I've never really considered myself much of a risk taker. It's what I've been told, but I prefer to think of myself as a strategic planner for the purpose of creating a maximum experience in the safest way possible. Yeah, risk taker is much easier to say.
I really don't know why people think I'm so...risky. Maybe it's because random tree logs suspended on hiking trails always beg me to walk on them? Or maybe it's because I don't like to follow usual paths? (ex: choosing a different university than the rest of my family.) It's not that these paths are any more or less dangerous than usual paths, they're just different, sometimes completely uncharted. I always try to think of and prepare for every possibility that could go wrong before trying a new scheme so I don't see why some people have to make a fuss. Just because it hasn't been done before by someone we know and it doesn't have a predictable outcome doesn't mean it's a bad path.
Let me explain. See, I'm at that point in my life where there are going to be some big changes. Changes that will carry some potentially long term consequences. And I have a lot of people who love me who are afraid that I'm going to fail.
It's not that I don't appreciate their concern. Sometimes they can come up with points or questions that I haven't answered yet, unfortunately these helpful tidbits are usually delivered with worried tones and sad faces never fail to stress me out! (Only because I know I still have a long way to go to make this happen. Looking at the top of the mountain is so much harder than looking five feet in front of you when you're hiking.)
Ok, I know that being a personal trainer and a creative writer aren't exactly the most lucrative careers I could choose in life. I get where the concern is. But they're the best of the few careers I can think of that I wouldn't get bored with or hate. I've looked into the big buck type of careers and guess what, THEY'RE BORING! Stuffy offices full of people doing the same thing day in and day out and everyone is yawning by noon because they're sitting on their butts creating things that you can't even touch. Don't get me wrong, for some people the safety and security of such careers is great. Everything is straight forward and you'd have to mess up majorly to get fired. But it's not for me. I've tried the majors that lead to these careers, they're way too stressful for me. (Maybe because I have a hard time understanding the abstract?) A less guaranteed life plan comes with it's own stress, but it's a stress that I've chosen.
I had a few points I wanted to be able to hit for my adult job. First and foremost, I wanted to be able to enjoy my career and work with people. If I work by myself, I'll fall into a personal coma. Guaranteed, it's happened before. No one wants a mom or spouse like that. Second, I wanted to be able to take time off for family if I needed to. (i.e. maternity leave, or summers off, or hours confined to school times, or in a best case scenario where I could set my own hours so I'd be able to be there for my kids if I needed to.)
Creative Writing is just something that I've always liked to do and would always be a sub-income if it became an income at all. Personal Training was something I've stumbled on while checking out the big buck careers. I'm not the poster child for personal fitness yet, but I do like the idea of personal health and wellness and I like the buzz you get after a good workout in the gym. It's more stable than wood or metal work. And it allows for creative elbow room to devise newer and better solutions to everyday foreseeable problems. Furthermore, I can understand body science because we've developed the tech that allows me to see all the micro-organisms at work. And it's kind of fun feeling bones with all their little bulges and grooves in Anatomy classes.
It's not a wealthy career, but an ok one for a single adult to afford food, a modest apartment, and maybe a small car after a while if I need it. I never intended to become the main provider for my future family and I also will never divorce. I can hear the nay sayers "but divorce is so common today, you can't possibly expect to still be married to the same person 40 years down the road, you have no control over what the man wants."
To them I say, firstly, so what? The rest of the world can do as it pleases, I'm not getting divorced. Why can't I expect to marry someone in my twenties and still be married to them when I die? It's happened before and still happening to a lot of good people that I love that were born after the 50's. I also happen to be a good person and intend to marry a good man who holds the same time tested "old-fashioned" family principles that I do. Do I have control over what he wants? Of course not, that's probably what I'll like best about him. Sometimes helping someone else achieve their dreams is more fun than going for your own. So Plffff.
Besides, it's not like personal training doesn't have any kind of advancement. I could accumulate a few classes. I know I'll have at least one, teaching martial arts. And I have the kind of creative mind that some businesses admire so I could advance to a management type of position within a gym. I don't plan on training free-lance, that would be too risky for my taste, I prefer being in a partnership with a gym. After I get a feel for the business who knows where I'll end up. I know of people who start their own gyms with modest equipment in warehouses so I could end up there for all I know.
Not saying that's what I'll do, but this field is hardly limited. There's the possibility of going into competitive sports with a CSCS certificate. Personal Training is a growing industry with many types of things to learn, try, and teach with newer methods being born every year. Plus, the more I learn about the human body the more theories I can develop for myself about how to give anybody the most well functioning body they could possibly want. It's the kind of versatile creative active work environment I was looking for when I was choosing a career in the first place.
In short
Positives: gym employee
Fairly steady position
Decent Pay
Potential Health Benefits (depends on employer)
Creative/Active work environment
Possible travel options for further training
Little to no gender gap in salary pay
Negatives
Low pay (possible poverty level if I'm not careful)
Probably wouldn't be able to support more than one person at first.
I'm not a poster-child (yet)
It's a competitive but growing field
Possible travel requirements for further training $$$
I will have to take tests every so often to keep any certificates I earn
What I know for sure
Average pay for Personal Training
First of all this will be influenced by many factors including: location, experience, number of certificates, whether I'm a consultant (free-lance) or an employee (loyal poster girl for a gym), if I work at a gym/club/or corporation, if I have a college degree (which I will), if I'm specifically certified for special needs.
No matter what site I visit, the range seems to be between 20,000 and 60,000 a year with the stipulation that owning your own place could gross 120,000 and selling products 150,000. Of course, that would also come with the cost of running a building (basically a second house...a large house) and buying materials for the products.
http://www.starting-a-personal-training-business.com/personal-trainer-average-salary.html
So in the end, how much I make is largely determined by how much I charge and how well I conduct myself with my clients. It's completely unpredictable. I think this is what scares my loved ones the most. Just have faith that I'll do the work, because if I do the work I'll be able to pay my bills and save some too. Besides, as you all tell me all the time, I'm a pretty likeable person.
In case you're not convinced here's some more precise data courtesy of swz.salary.com
I know, cities charge more but as you'll see the shift is barely noticeable because of all the factors that play into the salary. For the sake of consistency I will stick with large cities.
Idaho (Boise)
Min = 24,000 Max = 71,000 Median = 49,000
In other states I might live
Washington (Seattle, because Olympia isn't an option)
Min = 28,000 Max = 84,000 Median = 58,000
Oregon (Salem)
Min = 24,000 Max = 74,000 Median = 52,000
Montana (Billings)
Min = 23.000 Max = 66,000 Median = 46,000
Utah
Min = 25,000 Max = 74,000 Median = 51,000
Alaska (Anchorage)
Min = 30,000 Max = 60,000 Median = 60,000
And just for the sake of argument
North Carolina (Raleigh)
Min = 26,000 Max = 76,000 Median = 53,000
California (Los Angeles = data probably does not include Hollywood and they'd want models to train them anyway.)
Min = 28,000 Max = 83,000 Median = 58,000
What does this data tell me? I can live just about anywhere I want and still earn about the same amount of cash.
What It's Going to Take
Lots of energy, commitment, and ethical resolve. When you train, especially a class, you exert more energy than your clients. I've been taking mental notes during aerobics classes, if the trainer lags, everyone lags. In the case of Zumba type classes all the movements must be big and/or dynamic for anyone to feel like they're getting a workout. If they don't feel it or train too hard, they won't come back and you'll lose clients and money. Simple as that.
Your own body becomes an advertising board. I realize this the second greatest concern with my loved ones. I'm not tight, but I am fit, and I know I impress people when I show them how long I can last in a gym. Sometimes I feel like I can go for even longer. But I have to be consistent with myself if I expect consistency from my clients. Also, I may be tempted to ignore my religions modesty requirements in order to gain new clients through showing off my body, but more likely not since that's basically being a gym whore which I am ethically against. If I do the skimpy gym clothes not only will I feel awkward but my message to the world will be, train with me and you'll look hot naked. When my real philosophy is that it doesn't matter what you look like in the end so long as you can move the way you want to when you want to and you feel good about yourself.
Anyway
In the end what I care about is doing what I love even if it's not that secure. Some of my greatest heroes and role models were people who took a chance at something that seemed impossible, and made it, especially after a few failed attempts. Thomas Edison, George Washington, Glenn Beck, Bethany Hamilton, Mother Theresa, Joseph Smith, and so many others. I'm not saying I'm going to revolutionize the fitness industry, I'm not that loud of a person. But if I can combat this wave of lies that tell you to "train in order to become someone else" and replace it with the idea of "loving yourself and taking care of yourself because you're amazing and deserve to be taken care of," if even only a handful of people get this message, then I will be satisfied.
It's not about the money. It's about what I believe in. Which is working with people and helping them to love themselves and become a little better everyday. That, to me, is the ultimate service.
So, thank you for all your worries and concerns about my future. I have, and will continue, to take them all into loving consideration. But this is my life. I'm not jumping into this blindly. I know it's going to be hard. No life is easy, but that's what makes life such an adventure. Repeating already hashed worries is simply pointless. So please respect my decision and allow me to fail with dignity if that is my fate or thrive with the success I will earn from hard work.
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