off topic/schooling

[jef2007]

ok im interested in going back to school but not sure what field to get into .ide like to get into something in the fitness world.need some idea's and i have benifits that will pay for 2 years of colledge free,Thanks for any good advice and i'll look into them cause i need to get into something soon:)

[hpro]

What kind of Fitness are you into? Training? Supplements? Owning your own gym? You tell me. :cool:

[jef2007]

What kind of Fitness are you into? Training? Supplements? Owning your own gym? You tell me. :cool: supplements would be interesting also ive gotta think of a decent income to balance it out,i dont know how well personal trainers do $ i heard from a guy who said anyone can get a personal trainer certificate on the internet for around $500.00. i want a good job,do you have any idea of something career wise in supplements what would that occupation be called & yearly income? thanks for giving me any direction..:)

[RisingAgainst]

supplements would be interesting also ive gotta think of a decent income to balance it out,i dont know how well personal trainers do $ i heard from a guy who said anyone can get a personal trainer certificate on the internet for around $500.00. i want a good job,do you have any idea of something career wise in supplements what would that occupation be called & yearly income? thanks for giving me any direction..:)
I know that starting your own supplement company is very very hard, and the reputation has to be outstanding in order to get any success. I'm doing the personal trainer thing to pay my way through college so I can teach, not as a career.

[egodog48]

It all depends on what you are good at and what you feel you can excel in. There are plenty of opportunities out there, but you have to think about what you would want to do the rest of your life, not just the dollar sign, because over time, only your happiness will determine if you made the right decision. Also, you got to understand that through the many aspects of fitness, are a wide array of classes you may have to take, and some may not be best suited for what you are good at (ie finance, organic/inorganic chemistry, kinesiology). These are all impaortant things to consider, not just "I have to get this done in two years." Good luck

[B-natural]

one area to focus on, esp in exercise is the SCIENCE, I am lovin my major, however I slacked off thinkin I didn't really need the science. however now lookin back, I wish I knew more about the pathways things take and the elements of the kreb cycle, it all helps understand the need for this stuff (supplements) that much more. chemistry may have been more interesting as well when breaking down these chemical chains to understand the supp.s we need a lil dinoiii 101 on this beast to help with how to understand all of this, rather than all of this "my buddy's takin it, an he's pretty jacked, so I figured what the hey"

[dinoiii]

Alright, lets talk honesty.

To be "in" the supplement industry does NOT take ANY degrees. Sure, you could be hired out potentially if you do chemistry work, et al. and it may bode you well if you ever plan to own a company to gain experience in the business world, but really look at the companies - it is by far - the rare example of a company that people are truly...adequately educated to be putting things together for oral consumption.

As for fitness, a personal trainer is such a diverse dubbing. Some gyms offer their own certification classes, and you can even certification in like a couple hours and then you simply adopt their uniform company-wide program already nicely pre-designed for your "clients." Of course, you have likely seen the ISSA, ACE, et al. certification programs - all of which have pros and cons...but there is really NO STANDARD OF DEVELOPMENT HERE. The lack of a unifying theme is what makes these too a bottom-feeding scheme, though the uneducated gym-owner may hire you on simply by way of this. Needless to say, I recommend steering VERY far from this particular realm. You also have the potential to earn a personal training degree at VERY SELECT institutions, but this too is the rarity and just becoming of age. There are likely to be many the growing pains with this installment, and I'd still suggest giving strong investment into these programs a couple of years.

Of course, if you end up going the route of exercise physiologist, RD, PhD, MD, and/or various master's degrees - your options for truly credible work go up. Sorry I am painting the likely bleek picture - but look into the ISSN...this particular group has established its own peer-reviewed journal and the like...and their quality-expectations are far-exceeding the grand lot - in order to stay on and/or become a "fellow" you should possess one of the degrees I suggested above and likely some level of grad work, and you need to on top of that offer up a few first-author publications PER YEAR to maintain status. This is, in effect, what I myself am going to begin the process of in June. I like this group. They are about the only thing I would give my stamp of approval to and their essential recommendations are phenomenal. Of course, anyone can become ISSN "certified" by passing a regional exam (200 questions), but la creme de la creme comes in the fellowship domain and there you are talking the bigger money makers, but the accredation is more upstanding.


I am going to back track a bit, and make additional mention of the Exercise Physiologist. Currently I have 13 employed for me and they are ALL TOP NOTCH. This is where trans_isomer comes in. He is in his junior year of his own program and will likely spend some internship time with me over the course of the next year. I am going to point him to this thread in particular to give you some insight into what he has had as his program qualifications as his first-hand knowledge and being entrenched in his own program will likely be the best kind of adjunct that could give insight into this degree better than myself (hehe, I couldn't encourage my right-hand man to start posting on these boards when I first saw this as he says he sees how addicted I am to them in between clients and the like...lol). Ahhh, oh well.



I am going to send this off to trans!!!


D_

[GunzandBunz]

Just to give some feedback on personal training as a career. Not to disagree with Dr, D but I myself am a personal trainer with what I consider more knowledge than most trainers out there. A lost of organizations and gyms these days are focused more on just tking a test and presenting your certification as a basis for employment. This is unfortunate as several crappy trainers get jobs in gyms and give good trainers a bad name. I live in colorado which is unique in its laws in that we are unregulated. You dont even need a certification to train here. Scary huh? just think that you may know more about anatomy than your trainer. While I did in fact go through a 6 month school geared towards personal training, I myself understand that there is much more involved with this field than just being certified. I too plan on furthering my knowledge in fitness through secondary education at some point in the near future. None the less Trainers can make great money but you need to be knowledgable and qualified to carry that title. I myself will be starting a new job at the end of the month in which I will be undergoing an internship for 2400 hours. This alone was a big factor in me taking this job as I personally would like to further my knowledge to seperate myself from any joe shmoe who just sits in a 2 day class and considers himself qualified which unfortunately, is the norm in this field.

Dont let me dissuade you as I think that if you are good with people and want a job in which you can go home at night feeling good that your bettering someone elses life, this would make a great career. But dont jsut settle. Learn as much as you can an d keep learning.

[RisingAgainst]

I'm using it as a way of putting myself through school, Ultimately to teach. You should do some serious soul searching and decide what it is in life that makes you happy, only then can you make a decision about a CAREER, not job, that will make you happy AND sucessful.

[dinoiii]

What is it you want to teach RA?

I taught anatomy and physiology in 1999-2000.

And will likely pick up teaching those said classes and maybe even a kinesiology type class this fall. This certainly is a passion I could not escape.

D_

[RisingAgainst]

What is it you want to teach RA?

I taught anatomy and physiology in 1999-2000.

And will likely pick up teaching those said classes and maybe even a kinesiology type class this fall. This certainly is a passion I could not escape.

D_
High school level history, high school level anthropology, high school level psyhcology, high schoo level sociology, and maybe a specific course over mythology and ancient civilizations... Depends mostly on the amounts of cash I get for school (I'm native american so consider it paid for.. :o )

[Trans_Isomer]

Just some info...

I am currently in my junior year of getting a BS in Exercise Physiology. It really is a good degree in that you can do many things with it, med school, grad school, physicians assistant, physical therapy, etc. I really enjoy the classes related to the degree, its the ones that are general education requirements that bore me. There are many opportunities to get in on studies being done, as at my university, you can work with the many doctors who do research work at the Sports Medicine building and the Brody School of Medicine. The labs are fun as you get to work with some of the university athletes doing isokinetic dynamometry testing, EMGs, joint mechanics, and so on. The most important thing is to enjoy what you are doing, if you don't like it, you will dread everyday that you do it.

Heres some info that I have on an Exercise Physiology (BS) degree, hope it helps:

Bachelor's Degree Exercise Physiology: Students who choose not to pursue post-graduate studies can fine employment in many diverse areas. Examples include: research technician in exercise or biochemistry laboratories; exercise consultant at a fitness spa; personal trainer and fitness specialist in hospital and industry based wellness programs.

Employers of Exercise Physiology Majors:
-Hospitals
-Pharmaceutical Companies
-Companies with wellness programs (Such as IBM, Proctor and Gamble, Westinghouse, Xerox, etc.)
-Universities, colleges, community colleges
-Fitness clubs and health spas
-United States Armed Forces
-Research Laboratories (Exercise/Biochem Labs)
-Consulting Companies

Exercise Physiologist (post-graduate): A masters level clinical exercise physiologist is trained to work in a variety of settings that can include, but are not limited to, the following jobs: cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation specialist; corporate fitness director; research technician in exercise physiology or in biochemistry; community college/college lecturer; research associate.

Doctoral level exercise physiologist are trained to become: researchers and teachers at the university level; program directors for cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation programs; and researchers for organizations within the private sector.

Medicine and Allied Health Professions: The exercise physiology undergraduate curriculum is designed to prepare students for a variety of post-graduate careers in medicine and allied health professions. The majority of prerequisites for medical and physical therapy school are included in the exercise physiology curriculum.