Any former personal trainers in here?

Ashke · Aug 7, 2012

Hi!

I am a personal trainer looking to switch to nursing. I also have a similar degree as you. I love working in the health and wellness industry and nursing is such a versatile profession, that I can't see myself getting bored anytime soon. I will start my program this fall. I hope to continue training if even in a small capacity, but I will have to assess that once I get a feel for the course load.

As far as job security goes, it seems like even nursing is a bit hard hit just like most other professions, if what I am reading on various forums is any indication. If you're making the switch solely for job stability, you may be in for a bit of disappointment. However, if you really love the job and work really hard at selling yourself at interviews (something us trainers are used to ?) then you should be fine.

As for teaching, athletic therapy, and PTA, I think you could find a way to do the equivalents in nursing. They each sound quite involved in their own right in time, energy, and money. From my experience, having multiple credentials in different fields do not make you that much more marketable and can even count against you by making you look overqualified or even aloof.

All the best!

-Ashke

wellcoachRN · Aug 7, 2012

Have you thought of working in cardiac rehab? A lot of cardiac rehab places are moving away from nurses and using individuals trained in exercise science.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Ashke · Aug 7, 2012

Hi again!

I now understand that you are on the fence between 4 professions and not necessarily trying to pursue all 4. I will give you my insight on them based on my own research as I have considered all of those options at one point or another.

I am in Canada and so job markets may be very different where you are. Where I am, a teaching degree is pretty much toilet paper; there are no jobs to be had for a good while. This may or may not be the case in California.

PTAs generally don't make a whole lot unless you are lucky to land a hospital job, which may be possible since you already have an exercise science background and relevant experience. Again, it will come down to selling yourself in an interview which you could probably nail with your exercise science degree alone. Personally, I would rather pursue a physiotherapy degree over a PTA, especially if you are looking for better job security.

Athletic therapy is only really lucrative if you are providing care to elite athletes. That requires connections and really working your way up in the industry. Outside of that, you'll probably command the same wage as you would with you exercise science degree alone.

I already made my comments about nursing so I won't repeat except to say that it has great versatility and you would likely find a niche for yourself that you love. However, the economy downturn has hit nursing as well and so you will have to put a lot of effort into landing your first job.

I hope that helps you, if even to just give you some food for thought. Hopefully you can get some Californian perspective as well.

Good luck on your journey :)

-Ashke

Ashke · Aug 7, 2012

Cardiac rehab would definitely be a good option. You may need to get your exercise physiologist certification with the ACSM, which requires a masters degree. There is an exercise specialist certification with ACSM that may be okay, but I am not sure what the scope of practice is, nor do I know if the certification is valued by employers. In any case, it may be a more efficient use of time and money.

Ashke · Aug 7, 2012

Did a moderator edit my post? I could have sworn that I posted the above comments in a different thread.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Aug 7, 2012

welcome to an!

yes, and you should have a pm from the moderator who combined them. your threads were combined as per the terms of service. if you have any questions please post them at the help desk and somone ffom the staff will assist you.

if you look at post #3 it states it was edited.

Ashke · Aug 7, 2012

Thank you for clarifying. I don't have a pm, and I usually access AN via the phone app, so I don't see notification of the edit. Thank you for confirming the edit.