Hey guys, I did personal training and taught Spinning part-time while I was going to college. I was ACE PT certified and Johnny G. for Spinning. I graduated with a major in psychology and minor in Kinesiology.
Now several years and several jobs later I realize that I haven't enjoyed any profession as much as I enjoyed training. I've bought the materials to study for the NSCA-CPT exam but I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to go back to school and complete a major in kinesiology. I could probably do it in a year. What do you think?
I'm also currently taking my first ever cert with NASM right now. IMO, I don't think it's too important that you have a degree in Kinesiology although it may help. I believe that practical experience counts for a lot more compared to schooling. If I were you, I would probably just take more "applied" courses or certs than get another degree.
Now, I'm new to all this too so this is just my view at the moment. Unless you have your sights set on a job that requires the degree then go for it. But, I'm doing this for business and a career not just to get another j.o.b.
It is absolutely worth it to go back to school and major in something you already minored in. The NSCA CPT credential will be enough for you to get a job as a personal trainer, and if that's enough then that's fine, but having a broader base knowledge will open your path to more serious involvement in sport and rehab training. If that's something you are interested in, go back to school
I have been reluctant to post because I am not in the fitness industry, but since there have been a lot of views and few posts, I will give it a shot. I am involved in tertiary education, so to promote my industry, I would say that education is an end in itself. I say that not to be sarcastic but because even if it does not directly impact your pay scale (I assume this is part of the "is it worthwhile going back for a major" question), it will affect the quality of your professional career and I think directly impact your enjoyment of your profession. However, you do not necessarily need to do it formally because there is no reason that you cannot educate yourself.
I am not too familiar with the US education system and am surprised that you can go back and "add a major" to a degree that you have finished. But rather than "adding a major", I would suggest that you do a completely new program (for example a post graduate degree or certificate - -it is usually the equivalent of 3 master levels courses). Or actually bite the bullet and just do a masters degree.
In any case, since you have apparently found what you want to do, any investment in education will be very worthwhile. Keep us updated on what you decide to do.
Cheers
Peter
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Peter
After all, diamonds are a girl's best friend…
Depends on the program. At my school, its almost worthless. I really didn't need to take classes learning about the merits of HIT training and learning at olympic lifters focus on German volume training in the offseason.. That combined with health courses focusing on low fat diets and learning the merits of the GI scale.
I only minored in it, but sat in on many classes as training is my main interest.
I guess I am skeptical that it will improve your personal training, or get you more clients, money etc. Now if you want to specialize and become a physical therapist or something like that then its going to be almost essential.
Emoore, with your BA you could look into a graduate program (not sure if that's what you meant). If you are just interested in personal training then a CPT will do you fine, but as Galya said if your goals change then a degree will open doors.
The gym I work for recently changed requirements so that to become a master instructor (their term) you now need a degree in something exercise/sports science-related. I suspect the trend in the industry will continue going this way.
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Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
If you are going to return to school, don't go back for a second bachelor's. You may as well get a master's degree. If you are not interested in doing a thesis, there are a lot of schools that offer programs that do not require a thesis - just additional classroom hours.
Despite having a degree in a different subject area, you do have a minor in kinesiology. Therefore, you've probably taken enough of the pre-requisite courses already. So, you could probably apply and start right into a master's program.
With that said, your best source of education is going to come from own your efforts. In all honesty, there is HUGE disconnect between the research community and the practitioner side of things for the most part. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part most universities offer very little on the application side of things.
I am not yet a trainer, myself. But, I do have a master's degree in phys ed (kinesiology) with a concentration in the exercise sciences (non-thesis) and I recently returned for a second master's in biomechanics (I'm dragging my heels on my thesis) and while I do have a lot of formal knowledge and am able to read research more effectively and understand what's going on from a methodology standpoint, none of my degrees have really met my needs. Kinesiology programs are very lacking when it comes to really teaching students what they need to know. There needs to be a little more of a PT component in kinesiology programs in my opinion. While every student takes basic anatomy, there is little functional anatomy that is taught. "The biceps flexes the elbow" (Duh...) How does the hip influence knee mechanics? How can poor hip mobility affect the shoulder? None of that integrative type of stuff is taught.
In all honesty, I think that having advanced degrees are good from a marketability standpoint and exposure to the research literature, etc. However, practical experience and being mentored is the best source of learning in my opinion. It sounds like you have the foundation. Looking back, I'd focus on finding a good mentoring opportunity first and foremost and go for the additional degree as a secondary thing.
If you really wanted to go back for an advanced degree, I think that PT school would probably be most useful. However, unless you're going to actually practice PT, it's far too expensive.
Unfortunately, I think that in order to be the best that you can be...it's much like that line in the movie Good Will Hunting that goes something like this (I don't recall exactly) - "You went and spent $150,000 on an education that you could've gotten with a $1.50 in library fines."
Worth it to go back to school?
I say that not to be sarcastic but because even if it does not directly impact your pay scale (I assume this is part of the "is it worthwhile going back for a major" question), it will affect the quality of your professional career and I think directly impact your enjoyment of your profession. However, you do not necessarily need to do it formally because there is no reason that you cannot educate yourself. 
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