Dual Career Development Perspective: Factors Affecting Quality of Post-sport Career Transition of Employed Olympic Athletes

Although Olympic athletes are celebrated for their sports achievements, they often face serious difficulties in their post-sport career employment. Factors of development that are affecting the quality of post-sport career transition of Olympic athletes are important to acknowledge in the dual career (DC) development perspective. Due to the side lining of academic activities, athletes are often not well prepared for the labor market. If they do not gain sufficient financial background in their careers, it can lead to a lack of proper economic inclusion of athletes in their post-sport career employment and further impact their lives. Career transitions of athletes have been the subject of research in different aspects of DC support (e.g., athletic, psychological, psychosocial, academic/vocational, financial), but most research is linked to the student-athlete DC perspective. Therefore, the aim of our research was to examine the impact of factors directly contributing to the quality of the post-sport career transition in Slovenian elite and Olympic athletes and the social class position and employment of these athletes after the termination of their sports career. From DC support practice, we learned that although athletes often have a proper level of education, their post-sport career transitions were not successful. To fill this gap, 168 elite athletes (Mage = 33.34, SD = 13.1) from Slovenia were asked to complete online questionnaires. The results showed a significant contribution of education and DC support-related finances (e.g., employment of athletes in public administration) to the quality of post-sport career transition. Regarding developing a national DC model and based on empirical research, this study identifies the social class position and employment status of former elite athletes from Slovenia. It also identifies opportunities for further research on the quality of the post-sport career transitions and perspectives on DC support. Understanding how different factors contribute to the integrated development of individual athletes to reach their potential in sports, education, and their post-sport career employment is important for theorists, DC practitioners, and stakeholders working with DC athletes. To develop a sufficient mechanism, DC support providers should consider supporting education along with the financial support of athletes during their sports careers and recognizing study-training ecosystems, based on good practices to successfully transition to their post-sport careers. These findings can also be useful for athletes and their athletic triangle support network (e.g., coaches and parents) as a support in the decision-making.

Veterans Should Be Included Too

The transitioning of veterans from the military world to the civilian world and by extension the civilian workforce is a critical career transition. Despite their motivation and resilience, veterans still encounter a multiplicity of challenges when transitioning to the civilian workforce, which quite often has a rippling impact on their attainment of employment, job retention, and career development within the civilian sector. An added layer to the transitional challenge for veterans is organizational resistance to promote diversity and inclusion policies and practices, specifically regarding veterans. On this premise, this chapter aims to: 1) Discuss the transitional challenges of veterans to the civilian workforce and 2) Provide implementation strategies at an organizational level to promote diversity and inclusion, specifically regarding veterans.

Rethinking dual careers: success factors for career transition of professional football players and the role of sport entrepreneurship

PurposeThe purpose of this longitudinal study is to examine the dual career and entrepreneurial experiences of professional football players and their influence on the career transition process to entrepreneurship or employment.Design/methodology/approachThe study examined a Portuguese employer–employee data set from 1991 to 2017 using the logit model, a binary choice regression model that allows predicting the probabilities of two possible qualitative and binary outcomes.FindingsEntrepreneurial experience is the key driver for retired football players to pursue entrepreneurship. Having a dual career and working during the athletic career leads to higher chances of continuing in the labor market as an employee. Higher education levels did not significantly influence the decision to pursue a second career but having secondary education increases the chances of continuing as an entrepreneur.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the study aims to shed light on success factors in career transition of professional football players who engage in a dual career. Second, the authors introduce sport entrepreneurship as a possible activity alongside an athletic career.Practical implicationsAthletes can benefit from the experience they gain during a dual career in the process of career transition. Working in the final year of an athletic career represents a promising strategy to gain work experience alongside sport without jeopardizing sporting success.Originality/valueThis study adds evidence to the contemporary discourse on dual career theory and career transitions and reconciles the theory of sport entrepreneurship and dual careers.

Career Transitions and Change

Over the last decade, the athlete’s career transition literature has shifted from a deterministic (or linear) to a probabilistic (nonlinear) perspective. Athletes’ careers can be perceived as a roller coaster ride, shaped by transitions (i.e., normative, nonnormative, quasi-normative, dual career, cultural, crisis), a change-event, appraisals, decision-making, coping, and environmental influences. Athletes can enjoy a fruitful and meaningful career as long as they positively adapt to the various transitional periods and changes encountered, potentially creating multiple career pathways. Furthermore, research has expanded to additional sport performers, including coaches and referees. Finally, the lives of sport performers have tremendously changed in the past decade as a result of the globalization process, social media, and migration, requiring career researchers to modify existing conceptualizations. This chapter, therefore, provides a critical examination of the recent developments in the career transition and change literature, mainly focusing on critical questions to be asked and a prospective view of this field.