Jobs like personal trainer, garden designer……

[FlamingoHels]

Obviously there’s exceptions to every rule, but on the whole are they just for well off women / women with wealthy partners who don’t really need to earn much?

I know one PT and one GD (acquaintances rather than close friends) and both don’t appear to have many actual clients / paid jobs although they are very active on social media and create an illusion of being busy. Both appear good at what they do and have good marketing skills from what I can tell.

Was chatting about this to a friend who is herself looking for a career change away from the corporate sector, and she said she’d actually love to do something along the lines of PT or GD (she’s very sporty and outdoorsy) but she dismissed both of these jobs as hobby jobs for housewives. Friend isn’t rich and needs to earn a living wage.

Is anyone here a PT or GD or know one closely?

Agreed. There's such inconsistency in teacher's approach to annual salary/holidays

Either they are paid for the summer holidays and £50k (for instance) is the headline salary

Or they aren't paid for for the summer holidays (which lots claim) in which case , if the job is paying £50k presumably the real headline salary is actually £56, 000?

And then add to that the rest of the package, in particular a pension contrib of c23% (mentioned up thread) (so a financial package nearer £68,000) plus sick pay, maternity pay, death in service, job security...

It's important to know your actual package before comparing

People who work for themselves may earn more (possibly a lot more), they are free to earn whatever anyone will pay them. We can't complain if people are willing to pay for their services.

Teachers will also be getting 25% employer pension contributions and significantly more paid time off than anyone self-employed. A self-employed PT on £50k a year has to make all of their own NI and pension contributions themselves and has no paid time off.

They’re also performing a very valuable job. They are getting unfit people into shape and educating them on their bodies and nutritious. They are changing lived and, in many cases, saving them from unhealthily lifestyles. A job shouldn’t be undervalued just because it doesn’t require a degree.

I agree with @Boomboom22 there are red flags waving madly about this man.
And it's not the topic of the thread, but always worth highlighting so that more women are aware.

My ex was so absuive he nearly made me feel motherhood wasn't for me. So I'm wary of that part of the story.

And I never trust a man who goes round telling people abou how terrible his ex partner is. Mine went round telling everyone I had a serious mental illness etc etc. none of it was true.

Agreed. I',d see the work of a PT as just as valuable as teaching

I know both: garden designer is actually a man, owns his company, has about 10 people working for him. Very successful, makes really good money.

The PT I know is a physio/PT specialised in women’s health (pre/post natal and menopause). Works a lot, has loads of clients, considerable online presents, does talks/public speaking about the subject of her work. Not someone from a wealthy background, is doing really well for herself but had to work loads to get to where she is.

Any job where you are freelance/work for yourself can be a hobby job, if you want it to be. Decorator/journalist/driving instructor. If your friend wants a job where she can meet a friend for coffee/go to a yoga class/spend the day in bed, she’ll make a great hobby PT. If, on the other hand, she’s looking to run a successful business and work full time, she can do that.

No, garden designer designs, landscape gardener installs. I would guess there is overlap for some companies and individuals but the garden designer I know doesn’t touch soil outside her own garden.

She retrained some years back - I assume her husband’s job kept things ticking over while she did, and then got started in her own business, but she certainly wasn’t and isn’t a kept woman or hobbyist.

The only PTs I’ve ever know were men, brothers who co-owned a gym.

Wtaf? "More women are aware of what" exactly 🤔 You know nothing about this individual. Sorry for your experience, however it is not fair to project that onto someone else with no evidence or any indication other than my ex did something to me.

It is a sad world when a young man, who steps up to single fatherhood, has to deal with criminal behaviour from his ex, while trying to improve his own business is viewed only with suspicion. Lots of PTs around here do charity events, it is part of their whole PT thing about how challenging yourself is good for your MH and it is good advertising for the gym.

I am the most cynical person out there and you need to take my word for it, as the person who has actually met him, there is no vibe from him like that at all. He doesn't run down or verbally attack his ex, he says very little but respectfully and only factually about her, the only reason we know a few limited facts is because he was struggling, cancelling PT appointments, or showing up to them with his son and felt he had to explain as his personal issues were impacting his clients.

How on earth anyone can say there are flags "waving madly" about a man from a couple of sentences from a 3rd party and knowing nothing else about him, and raising this again on a thread about being a PT should make you, and the pp, reflect on yourselves rather than trying to cast aspersions on a man you know nothing about just because a single innocent sentence reminded you of an completely different situation you had with ex.

Actually... OP may be onto something. The only (female) PT I know has no current clients but is GF to a fairly rich guy. Probably a big reason she doesn't develop the business is because BF pays all the bills so she doesn't have to. Maybe would be different if she had to earn her own crust.

My PT is a man who makes a full time living from training people. His wife is a company administrator but he doesn’t rely on her income as far as I know. Certainly over lockdown he was looking to do other things. He works really hard.

I'm an experienced gardener who does a bit of planting design. I'd love to do a Diploma in Garden Design which is the standard qualification. But its about £10k and 4 days a week work for a year. So as a single parent it's sadly not possible.

There's more than one sort of garden designer. You get your jobbing landscape gardeners who design and go on to site-manage, build the gardens and do all the planting. They get paid well, but don't half work hard for it. You get the high-end creative arts ones who create fabulous designs for the rich and famous and who tend to win at Chelsea. They get paid very well indeed. And you get people who do it as a hobby because they like gardening, and ooh, garden design is a nice pastime, I could make a few quid out of that. They tend to remain hobbyists.

I'm sure he's an absolute peach.

This isn't about him individually.

Generally speaking I would warn women to be very wary before getting in a relationship with someone in this set of circumstances, that's all. I have seen it too many times through my voluntary role. I remember my sister talking all about her best friend's new man and how lovely it was and how sad it was he had to be a single parent. I warned her to tell her best friend to proceed with caution, but she was in love with this wonderful single dad who had suffered so much.... Few years down the line I had to help her escape what had by then become a very abusive relationship.

The PT I know all need a proper income. They’re not in it for ‘a hobby’.

Lol
Those who earn that much also work a huge amount of hours.
And because they are self employed fir the most part (nor all of them though), they also need to spend time running their business (I’m thinking marketing, accounts, getting back to people. Booking people in etcetc)

"This isn't about him individually."

"there are red flags waving madly ➡ about this man ⬅"

Seriously? Make your mind up............. 🤔

Every person who enters a relationship should obviously get to know the other person before committing themselves - especially when children and possibly conflicting priorities are involved - being a single dad (or mum!) happens and is not a "red flag" in isolation to be picked up in an innocent post for your rather extremist view that every single dad should be tarred with the same brush, and huge fucking red flags waved everywhere, and every mother who abandons her child is a victim just because you have a couple of personal experiences of bad men.

£120 a week for food is most definitely not a small contribution to a budget, depending on what planet you live on.

I know a few PTs, including my own, and for them it's a career. My PT is ex military, as are most her co-workers. Between £65-£85 a session, they are booked solidily with a waiting list for new clients.

I am an artist, have my undergrad and an MFA. My husband is a higher earner and we can live quite comfortably on his wage with money left over for savings, travel and so on. My income various month to month year to year. Sometimes I will make quite a lot other times not so much but I am always working on something and if commissioned work is quiet I spend a bit more time doing personal work which then might develop into something I can sell or use professionally. I work various hours depending on what I have on and what suits me, one of the things I really value about being an artist is that it is a nice lifestyle.

If DH wasn't a high earner I'd still be an artist but I'd probably have to take on additional work, probably arts adjacent work such as teaching, arts admin, running an art fair or festival, outreach work and so on which is what most of my friends do to supplement their income. I've done some of this in the past but in the past few years I've been earning well without that kind of work. Its certainly not a hobby job its a career I've trained for like any other but obviously it isn't the most secure option.

I’m a massage and soft tissue therapist. Still building my business, I see around 10-15 clients per week. No, I’m not the main income earner for our family, but I make a good contribution to the pot and have built this business from scratch after a long period as a SAHM. It’s not a hobby, it’s something I’m very proud of having achieved.

I think a good PT is worth their weight in gold. Mine is very much focused on changing your lifestyle and breaking bad habits to become healthier and fitter. He tracks my sleep and my food as well as my waistline and has helped get me fitter and ease pain caused by old injuries. I was miserable when I went to see him, bloated, overweight, unfit, mennopausal and depressed. He has been so positive and supportive, has given me realistic goals to work toward but after one month, I already look and feel better. He has helped me break a lot of bad habits (poor sleep hygiene being top of the list!) and is worth every penny as far as I am concerned. He loves his job, has a huge client list, works very bloody hard and manages to support three kids on his wage. He also invests in training for himself and puts in a lot of hours on marekting, etc. It is definelty not a hobby job for him.

I worked out recently that my PT probably brings in at least £80K a year (before tax and expenses). She does other stuff like group sessions, physio and massage therapy and is constantly training and learning new skills, but if you put the hours in it can be a very well paid job.

I know a gardener (who helps maintain people's gardens rather than just designs them). Her spouse is a hairdresser and they are comfortable, but they do have a council house (from 35 years ago when she was a single mum) which I'm sure helps a lot.

The horticultural knowledge and design skills you are paying for from a qualified GD are immense. It's not just a quick drawing on the back of a fag packet either.

but she dismissed both of these jobs as hobby jobs for housewives

FFS, your friend needs to have a serious word with herself. A job is a job if you are doing something and someone is paying you money for it no matter how many hours you work or how much you earn.