Education · 1 of 5

The path

A four-year degree, supervised hours with real patients, then a certification that employers actually ask for.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   Biology, chemistry, physics and math. Get a part-time job or a volunteer shift somewhere people are recovering from something.

2. 2

   Bachelor's degree

   4 years

   Kinesiology, exercise science or exercise physiology. Expect anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, nutrition and a lot of lab work.

3. 3

   Internship and supervised hours

   1 to 2 semesters

   Most good programs place you in a cardiac rehab unit, a sports medicine clinic or a research lab. This is what turns a degree into a job offer.

4. 4

   Certification

   A few months

   The Certified Exercise Physiologist credential from the American College of Sports Medicine needs a bachelor's degree plus current CPR. The clinical version needs either a master's plus 600 hours of hands-on clinical work, or a bachelor's plus 1,200 hours.

5. 5

   Master's degree, if you want the clinical jobs

   2 more years

   Hospital cardiac and pulmonary rehab increasingly wants one. It is also the usual bridge into research or teaching.