What is a Sports Nutritionist?

Much like your standard nutritionist, someone who focuses on sports nutrition will work to create balanced meal plans for his or her clients. The main difference is that the nutritionist who focuses on sports knows the specific biochemical and physiological needs of an athlete. Since these needs vary greatly from those of the “average Joe,” athletes will look to someone who has some training and experience with sports nutrition for advice about their diets over the advice of a standard nutritionist.

How to Know if a Career in Sports Nutrition is Right for You

Not everyone is cut out to make it as an athlete’s nutritionist. One good indication that you’re up for this challenging career is if you already find the time to fit fitness into your schedule regularly. If you don’t “walk the walk,” you may find it hard to bring on clients who trust your advice. Health and fitness must truly be a priority in your own life before you embark on this career.

Where to get a Sports Nutrition Certificate

If you’re already a personal trainer, a good place to start would be at the organization that awarded you your personal training certificate. Many of the major fitness organizations also offer a certification course in sports nutrition.

If you’re starting fresh, check out the major sports nutrition organizations and ask questions about each program to find out which is best for you. Below is a list of some of those organizations.

• International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN)
• National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
• American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
• American Council on Exercise (ACE)

• Carefully read the job description. If you’re not a fan of stress, try to avoid jobs that require you to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Investigate the average salary in your area. You might not think this has anything to do with personality, but it certainly does. Certain personality types are content living a simple life, while others feel drawn to the limelight. If you see yourself living in a high-rise apartment in the city, you won’t be happy as an administrative assistant. Just remember that high-pay often equates to high-stress.
• Talk to other people about their jobs. Nothing is better than getting your information directly from those on the front lines. Ask them about an average day in the life of someone doing their jobs. If it sounds like too much work for you, it doesn’t mean you’re lazy, but it might mean the job isn’t right for you.
• Find out about how much and what type of schooling you’ll need for any of your potential careers. If you want to be a tattoo artist, but have your heart set on online schooling, you’ll either have to be more flexible or find another career path.

The best careers aren’t always the highest paying. They’re simply the ones that suit your personality the best. Why? Because you’ll have a better chance of being happy and having a sense of fulfillment at the end of each day.

Pros of a nutritional career

• In this career, you can help your patients learn how to make more sound choices about the food they eat, which will inevitably result in better health and reduced risk of developing chronic disease (such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes.
• If you enjoy preparing food or the thought of having a hands-on career, you’ll feel happy and fulfilled with a career in nutrition.
• You will get to interact with other people on a regular basis, and you’ll meet new people (clients and potential clients) all the time.

Cons of a nutritional career

• There isn’t much growth planned in this industry in the coming years. There is only an 8 percent growth estimate between 2008 and 2018.
• You need to be passionate and knowledgeable about food and food combinations or you could cause harm to your clients.
• Depending on which nutritional career you choose, your education could require a significant investment in time and money.
• Most nutritionists end up working for themselves, and there are obvious risks involved in entrepreneurship (lack of a steady paycheck, insurance responsibility, business management).
• You must always display an upbeat and positive attitude to your clients. Much like personal training, nutritionists need to be motivational. No one wants to go to a nutritionist who is pessimistic or grouchy. Even if you’re having a bad day, you have to put on a happy face for your clients.

The following list includes in-demand careers for this year (and for the near future), but it is important that you also consider your interests when choosing a career or college major. If you end up hating your classes and switching gears, you will just have wasted time and money. So, browse through this list of the best careers of 2012 and narrow it down to one or two that suit your interests and personality.

• Registered Nurse – In a rough economy, medical careers are still in great demand, so this is a vast field. If you want to be competitive, start thinking about an area of concentration, such as pediatrics or rehabilitation.
• Software Developer – This is a well-balanced career in that most software developers are happy with their salary, advancement opportunities and with their jobs overall.
• Pharmacist – Although you do have to undergo extensive training, a career in pharmaceuticals will pay off in the long run. There’s good job placement potential and the average salary is fairly high.
• Medical Assistant – A career as a medical assistant offers an easy entry into one of the fastest growing industries in the country. Although the salary is on the low end, the job requires very little formal training. You can find programs at your local community college or online at Kaplan University or most other major online schools.
• Web Developer – You’ll need at least a bachelor’s degree to really be successful in this career, but if it’s your passion, the schooling will be worthwhile.

Next, determine the ages or grades you most would like to teach. Consider kindergarten through 6th grade, junior high, high school or college. Also if you have children, consider your own children, what experiences they had and how you dealt with their joys and problems in school. How did you communicate with their teachers? If you have no children, consider teachers that inspired you or that you would like to emulate. Can you envision yourself doing the same type of work and similarly inspiring other young people? If so yes, a teaching degree may be right for you!

If you have a singular focus on a particular discipline, such as engineering, social science, accounting, business, the arts, or science and technology, then a degree and experience in that field is extremely important. In fact, a teaching degree, as well as a degree in that discipline, would nearly guarantee you employment as a faculty member at a college or university. However, a double major is extremely challenging, but some college students have enough drive and desire to pursue their career goals with a double major. (The provided link will give you additional excellent guidance about pursuing a “double major.“) As an alternative, consider a major in a particular discipline with a minor in teaching, or vice versa. One of these may be the best strategy for you to realize the best career path.

The main objective is to combine your talents, passions and interests in one direction. With a talent for working with young people, a passion to see them succeed and/or an intense interest in a particular discipline, you should clearly be able to determine if a teaching degree is right for you.

Good luck and thank you for reading!

The Importance of Education
Depending on the subject or discipline, you may only need a certificate or an associate’s degree. Respectively, these may only take two to six months or two years. And if you attend school full-time, possibly even less. An accredited institution, especially one offering online certificates or degree programs, such as the University of Phoenix, Liberty University or DeVry University, will look best on a resume. These schools will also provide you with help to find that first job after graduation, propelling you toward your new best career or best second career.

A late career change will demand an edge over other candidates looking for employment in that field. An education in a specific career field from a well-known accredited college or university will provide that edge. Together with a proven work ethic, a steady employment record and a few excellent professional (possibly from your professors) and personal recommendations, it may be hard for many employers to turn you down!

Benefits of Online Certificates or Degree Programs
You have other financial, hobby, sports or personal responsibilities; and you do not want your schooling to interfere with them, especially since you are not positive you will actually pursue this new second career. Then an online certificate or degree program may be ideal. You set your own schedule and read, study, do homework, and take quizzes and tests when it is convenient. These are all available 24/7. All you need is a place to study, an Internet connection and a $400 to $800 computer. And every year the price of computers is decreasing, unlike many other commodities today! In many online programs, the only time you actually need to attend the college or university is at graduation; and often even that is optional.

Investigate or Apply Today!
Much information is available online right now. If you don’t have a computer, visit your local library. If you are not very familiar with computers, there are many free online tutorials; and many software packages have tutorials included or online sites providing the instruction. Alternately, you might also consider attending a nearby community college.

Why not investigate an online education or apply today! Both can easily be done online.

Thank you for reading!

Abduzeedo: Click on the “About” page and learn about their articles, graphic artists and sources of inspiration. The site is especially designed for those looking for inspiration in electronic creative art or help through tutorials on graphical art applications, such as Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Illustrator and others.

Paulo Canabarro: Paulo encourages people to contact him and discuss how he may guide and direct you in graphic design. He is currently a Web designer from Brazil and one of the writers and artists for Abduzeedo.

Richard Roberts: Richard is a young 21 year old Web graphic artists with a great passion for creativity, especially for enhancing current graphical designs and logos for businesses. He specializes in Adobe PhotoShop, but also uses other applications. Take a few minutes to look over his work. Just click on the link; you will be connected to his freelance portfolio website, “The Other Stream.”

Fabio Sasso: Fabio is currently a graphic designer at Google. He also was the founder and designer of Abduzeedo website above, which was created in 2006.
Also, ask them where they went to college or whether they were completely self-educated or some combination of both. The more people in the industry you contact, the more informed decisions you are going to make toward a given career and the Best Career for you. Query friends, relatives, neighbors and those in your community who are also involved with Web design or some type of graphical design. Additionally, query students and instructors in local colleges and universities in your area. They too may have much information to share on the exciting career of graphical design.

Finally, do your own Web searches. Use such key words as: art, graphical design, web design, career and graphical artists. Learn all you can. You may even get inspired, just like many of the graphical artists listed above.

Good luck and thank you for reading!

Advantages
With the economy still not stable and many people out of work, multiple careers may be an avenue to stabilize or secure a minimum income level. Seeking employment in completely different disciplines may achieve that goal. Currently, I am doing article writing and driving a shuttle van. Other combination suggestions are music and fashion, fast-food work and grocery work, teacher and writer, data entry and graphical artist. Try to find two careers or lines of work that you enjoy; and if possible, choose those in which you can employ your talents, whatever they may be.

The choices for working online are greater than ever. Writing, data entry, proofreading, transcribing, taking messages, administrative assistant work, computer programming, graphic and web design, teaching, technical support for hardware or software and many other disciplines are commonly done online. Admittedly, some of these will require significant training, both formal (for example at an online college or university, such as the University of Phoenix) and on-the-job. The choices are even greater when considering work for employers in other countries and around the world. Two different online careers in different disciplines certainly can be explored.

One career can become a great change-of-pace from the other. Driving a vehicle is a great change from typing on the computer. Data entry is a great change from creative writing. A ski instructor in the winter may enjoy computer programming in the summer. A purely physical job may be a great change from a purely or mostly mental employment.

Disadvantages
Time management will be a significant issue. Meeting time obligations for both careers, and deciding when to stop one and start the other, may be very challenging. Deciding whether to do the different jobs daily, every other week, every other month or even every other year can present challenges and even dilemmas. Seasonal fluctuations of each employment may also complicate the time management issue.

Being a “professional” at two or more endeavors is extremely difficult. Some would aggressively argue that it is impossible. However, with the current emphasis on multi-tasking, the Internet and the ubiquitous use of computer technology, two professions may be more possible now than every before.

Switching gears from the mentality required for one employment to the mentality required for another may also be a great challenge for many people. However, each individual must decide this for themselves.

Deciding
Therefore, if you are flexible, like diversions, enjoy a change of pace, are willing to work hard at time-management and have a desire to increase your expertise in two different disciplines, multiple careers may be for you. If these are not your desires or wishes, then multiple careers may only be a frustration; and you may be better off just concentrating on a single discipline and improving your expertise there.

The more complex the world gets, the more daily choices we are confronted with and the more complicated life becomes. But that is just part of today’s world. However, it is a world in which I never become bored. How about you?

Thank you for reading!

Most Importantly…
Do not quit your current job before you have secured another one, especially if you have a family! A steady income may be impossible for a number or weeks, months or longer. Do you have savings to cover essential expenses at home – mortgage, lights, food, gas, car payment, etc? For more details and ideas on this, here is an excellent source of information: DaveRamsey.Com. Carefully review his “About Dave” page. He has “been there” and “done that” and knows better now! (He is also a born again Christian.)

Thoroughly think through the decision, especially with your spouse, girlfriend or boyfriend, or maybe a best or close friend.

Put Yourself In Your Boss’s Position
Moreover, and most likely sooner rather than later, you are going to need a reference from your present employer. Keep this in mind when you approach your boss about leaving. Make a special appointment to meet with him, or her, and only then should you explain your situation. It should not be done in an email or telephone call. Put yourself in the boss’s position. Is your leaving going to put your boss in a bind? Is there someone to take over your workload? Or, will someone else have to be hired immediately? Are important clients dependent upon you, and you alone? These are just a few of many possible ramifications of you leaving, from your boss’s perspective.

It Is Important To Enjoy Your Work, But…
Not everyone is fortunate enough to find work they enjoy! In fact, most people find their employment, and much of life, an endurance grind, hard work and a struggle. However, they endure it because the rewards of a stable family, a nice home, nearby friends and relatives, and maybe even great schools and a church make it all worthwhile. Do you want to put those in jeopardy? It may indeed be the best career for you, at least right now. By all means try to find a job you enjoy doing. But do not be in a hurry to do so. It may be a recipe for disaster!

Help With Best Career Decisions
Whether you are still in college or in that first employment after college, it is time to decide what you want to do with your life. Going to college is, or was, a great start! But too many students or recent graduates still have not decided on their career goals. What did you enjoy most in your college experience? Do you have a passion for something, anything? Do you have both a talent for certain work and love for it also? Most likely the answer is “No,” or you would already be pursuing it. So think, what do you want to pursue? If you have no specific direction, you are going to flounder around with a number of jobs, each for six months to two years, and seldom use one as a “springboard” toward the next.

If you are walking or running in a straight line, you are making progress toward your destination. That is what you need to do in attempting to reach your career goals. But going in a straight line requires a plan. Therefore, …

Be Decisive!
Force yourself to make a plan and then be decisive as you execute each step. To do this you need the feeling of accomplishment along the way. For example, I graduated from college with a business management degree from the University of Maine. I always loved flying and was totally fascinated by anything that flew – birds, planes, UFOs, missiles and many other things. I also enjoyed meeting new people and driving about anything. Therefore, may plan was to learn to fly, support my flight training by driving a taxi cab (so I was both meeting new people and driving) and reach my first goal as soon as possible – attain my private pilot certification. When I made this plan, it was 1975 on New Year’s Day. I called a local flight school, talked to a flight instructor and went up for my first lesson. Nine months later I had my private pilot certificate! So what was next? I needed another goal. Actually, I had already formed it in my mind during my private pilot training. I would continue my flight training and attain an instrument rating and a commercial pilot certificate; the flight school, called Maine Aviation, offered all this training. So, one session of training was building on another. I was moving in a straight line!

During the next three and a half years I also made still further plans. When I got my commercial certification, I was going to make the big move, a move to the best flight school in the country to become a flight instructor, which would propel me as fast as possible toward a career as a pilot for a Part 121 carrier, such as United Airlines, Delta Airline or American Airlines. Again, I had a plan and was moving in a straight line toward a very specific career goal.

Act Now!
Well, you can do that too! And don’t worry if you have to change goals, just keep moving along some continuum in a single discipline; in my case it was aviation. I got to my commercial certification goal in 1979 and started my first commercial pilot job as a flight instructor with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Arizona. In the early 1980s many people, including pilots, were out of work. And at one point I was continuing my training toward becoming an airline pilot, but knew I would be spending over $4,000 in the next several weeks on Boeing 727 simulator training, with little or no hope of getting a job flying for United, Delta, American or any other Part 121 carrier. However, I loved my job at ERAU, I was driving/piloting airplanes and meeting all kinds of new people – college students and many college faculty and administrators. I could not have asked for better employment; and I loved it!

So, act now! Come up with a plan and keep moving in a straight line where you can see and obtain a feeling of accomplishment. You may even be as fortunate as I was and find yourself making progress toward something you love and are intensely interested in pursuing. The point is, create a plan, start today, stay in a straight line and make progress toward you career goals.

Thank you for reading! Come back next week for more guidance toward that Best Career for you!