This post will cover some of the importance’s of education, what classes to take and why in this post. These suggestions will allow you to set yourself apart from the thousands of others looking to get into the great game of baseball.
Yes, it is important to get a Bachelor’s Degree in order to break into baseball. Although, I have seen people establish themselves in the game without a degree. I happen to know a fairly successful person in the business that has no more than a year or so of college. They quit school after they broke into baseball and haven’t had to look back since. Sure you can get lucky like this individual and break into the game without finishing your degree, but in 99% of the cases you need to have at least a Bachelor’s Degree. If for nothing else, so as not to leave any glaring wholes in your resume. Now a Master’s Degree, well that’s another story. I’ll touch on additional schooling a little later on.
If you are someone that didn’t realize that you wanted to break into baseball until after you graduated from college without a Sports Management Degree, well don’t fear there are still opportunities for you. I know plenty of people working in the game of baseball with an English, History, Business or Psychology Degree. If you are one of those individuals I suggest you keep an eye out for some of my future posts that may apply to you. Right now, I’d like to focus on those individuals that are not yet in college or have not finished.
As you are working on your Sports Management Degree it is just as important to pick the rest of your classes wisely. It is that minor or second major in your degree that can help set yourself apart from the other 1,000+ resumes in the stack.
I suggest that you take several computer classes and I’m not talking about Typing or Microsoft Word classes. Take Photoshop, Illustrator and/or Website Design classes as they often are an area few candidates have experience in, but all ball clubs need. There is a constant need for flyer creation, website design, print piece design, videoboard logos and whatever else may pop up during a season. Most staffs in baseball are lucky to have one or two of these talented individuals so this can be an easy way in for many.
Financial classes (Accounting, Finance, etc.) may not necessarily help you at the start of your career but could come in handy much later on. As you begin to deal with budgets and running a multi-million dollar ball club it will be helpful for you to work magic with numbers.
If your school offers a sales class(es) take it!!! It is probably safe to say that 80-90% of all people in baseball are involved in sales at some level in their position and the percentage of entry level positions that are sales-intense is even higher. This tends to be the largest disconnect between the Sports Management Programs and the teams. Universities are failing to tell the students that if you want to get into the sports industry then likely nine out 10 graduates will be starting off in sales (most likely ticket sales for that matter). Of the hundreds of interviews I’ve done over the years only a handful of students had some type of sales class, sales experience or showed interest in learning more about sales. Each one of those students instantly jumped ahead of the hundreds of other candidates for the open position.
Anyone with hopes of being a manager of personnel, I strongly suggest Psychology classes as a must. There is no doubt in my mind that I use my Psychology Degree more than I do my Sports Management Degree on a day to day basis. Psychology comes in handy whether you are managing a challenging individual, handling personnel issues or learning to understand your customers better.
Communication classes are key as well in the game of baseball. Speech classes will not only help you in front of a Community Relations visit with the local Rotary Club, but it will help with your sales skills. English and writing classes can be important even for those individuals outside of the Media Relations Department as sales staff put together proposals or management proof read things before going out.
Another area to explore that will help set you apart from other candidates is adding a second language. A second language can be extremely handy in different markets across the country. It could also be key for you as the game of baseball expands into other markets across the world. Who knows where in the world your career path could take you.
Retail classes can help you land that position within the Merchandise Department. The same goes for Food and Beverage, as more and more Minor League Clubs take over management of their own F and B Operations.
This may come as a surprise but marketing should be one of someone’s last choices for secondary classes. Not only is it on 75% of all Sports Management resumes, but I cannot tell you how many college students when asked what they want to do in baseball, respond with “Work in Marketing.” The number of baseball jobs that are solely marketing focused is so extreme. There may be one of those jobs at each of the Major League Clubs, but those jobs just do not exist at the Minor League level. That type of response instantly shuts me down in an interview because I know the candidate hasn’t done their research and likely doesn’t know much about what they are getting into. Marketing in baseball sounds like a dream job, but for the most part that position alone just doesn’t exist.
Master’s Degree in Sports Management – just not necessary…unless. For many that worked hard, diversified their experiences and have done a couple of internships already then a Master’s Degree will not make much of a difference. However, the Master’s Degree comes in quite handy for those that decided late to get into sports, have little or no internship experience or just haven’t found the break they’ve needed to get into the game. In baseball there is no pay bump for a Master’s. There is no special treatment even if you’ve done the extra schooling. You will still start off as an intern answering phones, picking up trash or making sales calls just like everyone else.
So you have decided to go to school for Sports Management, now what? Get an internship as soon as possible. I hear from college students all of the time that say, “I don’t need to get internship credits until my senior year.” If you wait until your senior year to do your internship then you are behind the ball and in a career field that is extremely competitive it makes it that much more difficult for you to break in. Do not wait until you are in your junior year, or even until after you’ve taken your first Sports Management class. Start some type of internship the second you know you want to be in the game of baseball. You cannot start too early. Some of the best interns I’ve seen were sophomores or juniors in High School. They end up having five or six years of various experiences in the business by the time they are done with college and ready to be hired. When you get your very first internship, be open to any type of position even if it is just picking up trash, answering the phones or filing paperwork. These are all opportunities for you to get your foot in the door and if you work hard then bigger and better things will come along. Keep your eyes out as I’ll cover internships and how to get your foot in the door in a future post.
I’ve tried to cover a lot in this post, but obviously can’t cover everything. Please feel free to post your own experiences here or ask questions as well. You may also reach me on Twitter @workinbaseball or by email at workinbaseball@gmail.com. I look forward to your feedback and hopefully my guidance can assist you in landing the career of your dreams.
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