesiology (ex: not becoming the personal trainer for the Seahawks) and see if you feel like it's something you would like.
My impression from reading your post is that you have a ton of things you would like to pursue but aren't aware of what compromises each of them.
Look at everything realistically... Realizes it costs time and money... And know your limits.
Have fun!
p.s. Sorry for spelling errors, I'm typing on my phone!

Not rude at all! You're just being honest haha :) Thank you!

aeris99 · Nov 17, 2015

Try looking here for more information:

Home : Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics