1. Kendall Bird
Health EXPW 4042-500
Health Promotion Spring 2016
Tennessee Technological University
Instructor: Sanders
Homework Assignment # 4: 3-5 year career plan

2. In the next year and a half I will be graduating from Tennessee Technological University.
I will graduate with a degree in Exercise Science with a minor in Business. I plan on getting my
masters at Tennessee Tech or at The University of Tennessee. I’m not sure if I will work on my
masters immediately after graduation or if I will take a short break. I don’t have a firm plan for
where I will be working following graduation but I will be exploring options in the near future to
narrow everything down as the time gets closer.
My best professional attributes are that I am detail-oriented, reliable, efficient, a
multitasker, and a great team player. My best personal attributes are that I am competitive,
logical, patient, responsible, and my sense of humor. I think all of these qualities represent who I
am in a professional setting and how I act on an everyday basis. These will help me in my
desired career.
My first thought for the career I would like to have after graduation is a Personal Trainer.
With this job I would help people reach their desired goals by structuring plans and guiding them
through fitness routines. This is my first choice because perhaps it is the most obvious choice
that comes with fitness and wellness degrees. With my attributes from before, I think I would be
good at one-on-one training and help with form and such. The American Council on Exercise
lists the average salary as $53,000 a year. This is in relation to trainers who are certified through
ACE, so it would change slightly depending on which certification I have. There are hundreds of
license and certification companies that trainers can choose from, but the top company is
currently ACE.
My second choice for a job I would like to have would be something along the lines of a
fitness center manager. This is because I am studying exercise science as my major and business
as my minor. I think managing a gym or type of fitness center would be a great use of my two

3. interests and areas of study. The median salary for a fitness center manager is around 50,000$,
according to sportsmanagementdegrees.com. The responsibilities for this job wouldn’t be the
same as personal training. Instead of training and being one-on-one with customers, I would
manage the trainers and other people working for the gym. It’s hard to say if I would prefer one
of the jobs over the other, so I’m sure I should look into both and find out which I should put
more time pursuing.
When pursuing a job like personal training or fitness center management, there are some
obstacles that I know I may face. One obstacle is that jobs aren’t available or as needed in certain
cities. To solve this I definitely will be open to moving and looking around at all places. I think
the market in Nashville is much larger and therefore easier to get into than say, Cookeville. The
next challenge is mostly directed toward personal training, and it is that you have to build up
clientele in order to be successful. This just comes down to being a good trainer and good with
customers.
In the beginning of my career in fitness, it is important that I seek mentors to learn from.
This is also something I have been doing for years. Most of the stuff I have used for myself have
been learned from mentors in the fitness industry. I will use all that I have learned to teach and
train people. This will in turn lead me to be a mentor to other people. I have shared knowledge
and trained with people before, and that will be the same way I would mentor someone. Since
the fitness industry is always evolving, I think I will always learn from others and teach others
new things. Continued education is a good example of the industry’s ever changing nature. ACE
for example is a common certification, and it requires the trainer to continually test over and read
all of their materials. This continued education serves to make sure that the certified trainer is

4. staying relevant and benefitting the costumers. Through training, managing, and continued
education, I plan on changing my field of study and the community.

5. Works Cited:
Collara, C. (2012). What Can You Do with an Exercise Science Degree? Retrieved November
20, 2016, from http://www.exercise-science-guide.com/blog/what-can-you-do-with-
exercise-science-degree/
How Can You Combine a Sports Management Degree with Exercise Science? (2016). Retrieved
November 20, 2016, from http://www.sports-management-degrees.com/faq/how-can-
you-combine-a-sports-management-degree-with-exercise-science/
Personal Trainer Certification. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2016, from
https://www.acefitness.org/fitness-certifications/personal-trainer-
certification/default.aspx