Objective: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE: 1) demographics and professional credentials of recently hired athletic trainers, 2) the association between these characteristics and the high school, clinical, and collegiate setting, and 3) which of these factors best predicted salary.
Design and setting: A survey was sent to all prospective employers. Of the 472 surveys sent, 282 (60%) were returned.
Subjects: Prospective employers who were listed on the NATA job vacancy notices from January 1, 1994 to October 1, 1994.
Measurements: Employers selected a job description for their position opening and indicated the characteristics of the people they hired. The job descriptions were placed into three categories. A chi-square analysis was used to determine the degree of association between applicant characteristics and job descriptions. Employee characteristics were coded and a stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to determined which of the characteristics best predicted salary. Analyses of variance were performed to determine differences among the three practice settings and as follow-up analyses to the multiple regression. An analysis of variance was also performed to compare salaries based on job description and teaching responsibilities.
Results: No association was found between the employment setting and gender, ethnicity, marital status, educational route, physical therapy, credential, or EMT certification. There was an association between the CPR instructor's credential and employment setting and between highest degree attained and employment setting.
Conclusions: The results suggest that these factors were most closely associated with employment in the collegiate setting. With regard to salary, it was determined that a doctoral degree, a master's degree, and marital status were the best predictors of salary.