Possible to be Personal Trainer as a summer job?

[Ichiroo]

Hello,

For all of the personal trainers here that train as a part of a gym, have any of you any experience with gyms that allow people to work as CPT's as a summer job? I don't think I would have any trouble with passing the certification exams (3rd year exercise science student, so I'm back and forth between school and home a lot), but I don't want to pay for the membership + exam fees if nobody hires personal trainers on a summer only and/or part time basis.

Now clearly the problem would be that I'd only have my 3 months with clients and then abandon them, which I don't want to have to do to clients, but at the same time I feel like it would be a great experience for myself.

Thanks for any responses, and a happy New Year to you all!

[kbouw]

I personally believe that personal training isn't something you should "just do" for a paycheck. These people are making a commitment to you to help them get into shape and create a healthy lifestyle. I feel that it is unfair to treat personal training as a "summer job" since you have to make as much of a commitment to your clients as they make to you.

Many chain gyms offer "in-house certifications" where they allow you personal train through them while working on getting your NCCA accredited certification. If I were you, i would go ahead and get my certification because it isn't going to hurt you, if anything it will add credibility to your reputation. It is something that will go great on a resume if you apply for a job, it can be a second-source of income on a part-time basis, and it can be a career if you decide to commit to it full-time.

But like i stated before, personal training is about commitment from both, the trainer and the client. So I personally would not hire someone for such a short time period.

[Ichiroo]

See this is exactly the problem.

I WANT to help people. That is #1. My plans on physical therapy school reflect this. However, I DO need to make money. I am very passionate about my own training as well. Personal training seems like a great fit short-term (who knows, maybe long-term as well since I could see myself enjoying helping people who WANT help moreso than those who NEED help) because of these reasons.

Just searching through this forum a bit I've seen some who have trained people until they are good to go on their own and then keep in touch. I would love that, but don't think 3 months would be long enough of a time period.

So either I do this at school, part time, with all of my classes at the same time, and still only be able to do it for 3-4 months at a time, or do it as a summer job. I know the term "summer job" sounds awful to those who make a career out of it, but I do want to help people, as those who make a career out of it do -- I just want to see how I could go about doing this.

[jdmalm123]

summer's can be slow...seasonal trainer (to pick up on the gym rush) is more realistic, but, hey, if you can get work and experience...go for it!

[bigfrog]

summer's can be slow...seasonal trainer (to pick up on the gym rush) is more realistic, but, hey, if you can get work and experience...go for it!

This, but I will agree with the above. It's great you want to help, but taking on a client is often much longer depending on their goals than 3 months. Sorry, but I think it would be a mistake. Especially after the abandonment. Could hurt your credibility.