Career Change...Personal Trainer

[Tugger31]

My niece is very into fitness and is unhappy with her current job, how does she go about becoming a personal trainer or some decent paying equivalent? She is very smart and has Bachelor's degree in Communications with a Business Minor. She'd eventually like to become involved in the business side of a gym as well.

Thanks for any information!

[msladybug]

Originally Posted by Tugger31

My niece is very into fitness and is unhappy with her current job, how does she go about becoming a personal trainer or some decent paying equivalent? She is very smart and has Bachelor's degree in Communications with a Business Minor. She'd eventually like to become involved in the business side of a gym as well.

Thanks for any information!

Mike Boyle has a forum called strengthcoach.com. Most of the members are trainers, coaches, physical therapists and chiropracters. Many of the nations top professional in the industry hang out here. It can get quite technical as far as anatomy and corrective exercises. But they also discuss the business aspects of owning a gym or being a personal trainer.

It is a subscription forum, but you can get in for a low introductory fee. I think it was $1 for 3 days. After three days it will charge your card monthly unless you cancel. She could lurk there a bit. In addition to the forum, there is a lot on his website about the business and practice of coaching and personal training which you can access freely (no subscription needed).

[pcdoctor01]

Maybe someone who is a personal trainer will chime in. In the meantime, maybe she can get some clients on the side who are co-workers and/or friends who need help losing weight and/or getting in shape.

[JackieB]

It is a tough, competitive field to be successful in. A good friend's dh couldn't make it in the midwest as a personal training and recently moved the family to California.

Training and credentials are important. I would interview successful trainers and see what they recommend. I wouldn't give up the day job. Perhaps working some friends or coworkers would give her some experience.

Jackie

[Nuggie's Auntie]

Rachel and alwyn Cosgrove blog a fair bit about the professional side of the industry.

Anyone have any insight on what certifications are good to pursue?

[starbelly]

I was a National Academy of Sports Medicine certified personal trainer but I got the certificate mainly to complement my yoga certification. NASM specializes in functional training and the knowledge was useful in dealing with yoga students with postural problems and injuries. The studio I worked out of also had a personal training facility (in a different building). Some teachers worked on both sides, but mainly for supplementary income. It is very difficult to make a living in the fitness world, especially when finances are tight for most people and discretionary funds are hard to find.

The way most people break into the business is to work at a large gym. Trainers are typically paid a (low) wage from the gym to offer free sessions to new members with the idea that they will be converted to paying customers. Gyms typically charge a fairly hefty commission (40% is not unusual) for using their facilities. It takes a long time to build up enough of a clientele to not need another form of support. Income is undependable-- if clients get sick or injured, go on vacation or give up, that money stream is gone.

When I worked in fitness my income was used mainly for financing other fitness interests. The people I knew who relied on fitness as a sole source of income typically struggled a lot. If she is interested in health and wellness she could pursue a degree in Public Health which would open up a lot of job options with government and NGOs.

[BigBadBetty]

A decent paying equivalent could be a physical therapist. It requires additional 3 years of schooling. I don't know if it true everywhere, but it is difficult to get accepted into PT school where I live.

[NRGWoman]

I am a personal trainer and a group fitness instructor with a kinesiology degree. I agree with what starbelly said. I could not work in this industry if DH didn't have a good paying job. The pay is typically low and income can fluctuates wildly. People typically enter the field thinking it will be fun and easy to get clients and make money. It is not. My most steady sources of income have been when I am not working in a fitness facility, but somewhere else that needs a fitness professional.

I have a couple of friends that thought it would be a good career change for them. Even after I had told them how difficult the industry is they got certified. Ultimately they needed to get jobs in other industries because they could not financially deal with the realities of the industry.

I wish your niece luck!

[wishiwasinhawaii]

I have a career in a completely different field, but was thinking about becoming a certified personal trainer a few years ago, just as a side job because it's something I've always been interested in. Certification is expensive so before I went ahead with it, I decided to talk to some trainers just to get an idea how much they make, etc. and one guy I spoke to owned his own gym and said it was just about impossible to make any money at it. He still owns the gym, but he recently went back to school to become a physical therapist.

The others I spoke to worked at large gyms and made very little money. A trainer's purpose at a large gym is to sell clients more training sessions and supplements. I really don't see how anyone could make a living at it as their sole source of income.

In the end, I decided not to pursue it. I think if your niece is interested in this type of thing, she'll need to go back to school and get a degree in exercise science or physical therapy. If I had the money and time, I'd become a physical therapist but all the programs near me are full-time and there's no way I could quit my job to do that. It's also very tough to get into physical therapy school and since your niece does not have a science degree, she'd have to take a lot of prerequisites. A friend of mine's daughter graduated last year with a BS in Biology and she still has to take a few prerequisites before she can apply.

[FitBoop]

Initially, there are 2 ways she could go about it. She could get a job at a health club, where they will train her and will pay for her to get certified or she could get certified on her own first and then get a job at a health club. I think it is good to start out working in a company rather than trying to go out on your own without having any experience. I started out with a large fitness company where I was trained, then got certified, and then did private training. (I did training on the side and not as my primary career.) If there are health clubs near her, she should go speak to the hiring manager and find out what credentials they look for, since different companies want different certifications. Companies usually base their pay scale on the credentials and certifications that the trainer has. Like others have said, it's not easy to make fitness a primary career, unless you get into the sales end of it (and make commissions).

The education and certifications required will also differ, depending on whether the person wants to work in a health club or wants to work in a medical facility (i.e. as a physical therapist). The latter will require more in terms of education and certification.