Inspect the venue and gear
Scan the playing area and athletes' gear for anything that breaks the rules or could make play unsafe.
Career profile
Referee and Sports Official
Sports officials watch games, spot broken rules, and make calls that decide how play continues.
Enjoy learning a sport's rules in detail? Referees, umpires, and competition judges enforce those rules and explain calls to people who might object.
A day in the life
Make the call and signal
Spot what happened, match it to a rule, and signal the penalty so athletes and fellow officials understand.
Explain a disputed call
Walk a protesting athlete through the rule, and settle a disputed play with a fellow official if needed.
Report results and problems
Record the scores and report any complaints or discipline to the group that organizes the event.
Quick facts
Sport-specific training
United States · 2025–2035
$40,710/year
United States · May 2025
5.2% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Sport-specific trainingA high school diploma is typical, but requirements vary by sport and association.
Pay
$40,710/yearMay 2025 median for umpires, referees, and other sports officials; not a starting salary.
Outlook
5.2% projected growthAbout 4,300 openings annually across the occupation, including replacement openings.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy working out how a rule applies to an unusual play.
- You can apply the same standard to both teams.
- You can explain a decision calmly when someone challenges it.
Things to weigh
- Games often take evenings and weekends; work can disappear between seasons.
- Long stretches of running, standing, or squatting can be tiring.
- Players, coaches, and spectators may react angrily to a call.
Where AI may help
In Major League Baseball, cameras track pitches so challenged ball-or-strike calls can be checked against a measured strike zone. This is the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System.
What people still lead
The plate umpire still makes the initial call and announces a player’s challenge. Using the system becomes part of managing the game.
What we can’t predict yet
How much future systems will decide automatically, and how much will remain subject to challenges, depends on the rules each competition adopts.
Pay in context
Earnings
Most officials are paid per game. Your yearly total depends on how much you work.
The national spread
The median was $40,710. The lowest 10% earned under $26,540; the highest 10% earned over $82,960. These annual figures cover umpires, referees, and other sports officials, excluding self-employed workers.
Pay by workplace industry
Annual medians were $52,790 in performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries; $39,060 in amusement, gambling, and recreation; $37,440 in local government excluding education and hospitals; and $35,310 in educational services.
Openings over the next decade
Employment is projected to grow 5.2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,300 openings per year on average. Openings include replacing people who leave the occupation, so they are not all newly created jobs.
Getting started
Train for local soccer
- What the route involves
- Take your State Referee Committee’s entry certification course, covering the Laws of the Game and practical skills. Complete the safe-playing-environments module; adults 18 and older also need background screening and SafeSport training.
- What it can lead to
- The Referee license prepares you to officiate youth and adult matches, usually alongside other licensed referees.
- What to check
- Check your state committee’s course eligibility, fees, and registration requirements before enrolling.
Qualify for school sports
- What the route involves
- Register with the relevant athletics association and usually pass a sport rules exam; some associations require classes first.
- What it can lead to
- Meeting the association’s requirements makes you eligible for its school competitions.
- What to check
- Requirements differ by state, sport, and competition level.
Choose a sport and the organization whose games you want to work.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Learn positioning and signals alongside experienced officials.
Sharpen your judgment
Review your performance and study rule changes between games.
Take on higher competition
In soccer, Regional Referee is a next step toward regional and national adult amateur matches. Training includes a fitness test and match evaluations.
Where you can work
Local soccer fields
You work youth or adult outdoor matches, including smaller-sided games. Other licensed referees are your usual partners.
- Outdoors
- Field work
- Physical demands
Major-league ballparks
At this advanced level, the plate umpire handles player challenges to ball-or-strike calls. Camera tracking and scoreboard graphics make the review visible to the crowd.
- Field work
- Physical demands
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Watch a recorded game and pause after one disputed play. Look up the relevant rule, write your call, and explain it aloud in one sentence. Notice whether you enjoy connecting what you saw to a precise rule.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. 27-2023.00 — Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025–2035. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Soccer. Become a Referee. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Soccer. Referee Pathway. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Major League Baseball. MLB Announces ABS Challenge System Coming to the Major Leagues Beginning in the 2026 Season. Accessed 2026-10-04.