If there is a profession that has always motivated many young people to dedicate themselves to it, or at least among the millennial generation, it is that of sports instructor. Although the reality is not as pretty as it is painted, since due to its great competitiveness the conditions and salaries of the monitors are not very high in most cases. In a video published by Job Insider Madrid, a TikTok channel (@jobinsidermadrid) that is dedicated to interviewing young professionals about their professional development, a young gym instructor in Madrid tells what his day-to-day life is like and how much he really earns in this sector. “Right now I am working in two gyms, a sports center and a gym, but I am a room instructor in one and in the other, a little bit of everything,” he explains, implying that he needs two jobs at the same time to be able to survive as a sports instructor.
His professional path began during the pandemic: “I did an internship at the sports center right around the time of the pandemic. At first they didn’t hire me, but over time they called me and I was already accessible there. And the other one was through a contact… I introduced myself, the manager liked me and they hired me, and I’m still there.”
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Regarding the salary, he makes it clear that it is quite low, which is why he has to juggle two jobs at the same time: “At 40 hours, what a person in my job in one of the gyms earns more or less around €1,200 or so, and in the other it is very similar.”
Of course, they have bonuses and supplements if group classes are taught: “If you give group classes there is always a plus, which are incentives and so on.”
Among the few benefits that the job offers, one stands out: “You can join any chain you are working for, basically a free gym.”
Even with a modest salary, the instructor assures that his passion compensates him: “It seems like you’re not working. That’s the good thing about the fitness world: if you really like it, you don’t feel like it’s work.”
However, he also recognizes that the sector does not offer stability: “It is more focused on something temporary. Either you dedicate yourself to teaching group classes and earn more money, but with age you have to change, or you go for personal training, which is where you earn more, or you end up competing for something more permanent.”
His advice to anyone who wants to dedicate themselves to the world of fitness and wants to make a living from it is “if you really like it, you should focus on personal training, which is more rewarding.”