Being a Personal Trainer
Many people have New Years resolutions to get in shape and maintain a healthy lifestyle, or are just generally interested in pursuing a healthier lifestyle for other reasons. Often times, people need a bit of help to stay on track with their fitness goals and diet plans. That’s where the personal trainer comes in. Personal trainers are responsible for helping their clients set up their fitness goals and achieving them through hard work and dedication. Because of their near-constant with people, a personal trainer needs to have great communication skills, have a great personality, have a solid working knowledge of muscular anatomy, and have a personable teaching style when educating clients. If you’re an active person who loves meeting new people and helping them be enthusiastic about a healthy lifestyle, here’s why being a personal trainer might appeal to you.
What are the perks of the job?
If you’re already an athletic person, then this career probably sounds like a dream come true. A few other perks of the job include the satisfaction of helping others achieve their goals and dreams, and working with a gym or working by yourself (providing some career flexibility depending on how you prefer to work). The job outlook is also relatively positive, sporting a projected 12% growth between 2012 and 2022. It’s also one of the few jobs where practically no experience is required, although you would need to maintain a certain level of physical fitness and be pleasant to work with. To boot, Salary.com reported that the median annual salary is approximately 58,000 as of January, 2018.
What are some of the setbacks?
This job isn’t without a few cons however, largely that there are a few clients who are going to be difficult to work with because they either have a poor attitude or are largely unmotivated. It can also be especially complicated if you are a self-employed personal trainer and need to promote yourself, making this as much a sales job as it is a fitness career. However, working at a gym can be just as taxing with the amount of self-promotion you have to conduct to maintain enough business to be employed by the gym you are working for
How can I grow with this career?
While some personal trainers prefer to remain as an employee in a gym that provides training services, some personal trainers go the self-employed route and work to create their own business. It is not always necessary to have a college degree when pursuing this line of work, though having a business degree as well as a degree in studying muscular anatomy can certainly be a feather in your cap when you’re trying to get ahead in this job.
That’s all great, but could I be hired for other careers?
You certainly could! This physical nature of the personal trainer career gears the employee to be able to handle other jobs that require a lot of labour. With the proper training, the former personal trainer could look forward to a job in the trades, especially since they also have open options to work for a company or be self-employed.
Reference:
Azcentral: “Pros & Cons of Being a Personal Trainer”
https://healthyliving.azcentral.com/pros-cons-being-personal-trainer-8992.html
Fitness Careers: “Personal Trainer Job Description”
https://www.fitnesscareers.com.au/newsview/personal-trainer-job-description-48
Salary.com: “Personal Trainer Salaries”
https://www1.salary.com/Personal-Trainer-Salary.html
Study.com: “Personal Trainer: Job Description & Career Requirements”
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