Online Degrees

Fitness Instruction Degrees

Salaries For Degrees in Fitness Instruction

Graduates in Fitness Instruction can work in a variety of occupations.  It is impossible to say what you personally will do with a degree in Fitness Instruction, our survey panel picked the following occupations as likely options:

Students with a degree in Fitness Instruction are considered well prepared for becoming Fitness trainers and aerobics instructors.

The median salary for people with a degree in Fitness Instruction is $9,146.92.  The lifetime value of this degree is approximately $183,047.00.

Why so little?  Well, most people working as fitness instructors do it as a part-time job, rather than a full-time occupation.  They might teach only a few classes a week.  This results in having low income as an instructor when annualized, since the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the average hours worked per week at only 12.67 rather than 40 for the typical full-time job.

Salaries are highly dependent on how skilled one is at negotiation, experience, policies at your employer, area, and more.  The estimates we show on these pages are just that: estimates.  Your individual experience will likely vary.

Where does this come from?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the US government, classifies all workers into some 800-odd occupational categories.  We paid a army of freelancers to get their opinion on what type of degree a holder of each type of job would likely have majored in.  For pairs which had a high degree of consensus, we created a link between the degree and the job.

From this, we calculated the average salary for Fitness Instruction degrees and converted it into a lifetime value.  We then compared it against other degrees at the same level of schooling (such as associate's, bachelor's, or master's), so that you can make informed educational and employment decisions.

What Can a Fitness Instruction Student Expect to Learn?

The field of fitness instruction includes those who aspire to be personal trainers and group exercise instructors. Personal trainers work with clients on an individual basis and tailor an exercise and diet program for that specific individual either in a gym or home setting. Group exercise instructors teach various activities such as Pilates and kick-boxing to a group at fitness centers, community centers and adult education venues. Annual wages for this profession range from $36,000 in small cities to $64,000 in metropolitan areas according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A choice of degree programs for fitness instruction exist, such as Exercise Science, Kinesiology, Health and Human Performance, and Physical Education. General courses include aquatics, contemporary wellness, first aid, health promotion and nutrition. Major courses include motor development, physiology of exercise, biomechanics and exercise testing and prescription.

Degree Requirements

Before deciding which degree you want, find the requirements for the various types of physical education degrees at the institution you are considering by either looking at their online catalog or going in person to the academic advisors at the university, telling them what type of career you would like to study for, and asking for the names of the degree programs available that would be suitable. In the catalog, look up the degree plans you feel you may be interested in and compare the required courses to find the name of the degree you feel most suits your needs.

It is possible to start your college career at a community college, then transfer to a higher university. A community college can often provide certifications that you may need as a fitness instructor, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation and certifications by the American council on Exercise, The American Fitness Professionals and Associates and the American college of Sports Medicine. Community colleges also provide general education requirements and associates degrees in many fields. Be sure to check with the university you are planning to transfer to in order to insure that your community college credits will be accepted. Many universities will accept an associate’s degree from a community college, even if they would not have accepted the individual classes.

Accredidation

Make sure the university you plan to attend has proper accreditation. Many for-profit universities say they are accredited, but only hold accreditation through a self-made system. Credits earned at schools without proper accreditation will not be accepted by regionally accredited universities. Schools that are properly accredited will cite one of these regional accreditations as listed by the Council for Higher Education (CHEA) :

1. Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

2. New England Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Institutions of Higher Education

3. North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

4. Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

5. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

6. Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting commission for Community and Junior Colleges

7. Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities

Online Schools Offering Accredited Fitness Instruction Degree Programs

Due to the nature of fitness instruction degrees, few accredited online degrees are available. Many accredited colleges offer some online classes, but most have one or more classes for which students must be physically present. Be sure to check online institution’s accreditation and ask if there are labs for which you will be required to purchase extra equipment to be sent to you. Two schools offering this program online are:

• Ashford University
• A.T. Still University

Top Colleges & Universities Offering Campus-based Fitness Instruction Degrees

The best university programs for fitness instruction are ranked according to graduate job placement as well as academic achievement. When you search online for top universities for a specific field, look for a list by a reliable source, a source that you recognize. Keep in mind that links on the sides of the online top ten lists are often advertisements for unranked, for-profit universities. The following universities found on several reliable sources as the top universities for fitness instruction:

• University of Texas at Austin
• Ithaca College
• California State University at Long Beach
• Westmont College
• University of Tulsa
• Wheaton College
• University of Maryland at College Park
• Pennsylvania State University – Main Campus
• Michigan State University
• Colorado State University
• University of Wisconsin at la Crosse
• University of Florida – master’s degrees only
• University of Minnesota
• University Of Toledo
• Brigham Young University – master’s degrees and doctoral programs
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – master’s degrees and doctoral programs

Famous Fitness Education Students

Famous fitness education instructors with degrees include Charles Poliquin, trainer of four Olympic champions and numerous pro athletes, and Bob Greene (pictured right, photo credit mspmag.com), author of the Best Life Diet and frequent guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show.