If you’re interested in moving from fitness enthusiast to full-fledged personal trainer, the following five tips will help you lift, study and spot your way into a rewarding career as a personal fitness trainer.

1. Become a personal fitness trainee first. Before you take the next step, make sure you’ve experienced a few sessions with a personal trainer so you know what it’s like as well as what aspects about personal training you’re passionate about. In the long run, your students will appreciate that you’ve been in their cross trainers.
2. Find a personal training certification. Your clients will expect a personal trainer with a national certification. Some of your options include: American Council on Exercise (ACE), American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), American Fitness Professionals and Associates (AFPA), IDEA Fitness and Health, International Fitness Professionals Association (IFPA), National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and the National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF). You will also need CPR certification as well.
3. Consider a specialty. In an increasingly competitive job market, personal trainers with unique specialties can outshine the competition. Your personal training specialty can be anything senior fitness to youth fitness, serious athletes to new moms.
4. Intern. Just as doctors intern in hospitals during medical school and teachers are required to student teach, finding a personal training internship or apprenticeship will give you great experience with the help of a more experienced mentor. You may have to intern for free, but the experience can be invaluable.
5. Decide where you want to work. Some personal trainers prefer working at large health clubs and some prefer smaller personal training-only gyms. Other options for personal training careers include everything from senior centers to schools (high schools as well as colleges and universities), from community centers to nonprofits, from parks to in-home personal training. Consider the time you have available, your interests and your personality as you determine the best spot for your newfound personal training expertise.