Nutritionist or Personal Trainer (NASM) ?

ikeNball

ikeNball

Member
Hey y'all,

I'll keep my life story part short. Mainly, I already have my bachelors in kinesiology from University of Arizona. I just recently moved to to Orange County to start over. Do any of you recommend a school to become a nutritionist, OR do you have any experience with personal trainer degrees (such as NASM).

Serious answers only, please.

Best,

Ike
 
It's going to come down to which you enjoy more and can see yourself doing for the next 35-40 years. Personally, I think PT is a good part time job or side job for extra cash. I think it is pretty limited to get a job which you can survive and make a good living off of.

As a nutritionist, you can work in several different areas whether it be a private practice, hospital setting, etc. Look at the median pay, job outlook and all that information.
 
Ant hit the nail on the head. It all comes down to what YOU want to do with your time. Doing personal training full time can be difficult, and building a business to generate enough income to live off of isn't easy when you first start. There's the option to work for a gym as a PT, but the pay isn't adequate for what you put into getting the certification IMO.

As a nutritionist you have more range of occupation and flexibility with what you can do. Nutrition consultation covers a wide variety of people, including fitness enthusiasts to those with health and weight problems. There's more options with a nutrition degree IMO.

Also another consideration - I know a few close friends who have gone the PT route. They were die hard into lifting and staying in great shape. After a few years of being full time PT's, they've all agreed that their love for weight training as a hobby has diminished. I think this happens to a lot of fitness enthusiasts that get into PT. When your passion becomes your job, you end up getting sick of it haha. Just a thought!
 
john.patterson said:
Also another consideration - I know a few close friends who have gone the PT route. They were die hard into lifting and staying in great shape. After a few years of being full time PT's, they've all agreed that their love for weight training as a hobby has diminished. I think this happens to a lot of fitness enthusiasts that get into PT. When your passion becomes your job, you end up getting sick of it haha. Just a thought!
Click to expand...

This last point is golden.

I am a huge sports nut. I love all sports and could watch live sports, talk shows, radio shows, etc all day. If you look on my TV, 90% of my viewing is some sort of sports channel/program.

I am a teacher. Deep down, I would love to be a sports historian. This would combine my passion for teaching and sports into one. However, I fear if I had to make a hobby into a job, I would lose the passion for the hobby. I think it is quite ironic I have given that some thought and your friend is experiencing it.

My theory is if we have to be around our passion all of the time, for work and leisure, we will lose that leisure passion for it. Reason being, our hobbies are used to escape our reality. If our passion becomes our reality, what will we use for an escape?
 
I am I going on year 3 for bachelors in kinesiology. I also am ACE certified as a personal trainer. If you do go the personal trainer route I would def look into all the agencies. In my opinion I found that NASM was extremely basic. When it comes down to getting certified I want to be challenged and possibly learn more. Keep in mind, if you go this route, to look at continued credits or recertification and community.
 
I agree with everything that's been said. Since you have a kinesiology degree you will breeze through any PT certification, they are all very basic. Being a PT is fun for a while but its not as fulfilling as some may think.

A nutritionist would give you more flexibility for work environment and likely a higher pay if that is important to you.
 
Do both honestly. Get your CSCS as your coursework should be covered and begin the Nutritionist route as well. Do BOTH
 
TheMovement said:
Do both honestly. Get your CSCS as your coursework should be covered and begin the Nutritionist route as well. Do BOTH
Click to expand...

This, but only if you really do enjoy both. There is a lot of competition out there and you need to make yourself stand out from others.
 
Just know if you go the nutritionist route there's a lot of schooling ahead....you need a dietetics degree then you have to do an internship that is usually a year long before you can take the RD test
 
1988holloway said:
I am I going on year 3 for bachelors in kinesiology. I also am ACE certified as a personal trainer. If you do go the personal trainer route I would def look into all the agencies. In my opinion I found that NASM was extremely basic. When it comes down to getting certified I want to be challenged and possibly learn more. Keep in mind, if you go this route, to look at continued credits or recertification and community.
Click to expand...
NASM is basic, says the guy with the ACE cert
-_-
 
I just started personal training at a large "box gym". Pay blows. Putting in lots of hours and only getting paid for actual training. I almost got my minor in nutrition. I've got an exercise science degree (regret it like a MoFo). Probably just a couple biomechanics/physics classes different from kinesiology.

Anyway, I would go nutritionist for a better job
 
Thing that blows about any health degree is you have to get this cert or that cert and have X amount of experience. Unless you're a good salesman (I'm not and I don't want to be which is why I'm not enjoying PT) I would go for a salary job- like nutritionist.

I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. I love nutrition and was literally 1 class away from my nutrition minor. I got sick of school and it was giving me anxiety/depression. BUT I'm definitely going to look into dietetics/nutrition certs. I think that would open up my options for a salary job vs CPT certs
 
Consider the fact that nutritionist isn't a protected term... anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. If you want to get into a more career orientated field look into becoming a dietician-- you will have a lot more clinical experience and clout. Although you'll spend a lot of time learning bs as well. But it results in a career. Anyone who calls themselves a nutritionist... technically is a nutritionist. The personal training certs are good for getting into a personal training job but you won't learn much useful information. If you have a degree in kinesthesiology look into getting CSCS certified. It requires more work and is much more respected and will allow you to work in a university setting as a strength coach and is a good step to starting your own well respected business. Other options (if you want more school) would be physical therapy school, great career, 3 more years of schooling but you could do a lot with athletes. I know some PT who are also CSCS certified and run their own training facilities.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top