Freaking out about college plans!

^^^EVO has good advice.

I will add some.

DO NOT TAKE CREDITS THAT DON"T COUNT. It is not worth your time.

Just get your degree and get out. Work as a trainer for the entire time you are in college. After you graduate, it only matters that you have a degree. Experience will get you a lot better start than your degree.

For college, get in, get out, and start your life. There is no reason to waste more time than is necessary.

You can make a good living as in any area of the fitness industry. Anyone who says you can't is full of it.

I have friends who now make over $100,000. I made close to that when I was a trainer.

One of my friends in town here started an athletes training business and brings in an average of $1000 per day now. (before expenses, a very good living though)

So you can make a good living in a field that you love. That is the important thing.
 
Thanks. I appreciate the advice.
 
Among about ten of my friends I am the only one that is going to actually get their degree in four years (total). I am graduating this spring.

The key is once you get your generals out of the way find a major you like and stick with it. Know exactly what classes you need to take to get your degree, all the prerequisites you need.. plan it all out.

So many of my friends ended up having to waste a full semester or more taking classes they didn't need because they didn't see that they needed a prerequisite to take a certain class.

Talk to your councilors, let them help you plan everything out.. it'll also give you peace of mind.
 
Spicy,
I'm coming in late on this, but I want to encourage you to keep your mind open to a lot of possibilities - and to get your bachelor's degree. I don't think it matters a lot what you major in as long as you get a degree in something - because life holds many surprises for us and educational credentials are something that no one can ever take away from you.

I think its great that you know that you want to be a personal trainer - I work out with a fabulous one three times a week and it has made such a huge difference in my life that I can't even begin to explain it. But even though I go to a 'high-end' gym that is associated with a local hospital so they have great benefits, I see a lot of downsides to his job - for one thing, he works long hours - sometimes the times that people can work out are early in the day, lunch time, and after work, and he ends up with breaks that are hard to fill usefully. He also has to be constantly 'selling' his services - and he is really really good but a lot of people don't have the motivation to stick with a program even with the best trainer (I of course am an exception!) so he is always working to get new clients to keep his schedule full. And he has to be upbeat and positive almost all the time, even on days when he is tired or not feeling great or maybe just isn't having a good day - his clients expect him to be interested in them and their progress and issues, not to have issues of his own. And although he does OK financially, he isn't making a huge amount of money given the amount of time he works...

On the plus side, he has time to work out during the day most days, and he definitely loves what he does and I think gets a lot of positive feedback from clients. However, gym managers are not always the best managers and I don't think he gets much positive reinforcement from the people he works for - and yet he has built up a good clientele at the gym and it would be hard for him to leave.

It does seem like personal training could be a great part-time job, high paying for a short work week, or good if you were doing something besides, like going to school. If you think that you might like to some day run your own business, you might look into including some accounting and business management courses in your studies.

And I do agree, the best job is one that you love, and money isn't everything, but lack of money can grind on you after a while so its good to think about all of your options.

And sweetie, life has SO MANY paths - enjoy the journey....
 
Trevor M. said:
Do it on the side, do it while your in college, just don't do it for a career.

It's not a field that is truly "needed".
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You quoted athletic trainer, not personal trainer. Do it on the side or in college? Thats why so many personal trainers suck, because they are stupid college kids looking to make some extra bucks. If you know what you're doing and go the BA path, you will have many more opportunities to get hired at upscale gyms and such. Now Im not saying you're going to make a larger salary then an athletic trainer, unless you really want to. What about people like Ryan Lee, Jim Labadie, or Craig Ballantyne to name a few? They are 6 and 7 figure trainers. I dont even want to hear they had good luck, nor would they.

Phate89 said:
Yea seriously, personal training is not exactly a career that provides financial security, especially after so many years of college.
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No career really provides financial security. And how would you know what it provides anyways? Have you tried it? It seems with the way you pass around fitness advice on this site, like that A/B workout you post is the miracle of fitness.

With over 60% of the population in the US overweight or obese, I think there are tons of people who need the help of personal trainers don't you? We've both seen the numerous people at the gym who could do things better. How is a college kid who has their clients doing bicep curls a good idea?

SP, there is a saying that goes, "If you do what you love, you'll never have to work a day in your life."
 
Going off topic a bit to respond to Tony....

Most of them suck because they don't know what their doing.
How is a college kid who has their clients doing bicep curls a good idea?
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I don't think there is any debate. Most C-PT's are complete crap. Why do you think we see so many personal trainers who are certified yet are still idiots?
The bars set to low to become a personal trainer. A quick study of the manual and you can pass the "test". This is the reason why....
so many personal trainers suck,
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Tony, you are studying to become physical therapist are you not?
I would assume you will be a PT full time. So than I would assume you might do Personal training part time... Your not going to start sucking as a personal trainer just because you start doing it part time. So, I don't understand your reasoning behind suggesting being a C-PT part time is a "bad" thing.
 
Trevor M. said:
Tony, you are studying to become physical therapist are you not?
I would assume you will be a PT full time. So than I would assume you might do Personal training part time... Your not going to start sucking as a personal trainer just because you start doing it part time. So, I don't understand your reasoning behind suggesting being a C-PT part time is a "bad" thing.
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I wasnt talking about my situation specifically. I was saying that your statements are adding fuel to the fire. You and Phate stated that its not that great of a career and you should only do it as a means to something else. Thats the problem. And you're right it is too easy to get into, especially for dumbasses that dont really know how to exercise or design programs for people who could really benefit.

But if someone has a true desire they can make a lot of money in this field, thats where I was going.
 
tonymcclellan said:
If you know what you're doing and go the BA path, you will have many more opportunities to get hired at upscale gyms and such. Now Im not saying you're going to make a larger salary then an athletic trainer, unless you really want to. What about people like Ryan Lee, Jim Labadie, or Craig Ballantyne to name a few? They are 6 and 7 figure trainers. I dont even want to hear they had good luck, nor would they.
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Noticed both Ryan and Craig have a CSCS designation.

How does the CSCS designation rank in your view - in terms of other certifications that are out there ?

Also, one of the credentials for a CSCS designation is a university degree isn't it ?
 
evolution said:
Among the certifications possible, I rank this one [ the CSCS designation ] pretty high.
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It certainly seems to be a common credential shared among many of the more noted fitness authors / guru's out there. For example, I noticed...

- Lou Schuler
- Alwyn Cosgrove
- Bill Hartman
- Mike Robertson
- Adam Campbell
- Mike Mejia
- John Berardi
- Ian King
- Tom Incledon​

...to mention but a few, all have their CSCS designations.

As does our own resident fitness ' expert ' on this forum..........' bipennate '.

Guess that speaks for itself.

evolution said:
Yes. You don't have to have a degree in any specific field...just a BA or BS.
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Good to know.

Though something tells me you're way ahead of the game with a degree in kinesiology or exercise physiology than a degree in English or Psychology. :)
 
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