Career Services
Career Explorer:
Job Description:
- Perform fitness assessments, testing and orientations.
- Generate individualized exercise prescriptions.
- Create and implement wellness programs.
- Design incentive programs.
- Manage daily fitness center operations, including maintenance and safety.
- Teach group exercise classes.
- Provide personal and small-group training.
- Provide general nutrition advice.
- Implement recruitment and retention programs.
- Conduct health fairs and screenings.
Working conditions and physical demands:
- Handle loads of up to 10 pounds, frequently up to 20 pounds or more.
- You might do a lot of walking or standing, or you might sit but use your arms and legs to control machines, equipment or tools.
- Sound and noise levels may be loud and distracting.
- Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time.
- Requires getting into awkward positions.
- Exposed to disease and infections more than once a month through work such as patient care, laboratory work and sanitation control.
Working in this career involves these physical activities:
- Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others.
- Identifying and understanding the speech of another person.
- Physical ability to teach proper body mechanics.
- Understand limitations and be able to make necessary modifications on an individual basis.
Work hours and travel:
- Full-time, part-time or self-employed.
Career at a Glance:
Skills Needed:
- Enjoy helping people.
- Good communication skills.
- Good problem-solving skills.
Job Duties:
- Administer basic fitness tests and health risk appraisals.
- Teach specific exercise and fitness classes.
- Provide instruction in the proper use of exercise equipment and facilities.
Work Locations:
- Commercial fitness clubs.
- YMCA/YWCA.
- Wellness programs in business and industry.
- Parks & Recreation Departments.
- Other organizations implementing exercise and fitness programs.
Internships:
Students in Work-Based Learning programs have the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom with supervised, practical work experiences directly related to their fields of study. Students typically work part time – 10 to 20 hours per week – while attending school and earning academic credit. Some positions also offer pay for the work. This combination is a meaningful way for students to explore career choices and become better prepared for the job market after graduation.
