Launch League

Healthcare · Helping & Teaching

Kinesiologist: what the job actually is

Using movement and exercise to help people recover from injury, manage illness or move better, in a regulated profession in Ontario.

Published Last reviewed How we research and correct this

Kinesiologist: quick facts

Kinesiologist salary in Ontario: the median pay is $30.10 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is good. The job usually needs a university degree.

Median pay in Ontario
$30.10 an hour
Pay range (low to high)
$22.00 to $38.00 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Good
People working in it in Ontario
3,950
Usually needs
Usually a university degree

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 31204. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • Helping people move: after an injury, with a long-term condition, or to get back to work. You assess what a person can do now, plan exercise and movement to improve it, and track whether it works.
  • A lot of the job is teaching: showing someone how to do a movement correctly, adjusting it, and getting them to do it at home when you are not there.
  • Job Bank's group includes athletic trainers and other therapy occupations. Its Ontario employers include offices of health practitioners, nursing and residential care facilities and hospitals.
  • Job Bank notes that kinesiology services are not covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan, and that access to private health insurance affects the opportunities.
  • The title is protected. The College of Kinesiologists of Ontario says you cannot call yourself a kinesiologist until you pass its exam and pay your registration fee.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 8:00 — Review the day's clients: who is new, who has been stuck for three weeks.
  2. 8:30 — A new client after an injury. You ask about work, sleep and goals before you ask them to move.
  3. 9:15 — Test their range of movement and strength, and write down numbers you can compare next month.
  4. 10:00 — Build a programme they can actually do at home, in the time they actually have.
  5. 11:00 — A returning client who has not done the exercises. You find out why without making them feel judged.
  6. 12:30 — Lunch, and a phone call with an insurer about what is covered.
  7. 13:30 — A group session: four people at once, each at a different stage.
  8. 15:00 — Write reports for a workplace or insurer. Return-to-work reports need to be exact.
  9. 16:30 — Clean the equipment, update the notes and set up tomorrow.
  10. 17:00 — Out, with a body that spends the whole day demonstrating movement.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You like how bodies work and enjoy explaining it to people who find it confusing.
  • You are patient with people who are scared of hurting themselves again.
  • You like variety: a different person with a different problem every hour.
  • You like being active at work and not sitting at a desk all day.
  • You are happy to teach the same movement ten different ways until it clicks.
You may hate this if
  • You assume a kinesiology degree leads straight to this job. Job Bank describes four-year degrees in kinesiology and related fields, but registering as a kinesiologist is its own step with an exam.
  • Pay is a priority. Job Bank's wage figures for this group are lower than for the other regulated health professions on this site, and the work is not covered by OHIP.
  • You dislike selling or explaining value. Where services are paid for privately or by insurers, you will have to make the case for your work.
  • You dislike paperwork and insurer communication, which are a regular part of the work.
  • You want to diagnose or prescribe. The scope of this job is movement and exercise, not diagnosis or medication.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. Earn a bachelor's degree in kinesiology or a similar field

    The College of Kinesiologists of Ontario lists a four-year kinesiology degree, or a similar degree such as physical education or human kinetics from an Ontario university, as an eligible category. Other categories exist for degrees earned elsewhere, so read the College's page for yours.

  2. Apply to the College and pass its exam

    The College says all applicants must pass its entry-to-practice exam, offered twice a year, in spring and in fall, and that you must make your first attempt within one year of approval.

  3. Pay the fee and complete your registration

    Registration is compulsory according to Job Bank. The College's page lists the steps as applying in your category, passing the exam, then paying the registration fee and submitting the required documents.

Where this comes from: College of Kinesiologists of Ontario — Start an application · Job Bank — Kinesiologists and other therapy occupations requirements in Ontario · Job Bank — Kinesiologists and other therapy occupations wages in Ontario

The money

Kinesiologist salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$22.00
Low (hourly)
$30.10
Median (hourly)
$38.00
High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 31204. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — Kinesiologist wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Good4 out of 5 stars

  • Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
  • Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

What is changing in this work

  • Increased need for health-related services to support the growing and aging population in Ontario
  • Investments in new nursing and long-term care facilities could create some opportunities
  • Access to private health insurance, as kinesiology services are not covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)

Who hires for it

  • Offices of health practitioners
  • Nursing and residential care facilities
  • Hospitals
3,950
people work in this job in Ontario
75%
are women (48% across all jobs)
17%
are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Kinesiologists and other professional occupations in therapy and assessment job prospects in Ontario (NOC 31204). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Take the senior biology, physical education, and maths courses. The university programmes ask for a science base.
  • Coach or help run a team or a younger group, and notice whether you enjoy explaining how to do something physical.
  • Ask a local physiotherapy or kinesiology clinic whether a student can job-shadow for a half day. Phone, be polite, and take no for an answer.
  • Learn first aid or CPR. It is a small, concrete credential.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Teach one movement to someone, then read the route

About 60 minutes
  1. Pick a simple, safe movement, such as standing up from a chair without using your hands, and teach it to a family member or friend in three different ways. Only do it if neither of you has pain or an injury, and stop if anything hurts.
  2. Notice which way of explaining worked, and how it felt to see someone understand.
  3. Read the College of Kinesiologists of Ontario's page on starting an application, and write down the steps from the degree to registration.
  4. Watch a day-in-the-life video from a registered kinesiologist and note what the working week looks like.

What it tells you. If you liked the teaching and the problem-solving, shadow a kinesiologist and look at the degree programmes properly. If you enjoyed exercise but not explaining it, or you wanted to diagnose rather than coach, physiotherapy or sport-related jobs on this site are worth comparing.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “What kinds of clients do you see, and who is hardest to help?”
  2. “What did your degree prepare you for and what did it not?”
  3. “How is your work paid for, by insurers, by clients, or by employers?”
  4. “What did the registration exam ask of you?”
  5. “How did you find your first job after registering?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Yes. Job Bank lists offices of health practitioners as an employer, and some kinesiologists run their own clinics or work independently. It takes a registered kinesiologist, a space or a mobile service and a way to be paid, and you should ask a working kinesiologist how that went for them.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does a kinesiologist make in Ontario?

The median pay for a kinesiologist in Ontario is $30.10 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $22.00 to $38.00 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for a kinesiologist in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as good for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to several new positions. Not many positions will become available due to retirements. There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become a kinesiologist in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a university degree. The usual route in Ontario, in order: Earn a bachelor's degree in kinesiology or a similar field; Apply to the College and pass its exam; Pay the fee and complete your registration.

Where does a kinesiologist work in Ontario?

Offices of health practitioners. Nursing and residential care facilities. Hospitals. (Job Bank.)

How many people work as a kinesiologist in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 3,950 people working in this job in Ontario. 75% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Not sure this is the right list to be reading

Start from yourself, not from the job.

Future Finder is free, takes about ten minutes, needs no account and stores nothing. It will tell you which kinds of work you lean toward, and which of these pages are worth your time.

Try Future Finder — freeAll jobs

Parent of a teenager weighing this up? Career coaching for teens gets them talking to people who do the work, anywhere in Ontario.

If this appeals, look at these too

physiotherapist occupational therapist recreation and fitness instructor respiratory therapist

Read next

What to do after high school University vs college vs apprenticeship Careers that match your strengths All careers guides

Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.