Hm. I got a job offer last night from my gym.

LauraMax

LauraMax

Cathlete
I'm kind of on the fence about this one. The PT manager approached me & asked me if I'd be interested in working there. I said what's your proposal? He told me they had a really hard time finding female personal trainers who "walked the walk," (OK I found this somewhat insulting to my gender but whatever) & that my dedication & passion would be inspiring to clients, & if I got my certification (which is NASM given by NYSC) the job was mine, & I could make my own schedule. It was pretty flattering. If nothing else, he made me feel good!

Now, you guys know how flippin miserable I am at my current job, & I'd really love to make a career out of this. But I'd never make the kind of money I'm making now. We discussed a potential future for me in management, & the poor fella told me what the base salary for managers was--he seemed to think it was a lot of money, but it's only about 60% of what I make at my current crappy job. :eek:

So, with that said, this would not be about the money. I would actually like to get paid to do something I love, & I would enjoy getting people into something I'm passionate about. I'm seriously considering it, just to open up some options for myself, & to do something rewarding, b/c lord knows I'm not fulfilled w/my current job.

On the other hand, if the schedule starts cutting into my own exercise routine, that would be absolutely unacceptable! ;) I'm hoping my boss might be a little flexible about my hours since I work so many nights, & since he's been such a POS to me about other stuff. So that's a possibility.

On a side note, it was a rather nice ending to what I thought was gonna be a lousy night. When I got to the club I'd realized I'd forgotten to pack socks (fortunately I keep a couple spare pairs in my gym bag), a towel (I just switched gyms & the new place doesn't provide them for members) & my mp3 player. YIKES!
 
Wow, that is very flattering! If you're asking for opinions, I would say why not give a try? You could start slowly and see how it goes. It sounds like you would enjoy getting your certification and then who knows where else it may lead? I just don't see a downside to it.

anne
 
Hi Lauramax,

I would definitely get the certification just to add to your motivation and to open doors. I wouldn't make any hasty moves but if you could possibly schedule a few clients and see how that goes and then see if it is something you can do full-time with your own time for you own workouts :). I have thought about doing this myself and the only thing that turned me off was the same thing afraid i couldnt work out myself, the money (i make much more too) and the times since you have to cater to your clients availability early am and late night but . . . you are already working late so . . . I would just do the first step in getting the certification and then see from there. :)
 
Laura, I think what he meant by you "walking the walk" is that you practice what you preach. There are so many trainers out there in horrible shape. I think he meant that as a compliment, not to upset you.

So are you thinking of keeping your crappy job and doing the trainer position in the evenings? That is a possibility until you get your feet wet and get a customer base going. It's hard to build up clientel in the training business. I think I would go that route if you have the time for it.

Good luck to you! I know you will accomplish whatever you want to do!
 
What a great compliment!! I would make a pro/con list. I was offered something similar with the fitness boot camp that I attended. I did a pro/con list and it helped me to decide not to take the position because 2 months before the offer I actually stopped going to the boot camp because of a situation that involved another client of which I was dragged into for no reason. I sent them a very terse email and it's been forgiven but I haven't been back since.

In any case, I was sorely tempted to take the position because I wanted to get my feet wet and the extra money would be nice but I will not compromise my integrity and character. My other concern was being able to get my own workouts in.

I'm still trying to studying for the PT exam but I've been more involved in taking care of elderly parents, so that is falling by the wayside.

I would definitely try and get certified and then see what happens from there. If anything, it would give you something to fall back on.
 
You should go for it! I know a few woman who have lots of money that have personal trainers come to there home to kick there butts and I am assuming those house calls aren't cheap. Maybe one day you could be your own boss.

I think getting the certificate and your feet wet with a few clients would be a great start to see if you even like training others. The money thing may seem huge now but your happiness is priceless and sometimes you need to make sacrafices for the path you want.

Maybe this is your time to make a career change. Good Luck!!
 
Wow Laura...that is awesome. This is a testament to all your hard work and commitment;)

I know how you hate your current job but unfortunately it pays the bills and only you can decide if the risk of changing jobs and reduced pay is feasible. But, you also do need to take into considersation your sanity and having to work with a jerk for a boss:confused:

ITA with other posters that you could get your PT certification and try training outside your other job and see how it goes. I think you would be really good at it;)

JJ
 
Laura, I've been reading your posts about your job and how mistreated you are there for years, literally. I think this may be the opportunity you've been waiting for. And you make the perfect point - you would be doing something you love, and about which you are clearly passionate. I understand the money issue. You also have to support yourself while doing this "perfect" job. I would suggest sitting down and writing out your finances to see if you there's anything you can temporarily give up to balance out the decrease in salary. You might find you can make this work with just a few changes. If you get your certification, it will open other doors for you as well, as someone else pointed out. Nothing is more miserable than for someone to drag themselves every day to a job they absolutely HATE. It clouds your entire life. Been there ... done that. You have an opportunity here to do something you love. I say run with it. :)

Carol
:)
 
Thanks everyone. I'm off the fence. I'm definitely doing it.

I think I wasn't totally clear though. I'd still work the current, crappy job. I'd do the PT part time. He offered full time but it just wouldn't pay my mortgage. He said maybe a couple mornings a week from 5-8, but I don't think I want to do that. The gym is my haven, I love it there, & I'd be one pi$$ed off lady if I had to get up at 4 a.m. I don't want to ruin the most enjoyable thing in my life. So I'll need to get the scheduling thing worked out. And hopefully I'd be able to find a way to make it financially feasible someday so I can GTH outta here. :p

I think I'd be able to build a client base pretty quickly since it's NYSC. That's the one advantage to working for a gym as opposed to being your own boss. It could open other opportunities since there are so many of them.

Alrighty then, I'm going for it, wish me luck! And thanks again to you all for your positive input! :)
 
Lauramax,
That's a HUGE compliment to you, your physique and training dedication! Good luck with your new PT PT (part-time personal training) job. I'm sure you'll have lots of clients begging you for help, soon to be followed by begging for mercy :eek:!
 
Laura, I think you're doing the right thing. Get started and see how it goes. Wishing you lots and lots of good luck!!! Hope it all goes well for you! :D
 
Congratulations!! What a lovely ego boost. If you love it, I think you should definitely find a way to ease it into your life, maybe by starting off part-time. In general, I find that money follows passion. I think the sky may be the limit for your ultimate earning potential, Laura. Seriously.

We have a few female personal trainers at my gym, but they don't inspire me because they don't look good. If someone like you worked at my gym, I would sign myself right up!

Bottom line, to me there are no other true options in life than to follow your passions.
 
I think you need to look at the bigger picture. Someone in a position to offer you a job doing something you love is really impressed by you. If he's really impressed he's probably not the only one so maybe you should get your certification and start looking to hire YOURSELF out as a personal trainer until you can open your own gym? I don't know what freelance personal trainers earn where you live but they make serious money in central Ohio. So research what personal trainers NOT affiliated with a gym earn in your area, rack up certifications, and come up with a Freedom Plan. You can continue working your crappy job, while gradually taking on clients and building up a base. If you're good (I'm guessing, yes?) you shouldn't have any trouble attracting clients. One caveat: the benefits thing (i.e., health insurance). But if you want to do something you're passionate about you really should start thinking about starting your own business. Maybe eventually YOU'LL be the one offering jobs to potential trainers at YOUR gym? In all your posts you come off as way too capable to be stuck working for a jerk who takes credit for your hard work and, unless you're drowning in debt (in which case you'd have to deal with that first), you should be able to work your way into starting your own business. And the other poster(s) are right, lots of personal trainers have bodies I don't envy and, in the fitness field, enviable bodies are money makers, they DRAW clients. If I were hiring a personal trainer I'd look for 3 things first: 1) Certifications 2) The trainers body and 3) the Trainers CLIENTS bodies. What would make me keep coming back, though, is personal attention. I don't know about quitting your job to work for this guy because the pay cut will hurt more than you think (like when my overtime was cut out and I had to get used to half the money I was used to. Though I'm almost back, for now, it's been rough). But you know you have the stuff so why not aim HIGHER?
 
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I want to throw in my $0.02. I am a PT who struggled with the many of the same issues when I started. I came from the field of accounting where I was desperately unhappy. Fortunately DH makes almost enough money to keep our household going so while a decrease in salary really sucked, my happiness is so much more important, and how my attitude every day affected our house that the money issue sort of fell away. At first my clients schedule ran my life. I worked awful hours and hated the schedule. Finally, my boss, who was a great mentor told me to decide what schedule I wanted and stick to it and my clients would fall in line. He was right, I couldn't believe it. I chose 2 mornings and 2 evenings and one weekend day to work. When I gave my clients parameters they very willingly complied with my schedule and my life calmed down dramatically. On the exercise front I got my GX certification and started teaching. At the club I was working at I got paid the same to teach as to train. Eventually I started teaching at 3 different clubs and could really choose what I wanted to teach and when. In that way I developed my ideal workout schedule and then built my work schedule around it, there is no skipping workouts or slacking off. There are people at each club that want an instructor that will teach wickedly hard classes so I could still get my workout. Also, depending on the club there are often a ton of opportunities to sub other classes, which is a good way to develop a following, get some extra income, or practice a new format while you are waiting to get a class of your own.

It has been a very good decision for me and our household. Now that I have been in the field a few years I see how small of a group it is. Through networking I have received a ton of really cool opportunities that I would have never imagined. My career is really taking off, not from me searching for it, but for having worked solidly and consistently and people have noticed. Good luck with your decision.

Shayne
 
Shayne, that is great input, thanks! That's exactly my plan--since the f/t job will still be paying my mortgage, clients will have to go by my schedule. Hopefully someday I can do the PT f/t, & do the govmt work p/t (I really do not want to let go of that pension LOL).

I'm really getting excited about this now. I've had a zillion scenarios running through my head during the last few days, & I see a happy, rewarding career in my future. :)
 
Laura - I just want to say how excited I am about all this for you! It sounds utterly cool, and I'm so glad you're going to be able to do it!
 
Before I saw your other post, I was going to ask if you could take the position part time. I think that's great! Congratulations!
 
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