[quote]L-Dizzle wrote:
Is it really true that one doesn’t need a degree to be a S&C coach? How about a certification?
What gives you credibility if you have neither?[/quote]
That’s the problem with the S&C field. Credibility is mostly given by word of mouth. There’s still not a nationally recognized, highly respected governing body in S&C. The ACSM and NSCA have made strides, but they’re both still a joke in many ways and not a lot of people take them seriously…
[quote]CC wrote:
I know of several people with exercise science bachelor’s degrees (including myself) who can’t find a “real” job, at least not in anything to do with exercise science. Unfortunately, your parents are right and there’s not much you can do with ex. sci. unless you want to sit in a lab doing research for the rest of your life, and the money is laughable.
Perhaps if you were to get your PhD and get tenure at a university it would be worth it, but that takes years and tenure is becoming a thing of the past anyway (more and more, schools don’t want to guarantee someone they can never fire them because, in general, the quality of their work goes down).
Most schools’ ex. sci. programs are a joke. Do what others have said, and declare yourself pre-med, biology, etc. You’ll be learning pretty much all of the same material you would learn in ex. sci. anyway, and the choices of what you can do later are much broader.
I found this out the hard way, and now I’m back in school as a pre-pharm.[/quote]
I didn’t have any idea that it was a worthless degree, as I don’t live in the States. Maybe the Science part of the name got me. Then again, there are subjects like fire sciences and stuff like that…
Ex. Science is listed under Parks, Recreation & Fitness usually, That kind of got me wondering about it in the first place.
Thanks for replying.
[quote]CC wrote:
L-Dizzle wrote:
Is it really true that one doesn’t need a degree to be a S&C coach? How about a certification?
What gives you credibility if you have neither?
That’s the problem with the S&C field. Credibility is mostly given by word of mouth. There’s still not a nationally recognized, highly respected governing body in S&C. The ACSM and NSCA have made strides, but they’re both still a joke in many ways and not a lot of people take them seriously…
[/quote]
That would possibly mean that it success has at least something to do with luck. That’s of course the case in a lot of situations.
it’s kind of sad that it has to be this way, makes it kind of risky. But I guess with good promotion and marketing one could have success.
The honest truth is that sometime between 22 and 27 you WILL have to support yourself and chances are that you will have to support a wife and/or children.
That said it is very noble for you to pursue someting you love, but it is more practical to choose a career based on wha you know are good at!
Sometimes I have had some regrets on my choice of career, but the money has never stopped coming and for being a minority I feel comfortable with my economic status. I followed a business curriculum when all my family and relatives are in the health/science fields.
That said if you truly want to pursue someting related to the health/wellness or phisical training I would suggest you get a degree in engineering (mechanical) or chemistry or biology. Allways thinking that it is the means to the end not the end itself! From then on the options are endless. Making your own machine company to making supplements to starting your own business coaching . . . .
J
I have a problem believing in Luck. I do not believe that I have no control over my life and my choices. If I am good in my job, know how to control and manage others and have above average social skills there should be no way to get a higher economic standing.
Also something that is important but has been overlooked . . . you need to have some skills that are not common in your field. This was the most important revelation that I discovered in my “education”. Books do not teach you the necessary skills to face away competition and to learn skills that others do not have.
Find those skills and your opportunities for money are endless.
[quote]sawadeekrob wrote:
I have a problem believing in Luck. I do not believe that I have no control over my life and my choices. If I am good in my job, know how to control and manage others and have above average social skills there should be no way to get a higher economic standing.
Also something that is important but has been overlooked . . . you need to have some skills that are not common in your field. This was the most important revelation that I discovered in my “education”. Books do not teach you the necessary skills to face away competition and to learn skills that others do not have.
Find those skills and your opportunities for money are endless.[/quote]
Yeah, luck, the way its mostly talked about, is not something that should determine your success. But I believe that luck is about the unconscious decisions you make. Every succesful person has had some kind of luck, whether they know it or not. Hell, luck could be just you realizing that you need to bust your ass if you want to be good at something, not luck being something that happens without a reason, cause I believe everything happens for a reason. It’s up to us to understand, learn and take advantage of the events that happen to us.
You are on point though about creating as many opportunities as possible for oneself, though. I’m from a minority to so I know where you’re coming from.
Just to make it clear, I’m not considering career choices SOLELY on the basis on whether I love something or not.
For example, I love listening to music, but I’m not thinking about making a living off of rating albums. Just an example, not a good one, but still. Likewise, I love clothes and shoes, but do I want work at a clothing store for the rest of my life? NO.
When I think about jobs, One of the first things I check out is if it pays well. I love money, so getting paid well is a big factor. Of course, someone could point out that if I loved money, I’d be willing to do anything to get it. Well, maybe I would, but I’m willing to bet that I’d lose that love if I was forced to do something I hated for a long time.
Thus, I’d want to do something I’m interested in. That’s why this whole questionnaire about S&C. Another subject I’m interested in is Psychology.
Psychology is a major for people who want to see why they are so F#cked up!
[quote]B415 wrote:
Psychology is a major for people who want to see why they are so F#cked up![/quote]
Who isn’t “fucked up”?
[quote]Professor X wrote:
B415 wrote:
Psychology is a major for people who want to see why they are so F#cked up!
Who isn’t “fucked up”?[/quote]
Preach.
[quote]L-Dizzle wrote:
CC wrote:
L-Dizzle wrote:
Is it really true that one doesn’t need a degree to be a S&C coach? How about a certification?
What gives you credibility if you have neither?
That’s the problem with the S&C field. Credibility is mostly given by word of mouth. There’s still not a nationally recognized, highly respected governing body in S&C. The ACSM and NSCA have made strides, but they’re both still a joke in many ways and not a lot of people take them seriously…
That would possibly mean that it success has at least something to do with luck. That’s of course the case in a lot of situations.
it’s kind of sad that it has to be this way, makes it kind of risky. But I guess with good promotion and marketing one could have success.[/quote]
I think you made a good point about luck. When I was an S&C intern with the University of Kentucky athletic program (well known in the states for basketball, not so much for football, hehe) my senior year and trying to get a feel for what I wanted to do, most people I talked to said “Moving up in this business is all about who you know…” That wasn’t very encouraging to me.
On the other hand, some people just won’t take no for an answer and they’ll do whatever it takes to succeed in their field. Just look at Eric Cressey. He’s the perfect example of a young up-and-comer who has busted his ass to get his name out there and get something going for himself.
So yeah, it’s a little of both just like everything else, as you said.
BTW, I didn’t mean to imply that the degree in ex. sci. is absolutely “worthless”, lol. I just look at it as more of a stepping stone to other things and if I could go back and do it all over again, I would have picked a stepping stone that had a few more choices of which one you could jump to next, so to speak.
I figure I’ll chime in here again, as this thread seems to be jumping.
I noticed you posted the first few semesters of a four year plan. With all that Texas history stuff, that’s got to be a school in Texas, right? T exas A & M maybe? At any rate, I saw you just wrote “math”. One of my pet peaves is people who get bs’s without having taken calculus. I’m the math-dumbest guy in the world and I’ve taken a few semesters of calculus. It’s not that bad and it will help you out regardless of where you go in school, and it looks good in graduate programs. It’s one of the fundamental tools to grasp the world around you, if you ask me.
You said you aren’t really into bio, well tough shit. I’ve said on here, I hated the first semester bio class and I pretty much hated everyone I met that had anything to do with biology, hence I stayed away from the department. Now that I’ve had more biology and I’ve discovered my niche, it’s not so bad. I hate ecology and taxonomy, but I love molecular biology and bioenergetics. So my point is that you won’t know until you do.
That’s one of the downsides of life, you don’t know what you like or what you’re good at until after you’ve committed yourself. Also, if you don’t like or don’t “do” bio, getting a major in the biological sciences might be a bitch, but like I said, you won’t know until you do.
Lastly, I got some good advice the other day from a biochem professor, and I’ll pass it on to you. If you want to do research, or be involved with research or go to grad school, consider taking an upper level statistics class that deals with setting up experiments and analyzing data, and take a quantitative chemistry course.
Finally, if you’re in high school right now, and you’re not graduating this year, try to get you’r first semester of calc out of the way now.
That’s about all the good advice I have for you. Lots of wisdom was dispensed on this thread by folks alot smarter then me. Heed it.
[quote]CC wrote:
L-Dizzle wrote:
CC wrote:
L-Dizzle wrote:
Is it really true that one doesn’t need a degree to be a S&C coach? How about a certification?
What gives you credibility if you have neither?
That’s the problem with the S&C field. Credibility is mostly given by word of mouth. There’s still not a nationally recognized, highly respected governing body in S&C. The ACSM and NSCA have made strides, but they’re both still a joke in many ways and not a lot of people take them seriously…
That would possibly mean that it success has at least something to do with luck. That’s of course the case in a lot of situations.
it’s kind of sad that it has to be this way, makes it kind of risky. But I guess with good promotion and marketing one could have success.
I think you made a good point about luck. When I was an S&C intern with the University of Kentucky athletic program (well known in the states for basketball, not so much for football, hehe) my senior year and trying to get a feel for what I wanted to do, most people I talked to said “Moving up in this business is all about who you know…” That wasn’t very encouraging to me.
On the other hand, some people just won’t take no for an answer and they’ll do whatever it takes to succeed in their field. Just look at Eric Cressey. He’s the perfect example of a young up-and-comer who has busted his ass to get his name out there and get something going for himself.
So yeah, it’s a little of both just like everything else, as you said.
BTW, I didn’t mean to imply that the degree in ex. sci. is absolutely “worthless”, lol. I just look at it as more of a stepping stone to other things and if I could go back and do it all over again, I would have picked a stepping stone that had a few more choices of which one you could jump to next, so to speak.
[/quote]
I know about Kentucky basketball:)
How was the S&C over there at the University, good, bad?
It was mentioned in this thread that networking will take you places. Your experiences supports that claim.
But all in all, that’s just a part of preparing for the job as well. I bet one could get to know a lot of people if he/she just recognizes the need for it and works hard at it as well. There was also a mention that the things learned outside of class are very important… I’m guessing this would be one of them.
Another one of these outside of school things is looking and being the part. A S & C coach should be able to perform everything he asks of his/her clients, and it probably wouldn’t hurt to look like like he has bumped into a weight sometime either. This of course depends on the kind clientele one aims for.
I’m not preaching, the previous was just like a kind of note to self:)
I agree worthless was probably too strong a word, but like many have stated, you including, there are better options.
Ok, this post didn’t come out too well. I came here to learn, and this one includes more telling than asking… Damn.
Better luck next time for me!
[quote]conorh wrote:
I figure I’ll chime in here again, as this thread seems to be jumping.
I noticed you posted the first few semesters of a four year plan. With all that Texas history stuff, that’s got to be a school in Texas, right? T exas A & M maybe? At any rate, I saw you just wrote “math”. One of my pet peaves is people who get bs’s without having taken calculus. I’m the math-dumbest guy in the world and I’ve taken a few semesters of calculus. It’s not that bad and it will help you out regardless of where you go in school, and it looks good in graduate programs. It’s one of the fundamental tools to grasp the world around you, if you ask me.
You said you aren’t really into bio, well tough shit. I’ve said on here, I hated the first semester bio class and I pretty much hated everyone I met that had anything to do with biology, hence I stayed away from the department. Now that I’ve had more biology and I’ve discovered my niche, it’s not so bad. I hate ecology and taxonomy, but I love molecular biology and bioenergetics. So my point is that you won’t know until you do.
That’s one of the downsides of life, you don’t know what you like or what you’re good at until after you’ve committed yourself. Also, if you don’t like or don’t “do” bio, getting a major in the biological sciences might be a bitch, but like I said, you won’t know until you do.
Lastly, I got some good advice the other day from a biochem professor, and I’ll pass it on to you. If you want to do research, or be involved with research or go to grad school, consider taking an upper level statistics class that deals with setting up experiments and analyzing data, and take a quantitative chemistry course.
Finally, if you’re in high school right now, and you’re not graduating this year, try to get you’r first semester of calc out of the way now.
That’s about all the good advice I have for you. Lots of wisdom was dispensed on this thread by folks alot smarter then me. Heed it.
[/quote]
Thanks for jumping in again (nohomo).
I had to look up pet peeve from Wikipedia as I didn’t know what that meant, LOL.
The school is Trinity Valley Community College is Athens, TX. So those were the semesters for the two year program.
Now, I’m about to send a videotape of my game to a couple of universities in Florida.
As for math, I’m pretty decent with it. I don’t hate it, sometimes I even like it. Not 100% sure what calculus is. Looked it up briefly from Wikipedia, I have a feeling I’ve had some of that in high school, even in a physics class.
I’m on my second year out of high school now. I studied what I believe would be the equivalent of business management for one semester, before doing military service. After that, I’ve been working.
Actually I said I don’t like the very basic stuff a lot. So we might be a little similar here. I mentioned that I do like stuff like human anatomy, physiology and such.
Thanks for the advice.
[quote]BrwnbellyYankee wrote:
learn to network and that degree will take you places.
at least thats what i learned from talking with the old strength coach for the NY Yankees.
[/quote]
Who you know is only second to what you know. But it is SECOND. It may (and should) open some doors and opportunties, but if you’re not skilled and educated, it won’t take you very far.
Being in Canada, my view is different but maybe it is because Canada is different from the US but personally, here your atitude should just be, it doesnt matter what you get your degree in because a BA is a BA. Unless of course you are interested in a specific field. Everyone I have spoken to, ie, guideance counselors, my dad, corporate people, have all said that unless you want to go higher than just a BA any BA program will do (here in canada anyways) Everyone I know has gotten degrees in Sociology, Exercise Science have all done well, companies will hire based on the fact you got your degree, because they know you can be trained for the job.
I know most people here that have degrees in something that isnt related to the job they hold, and are doing well. I am just going to do something I like, personally I havent heard anything bad about the exercise science program here, unless I do, I am sticking with it and just getting my degree. Otherwise I wont ever get one! I started in Economics, a good field but I couldnt stand it! Good luck whatever your choice is.
[quote]jsbrook wrote:
BrwnbellyYankee wrote:
learn to network and that degree will take you places.
at least thats what i learned from talking with the old strength coach for the NY Yankees.
Who you know is only second to what you know. But it is SECOND. It may (and should) open some doors and opportunties, but if you’re not skilled and educated, it won’t take you very far.[/quote]
I have to totally disagree, its all about who you know, not what you know. ( In most cases almost anyone can be trained for most jobs, I have seen alot of non-experienced people get undeserved promotions without any education get recognized and end up getting the job. But jsbrook said learn to network and his degree will take him places, and you said that if your not educated you wont get anywhere? Well to me having a degree doesnt mean your uneducated. Regardless I believe a good education can go far if you know how to network well.
[quote]mike08042 wrote:
jsbrook wrote:
BrwnbellyYankee wrote:
learn to network and that degree will take you places.
at least thats what i learned from talking with the old strength coach for the NY Yankees.
Who you know is only second to what you know. But it is SECOND. It may (and should) open some doors and opportunties, but if you’re not skilled and educated, it won’t take you very far.
I have to totally disagree, its all about who you know, not what you know. ( In most cases almost anyone can be trained for most jobs, I have seen alot of non-experienced people get undeserved promotions without any education get recognized and end up getting the job. But jsbrook said learn to network and his degree will take him places, and you said that if your not educated you wont get anywhere? Well to me having a degree doesnt mean your uneducated. Regardless I believe a good education can go far if you know how to network well.
[/quote]
Guess what-if you did a terrible job once promoted you will get fired. Having good connections has opened up a lot of doors for me too, but if you have nothing to offer once they help you get places, you don’t just coast forever. Non-experienced and not that educated doesn’t necessarily mean unqualified to me. But such a person isn’t going to get very far if they do PROVE themselves unqualified.
[quote]mike08042 wrote:
jsbrook wrote:
BrwnbellyYankee wrote:
learn to network and that degree will take you places.
at least thats what i learned from talking with the old strength coach for the NY Yankees.
Who you know is only second to what you know. But it is SECOND. It may (and should) open some doors and opportunties, but if you’re not skilled and educated, it won’t take you very far.
I have to totally disagree, its all about who you know, not what you know. ( In most cases almost anyone can be trained for most jobs, I have seen alot of non-experienced people get undeserved promotions without any education get recognized and end up getting the job. But jsbrook said learn to network and his degree will take him places, and you said that if your not educated you wont get anywhere? Well to me having a degree doesnt mean your uneducated. Regardless I believe a good education can go far if you know how to network well.
[/quote]
I would imagine in depending on the field. I bet its far more important on Wall Street than it is for chemists, for example.
Two other things about education:
In many fields, you will not get looked at without solid paper credentials no matter how good your connections are.
Education is not just a piece of paper. You do learn things and how to be effective in a field when you get a degree. This helps you do a good job once education (credentials), practical experience, and connections have all helped you get a position.