A scout will spend most of their life on the job searching for new talent, watching and documenting either young or already established players in their respective fields, and attempting to sign up players for the organization(s) they represent. While computer software is increasingly helpful in keeping track of a player's statistics, it is still the job of human scouts to assess the skills of players and make judgment calls as to whether or not they are a perfect fit for the team they work for.

Scouts travel on a constant basis to cities and towns, both big and small, and spend numerous hours reviewing footage, statistics and interviewing coaches and teammates. A scout for the sporting industry must not only be an excellent judge of talent in their respective sporting field, but must also be a skilled salesman that can sign up the best talent before other scouts do.

Additionally, a scout must not only be able to look at established players who are already playing on a professional level, but also make judgment calls about young and semi-pro athletes. Scouts need to be able to easily determine if younger, less-experienced athletes have the skill sets necessary to eventually become a top-notch player. This means that scouts need to be not only good judges of current skill, but judges of potential skill as well.