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The differences between managers/personal trainer and fitness directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a manager/personal trainer and a fitness director. Additionally, a manager/personal trainer has an average salary of $63,117, which is higher than the $53,238 average annual salary of a fitness director.
The top three skills for a manager/personal trainer include CPR, program design and cleanliness. The most important skills for a fitness director are customer service, CPR, and kids.
| Manager/Personal Trainer | Fitness Director | |
| Yearly salary | $63,117 | $53,238 |
| Hourly rate | $30.34 | $25.60 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 32,592 | 9,837 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A manager/personal trainer performs fitness training, human resource management, and sales in a single job role. First-aid certification is one of the main requirements for the role. The responsibilities of this role are teaching and evaluating a trainer's performance, offering feedback based on the results of the evaluation, creating a workout plan that works for the client, advising the client on nutrition and exercise, and ensuring that health and safety regulations are adhered to when working with equipment.
A fitness director manages a fitness facility's operations. These operations include creating fitness programs, monitoring staff, scheduling shifts, and even managing the fitness center budget. They can also train fitness instructors and even hire and terminate them. They procure the equipment necessary and make sure it works well and is safe. Aside from these tasks, fitness directors must also be akin to the needs of the center, decide on solutions, and have the ability to motivate clients to follow the program that was created for their betterment.
Managers/personal trainer and fitness directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Manager/Personal Trainer | Fitness Director | |
| Average salary | $63,117 | $53,238 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $100,000 | Between $33,000 And $85,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Springfield, MA |
| Highest paying state | - | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | - | |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between a manager/personal trainer and a fitness director in terms of educational background:
| Manager/Personal Trainer | Fitness Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Kinesiology | Kinesiology |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Here are the differences between managers/personal trainer' and fitness directors' demographics:
| Manager/Personal Trainer | Fitness Director | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.9% Female, 33.1% | Male, 54.8% Female, 45.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 5.1% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 5.1% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 13% |