Working as a PE Technician in the Contemporary Society

A PE technician is a person who supervises and directs the activities of students in Physical and Health Education so that these students can derive maximum benefits and knowledge from this learning program. This program includes physical activities, psychomotor learning, nutrition, and general well-being. Physical education classes strive to instill a basic understanding of a healthy lifestyle, emotional and social development, and physical skill development in students. Working as a Physical Education technician is such a rewarding job that not only do you teach students how to perform some physical activities, but you also partake in these activities. At the end of the day, everyone is physically fit. 

Requirements to Work as a PE Technician

• Be a legal citizen of the United States or possess a work visa as a non-immigrant.
• Possess a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education.
• Complete the Teachers Training program.
• Possess the following certifications:
  • First Aid and Certified Recognition Professionals (CRP) Certification
  • Lifeguard Certification 
  • Sports Therapy Certification
• Possess good working knowledge of lifeguard and rescue operations.
• You must be able to swim and work in a swimming pool setting.
• Possess a valid swimming teacher qualification ( for those applying as lifeguards).

Courses to Study as a PE Technician

• Biomechanics
• Physiology of Exercise
• Psychology of Sport
• Motor Development
• History and Philosophy of Physical Education
• Concept of Motor Skills 
• Care, Prevention and Treatment of Athletic Injuries

Job Description and Duties as a PE Technician

As a Physical Education technician, most of your duties will involve working with students or those younger than you are. Here are the duties you’ll have to perform:

• You’ll fully support the Safeguarding Policy and understand the steps and procedures to follow in a case of child protection.
• You are to promote unity in the students by engaging with them and engaging them during physical activities.
• You are always to be vigilant when the students are working in the swimming pool area or swimming.
• You are to influence your students both physically and mentally.
• You are to prepare lessons that cover the physical needs and challenges of the students.
• You are to influence the students and motivate them to partake in physical activities with a good spirit of sportsmanship.
• You are to teach the students to appreciate and maintain a high level of personal hygiene and a healthy lifestyle.
• You are to engage the students in muscular strengthening exercises to carry out different kinds of physical activities.
• You are expected to pay more attention to students with health challenges like asthma and hyperventilating issues while engaging in physical activities.
• You are to teach students how to administer basic first aid in case of accidents or emergencies.
• You are expected to teach the students to perform physical activities indoors and outdoors.
• You are to tutor students on how to become prospective coaches and sports officials.
• You are to comment and praise the students’ fitness and physical development.

Skills Needed to Work as a Physical Education Technician

• You are to possess the great athletic ability as you’ll be engaged in carrying out physical activities and teaching the same.
• You are to possess diverse teaching abilities, and you must be able to break down complex ideas and teach them in a way best understood by students.
• You should possess the ability to pay more attention to students with difficulties in learning.
• You should have excellent interpersonal skills to foster a strong relationship with the students, their parents or guardians, and with them both. 
• You should be able to treat people, even those younger than you are, with respect.
• You should be able to demonstrate great leadership skills, teamwork, diligence, and good sportsmanship.
• You should be able to fluently speak, read and understand the English language.
• You should be able to build confidence and support in your students effectively. 
• You should be highly organized and tidy, bearing in mind that you could work in highly volatile areas with little children.
• You should be patient and adapt quickly, find new activities to entertain your students and keep them interested in class.
• You should be fun, cheerful, and possess a good sense of humor.
• You should be creative and abreast with the behavioral needs and challenges of your students.

Steps to Become a Physical Education Technician

1. Choose the school, college, or university you are interested in working at. Find out all information you can about this institution, including education majors, location, salaries, certifications required, and accreditation. After you’ve adequately done this, apply to the institution and submit your required documents.
2. Complete the required teacher’s training program and major courses. 
3. Apply for certification in your teaching area, bearing in mind that various States Department of Education has various licensing requirements. Make sure you are well acquainted with these requirements before applying.
4. Register for the licensing exam, study and prepare adequately and then take the exams.
5. Get your license and prepare to teach Physical Education.

Places to Work as a Physical Education Technician

1. Public Schools: A whole lot of Physical Education technicians apply for and get employed to teach in public schools all over the States. The federal or state government funds these schools, and as such, the school district in the local area oversees the school’s curriculum, payment of salaries, and hiring of employees. As public schools are mandated to admit any student in that local area, you should prepare to teach students from a wide variety of different backgrounds, and it is advisable to you learn a whole lot you can about the local district and its challenges so you can prepare yourself ahead of time. And, public schools pay better so you might want to consider this.
   
   
2. Private Schools: These are personal or private organizations owned by individuals, and as such, they do not receive or get funded by the state or federal government. Working as a PE technician in a private school is unique because most of these schools are affiliated with religious organizations, mostly churches, and you might be required to teach students to believe in certain religious principles. As these schools are autonomous, everything is managed by the school’s top officials like principals or rectors, with little or no interference from the government. Most private schools do not require you to be licensed or pass the licensing exams. All you need do is possess at least a Bachelor’s degree in any Physical Education associated course. If these schools are being managed effectively, working here might be incredibly rewarding.
   
   
3. Charter Schools: One striking difference between public and charter schools is that charter schools are independent and function autonomously. These schools are tuition-free like public schools, no doubt, but they are more flexible than them in governance, rules, and regulations, payment of salaries, and even hiring of employees. Every charter school has laid down rules and regulations in a charter plane, and their activities are similar to that of private schools, except that they are tuition-free.

Salaries of Physical Education Technicians

The average salary of a PE technician in the United States is $60,192 annually at an hourly rate of $29. These salaries are paid based on years of experience, athletic skills, and educational qualifications. If you possess years of experience or have, let’s say, a Master’s degree, expect to be paid better.

Here is a list of the best states that pay PE technician’s better.

Advantages of being a PE Technician

1. Physical Fitness: Being a physical education technician is about showing and teaching others how best to engage in physical activities. What other benefits could you derive most from this job if not being physically fit? These activities could be daily, weekly or mid-weekly but one thing is certain, teaching physical education means you must be physically fit. By being physically fit, you have a very high percentage of being healthy.
   
   
2. Earning a Living: You could be someone who loves exercise and carrying out physical activities. By getting employed as a PE technician, you are being paid for just simply enjoying your hobby, only that you’ll have to teach it to others. With your passion and commitment to an active lifestyle, working this job becomes like leisure more than a task.
   
   
3. Teaching Physical Education is very rewarding. Teaching is all about nurturing, caring, imparting knowledge, and impacting the lives of people. If you are passionate about what you do, working with youngsters and coaching them in physical activities is a great opportunity to realize the potentials of these individuals. You never can tell which one of them is the next Anthony Joshua or the energetic Serena Williams. Some day, you’ll look back at this day you chose to be a PE technician, and you won’t regret it because that young boy or girl you coached into becoming a world champion will make sure that doesn’t happen.
   
   
4. Student Success: Many at times, a whole lot of teenagers face serious challenges in school. These could be certain things they might not want to discuss with their parents or peers. Still, the student feels safe relaying this information to the PE technician because of the bond between a physical education technician and a student. We’ve all heard stories of how coaches have brought out the best in students. What makes you think you can’t have this? Being a PE technician gives you an edge over all other teachers in that you are the closest one to these students if you have their best interests at heart, which can be done by impacting the lives of these students positively.
   
   
5. Physical education helps to break the monotony of school activities. As a physical education technician, the students will always be looking forward to you and your classes as they know it’s a chance to get away from the boredom and sometimes, an inconvenience that comes with sitting all day to attend lectures and classes; this endears you to the students, and most at times, you’ll pass as their role model, mentor and of course, friend.

Disadvantages of teaching Physical Education

1. The biggest challenge people face while teaching Physical Education is the stress involved. It is one thing to try out a particular physical activity on your own. It’s another thing teaching others and carrying out this same activity again.
   
   
2. As a physical education technician, you’ll have to teach both in and out of class, meaning that you’ll need to develop a curriculum. Besides the stress you’ll experience by just carrying out these physical activities, you’ll need a curriculum to teach in class. It’s not all about carrying out physical activities, but the students will have to learn the history of physical education and other details. I’m not sure you can teach that by just exercising.
   
   
3. Teaching physical education could expose you to serious problems like a lawsuit. If there were to be a situation where a child slumps, gets seriously injured or even dies while carrying out physical activities under your watch, this could be very bad for you, especially if it happens due to your carelessness. You might not want to go through all this trouble.
   
   
4. Job Insecurity: It’s no longer news that physical education practices usually eat into students’ study time, and in most cases, this is always as a result of the short time allocated for it, but notwithstanding, if students keep performing or having low grades as a result of not studying enough or interference of your classes with others, you might be sanctioned by the school’s authorities or worst, you could lose your job.
   
   
5. Inferiority Complex: While carrying out physical activities, of course, not everyone will be able to. This could lead to taunting or jeering at a particular student by his peers. If this keeps happening, the student could develop very low self-esteem as his peers will have no morale for him, thus, leading to an inferiority complex, and this could have severe problems, especially as some students might attempt to take some steroids or PEDs to boost their strengths and performance.

Conclusion

Physical Education always has and will always be with us, and this great responsibility to keep imparting this knowledge rests on some of us. Having learned the requirements, skills, pros, and cons involved in accepting this responsibility, I believe it’s now left for us to make our choice, but if I were you, I’d give it a try. Who doesn’t like fun?

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