1. Some accreditation bodies have created a media driven myth that personal trainers earn incredibly large amounts of money and people considering this career path justifiably want some kind of clarification
2. Fitness professionals in the industry want to know what the going rates are just as any other employed or self employed person in any other industry.
As I was sifting through my feeds and things this morning I came across this great article/report (link can be found at the end of the post) on the American Council On Exercises' (ACE) website demonstrating how much personal trainers and fitness professionals earned in 2010.
From what I've seen on other blogs and websites around the Internet and based on advertised salary rates on job sites for fitness professionals; this seems like a pretty accurate estimate of what's being or could be offered/earned if you chose a career in the fitness industry.
I also feel that the estimates are quite similar to what trainers and fitness professionals outside the US are earning (relative to the converted dollar); if not at the very least it will provide you with a good guide to compare different career paths.
Before we get into that, here's 6 interesting conclusions also taken from the article:
1. The average salary rates for full-time fitness professionals has increased by 19% since 2005
2. The top 5 states/territories (U.S) reporting the highest annual income for fitness professionals includes the District of Columbia, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Kansas and Maine
3. Only 40% of fitness professionals feel that the recent financial crisis had a negative impact on their businesses
4. 69% of fitness professionals are paid an hourly rate
5. Over 1/3 of all fitness professionals work 21-40 hours per week, with 10% working over 40 hours
6. 51% of personal trainers work for a club/fitness facility while 49% work independently.
The ACE article states that to obtain the following figures, nearly 3000 fitness professionals were surveyed across the United States by an independent third party research firm.
Average Salary For Personal Trainers And Fitness Professionals In 2010:
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Salary Vs Education And Certification 2010:
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Salary Vs. Education And Experience 2010:
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Most Popular Fitness Jobs 2010:
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A quote from another article I wrote about this subject which I also feel sums up the elevator pitch of My Business Is Fitness is:
"It's not how much do personal trainers earn, it's how much can you earn as a personal trainer?"
I found these figures quite interesting, particularly the 'experience verses education' chart as it seems that the older a personal trainer is, they're earning less.
This could have something to do with an 'old school' approach to marketing or it could be related to their pricing structure; however the positives I see across the board is that the fitness industry is alive and well and still a potentially very rewarding career for those of you willing to show initiative.
Was there anything in particular about these results that struck you as interesting?
Are you earning less or more that what has been displayed or are you on track?
Ben
Additional Reading:
2010 ACE Survey Salary Results
How Much Do Personal Trainers Make?
Here Down Under in Melbourne, I am working about 30hr a week and grossing around $40,000, though it's quite up and down in hours. The money comes from about 20hr gym instructor and 10hr PT. To get these hours I'm working at two gyms, doing half my hours in the mornings, half in the evenings.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am in just my fourth month of employment with the two gyms, obviously as time goes on your gym and PT hours both go up - assuming you're competent, which is a big assumption in this industry.
Thank you for the comment Kiashu.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're working hard mate and good for you.
Getting up to 10 hours PT/week in only 4 months is pretty good going in my opinion, you should be able to double that in half the time.
Are you employed by both gyms or contracting?
Looking over what I wrote above, I realise it was misleading; only in the last fortnight have I achieved 10hr/week. I had to build up to it, and of course I must sustain this.
ReplyDeleteI began in late July at both workplaces, so I am not worried I had no clients then. Officially, one of the workplaces hired me as a gym instructor for the first three months, I wasn't supposed to PT at all. I forced my way in by saying, "I have a private client who wants to come to this gym..." and of course they didn't refuse.
Looking at half-hour sessions, my figures combined for the two gyms are,
Jul 0
Aug 18
Sep 34
Oct 61
However, looking at current bookings and assuming everyone shows up, it'll be 20 sessions or 10hr a week.
What I'm particularly happy with is that 10 of the 13 clients I recruited myself, only 3 came through management/reception.
I am glad to hear it's good going, one of my managers said so, but it's difficult to know what is good progress as many trainers are reluctant to disclose their client numbers. I think everyone is scared everyone else is more successful than them.
So whether my figures are good or bad, it does at least offer an example of what's possible with some effort from a new trainer.
I suspect that my relative success has something to do with having some life experience before coming into the profession, many new trainers lack confidence.
I am employed by both gyms, both are community gyms. I also work privately, though I'd rather all my private clients went to my gyms, that'd be less paperwork and hassle for me.
I am happy to share more details by private email, there are interesting contrasts in the two workplaces.