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The differences between personal coaches and personal trainers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a personal coach, becoming a personal trainer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a personal coach has an average salary of $43,849, which is higher than the $37,214 average annual salary of a personal trainer.
The top three skills for a personal coach include NCAA, CPR and role model. The most important skills for a personal trainer are CPR, customer service, and resuscitation.
| Personal Coach | Personal Trainer | |
| Yearly salary | $43,849 | $37,214 |
| Hourly rate | $21.08 | $17.89 |
| Growth rate | 20% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 26,570 | 34,023 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 36 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
Personal coaches must have effective skills in communication, awareness, listening, and problem-solving. They counsel clients on different professional and personal issues to help with personal projects, goals, and transitions. They typically earn $160-325 per hour.
A personal trainer is responsible for monitoring the client's fitness goals by assisting the client with specific and customized routines and exercises to promote healthy well-being. Duties of a personal trainer also include evaluating the client's fitness progress, creating safe programs to improve the client's stamina, educating the client with workout benefits, suggesting on a client's best nutrition plans, and motivating clients with their capabilities. A personal trainer should have excellent knowledge of the fitness industry to support the client's needs.
Personal coaches and personal trainers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Personal Coach | Personal Trainer | |
| Average salary | $43,849 | $37,214 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $67,000 | Between $26,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | California |
| Best paying company | Oracle | AEA Investors |
| Best paying industry | Education | Retail |
There are a few differences between a personal coach and a personal trainer in terms of educational background:
| Personal Coach | Personal Trainer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Kinesiology | Kinesiology |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Here are the differences between personal coaches' and personal trainers' demographics:
| Personal Coach | Personal Trainer | |
| Average age | 36 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.3% Female, 52.7% | Male, 63.3% Female, 36.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 5.4% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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 | 8% | 13% |