Any personal trainers?

The first thing you have to do is stop second guessing yourself. If you feel its right, GO FOR IT. Working for yourself isn't easy. You have to build up your own clients and believe in what you are saying and doing for them and they need to believe you. You have to be able to talk to total strangers and say,. Hey I can help you with that and I charge this amount without losing your confidence. This is key.

I work for myself and work with a lot of personal trainers and other professionals and you have to believe in your product. So go for it and give it a try. You will never know if you have the talent unless you try.

bump.

The biggest mistake I made was not going to where I wanted to work and ask them what they're looking for (in terms of certifications). I ended up getting certified but I still couldn't work at this one location because that wasn't the particular certification they were looking for

I have had difficulties getting jobs in the past. When you lack experience, in anything really, getting a job seems to be impossible. 90% of job listings wanted people who had 3 years of experience so I recommend that you start the job hunt even before you get certified. Get to know people who know people who know people in the industry. Is it stable? At first, no way. Eventually, it can be if you learn from your mistakes and do your best to meet the needs the clients and those happy clients will spread the word about you. Then before you know it, you won't even have to put yourself out there anymore.

Agreed- If you want to become a trainer- do it. Its a fun career that allows a lot of freedom with regards to schedules etc. The one thing that you should keep in mind is its difficult to actually make a living ( enough to live on, or support a family on) as a trainer. I've been a trainer for over 10 years. People come and go. Clients go on vacation, move, go through life changes etc, and your income will go up and down according to your client's schedules, vacations etc. Also in my experience unless you get a job as a supervisor in some kind of fitness/health club, chances are you will not have any benefits (no paid vacations, sick days, holiday etc. ) For me this hasn't been a problem because I am not the main "bread winner" in my household. Work hard and good things will happen- Good luck

Okay, thanks!
I read online that the median salary for a personal trainer was $49,000 in my area... Does that sound inaccurate to you? As with almost anything, I would expect to make less than that until I get some experience but does that sound reasonable or inflated?

Expecting to make $49,000.00 as a personal trainer is ridiculous. That might happen if you have a bachelor's degree and CSCS credentials + 10 years or more of experience and have been working in one high end gym for a long time and developed a large client base and reputation. However, coming out with no experience you'd be really lucky to break $20,000 your first year.

The most reputable certification would be the NSCA. Then some people would say ACSM although I would have to disagree and ACE would fall far below at third. Just keep in mind that most personal trainers have no idea what they are talking about because proper exercise technique, programming and periodization is not included in the testing rubrik. I have known dozens of personal trainers (many of whom held CSCS credentials and masters degrees in exercise physiology or kinesiology) and none of them knew how to lift properly or organize a well thought out training program; conversely, I have also known dumb, redneck powerlifters who never graduated from high school but could whip someone into shape faster than you can tie your shoes because they had years of experience under the bar. My point is, it doesn't matter which certification you get because the certification doesn't actually mean ANYTHING. Your actual education on exercise will take place outside of formalized education and the certification process. So go ahead and get your certification, but do not neglect to get an ACTUAL education on the subject.

Okay, thanks so much! That makes a lot of sense. I have a LOT to learn and I have to admit I'm still a bit intimidated by weight lifting BUT I really do want to learn and I plan to change that! I do think that I'd prefer to work primarily with women or clients interested in weight loss, but I want to learn it all and I also have a lot of work left to do on my own body to get to where I want to be! They say the best way to learn something is by doing it, so that's what I plan to do!

It's a good idea to specialize in taking overweight women as clients because A) that must be your niche since you're a woman who has lost a good deal of weight and Overweight women are what you're going to get as clients regardless of how you market yourself.

The only thing that sucks about taking only overweight women as clients is that they tend to be harder to train because they are experts at making excuses and they whine more than most other people (of course there are plenty of exceptions, but you'll run into it a lot and if you don't have the patience for it then you'll hate your job). Good luck to you though. If you have any questions regarding training I have a lot of experience and don't mind helping a newb get started.

Not going to say one certification is better than another. That said, you need to research what certifications gyms in your area prefer. I'm certified through NASM which is a VERY good certification and was a big factor in getting hired without experience at a reputable gym. Certifications are not meaningless. The important thing is that after you get your certification that you continue your education through research, studying, experience, etc.

I don't know where I'll end up living yet, I just want a certification that will be widely accepted. What about NASM did you really like? I'm looking into the different certifications now and it's a bit overwhelming!

Just by doing research I found NASM to be one of the best certs and preferred at the gyms in my area. It's also a difficult test to pass. NASM is geared towards corrective exercise and which exercise progressions (or regressions) to use with clients.