(This is cross-posted at BlogHer.)
Like many people, I have a desk job. Except for a few months at a fast food restaurant when I was 16, and a year working as a hostess at The Olive Garden (both of these positions required me to stand for long periods of time), I’ve had a desk job since I was 18. For the most part, this has worked in my favor.
These jobs have provided me with healthcare benefits, retirement accounts, and comfortable salaries, in addition to teaching me many things I didn’t know. I’ve met friends who have lasted for years and continue to be instrumental in my life, long after I left that workplace for something new. I guess it’s fair to say that my desk jobs over the past 11 years have contributed to the person I am today.
Not only that, desk jobs are pretty much the opposite of strenuous (unless you’re looking at it in terms of mental fitness, or stress levels, or how fast you can type). And, you know, this is often okay with me. It’s nice to know that no matter how I’m feeling on a given day — barring some sort of ailment, discomfort, or injury — I can go to work and do what I need to do. I often send up a silent thanks that I’m lucky enough to work in a temperature-controlled environment, especially when it’s super cold outside, or on those miserable, oh-so-humid summer days.
The downsides? Oh, there are many of those, too. You have a valid excuse to be sedentary for most of the day. Feeling like you’re stuck indoors on those beautiful days when you just want to romp around and soak in the sunlight (totally distracting). Not to mention, spending eight hours on a computer can make people feel like they haven’t accomplished very much at the end of the day. Even if you’ve fulfilled everything that was expected of you, technically your results are located on a hard drive somewhere.
That’s why I have a lot of respect for people who do physical jobs for a living. They have to get out there and do their job regardless of whether they feel like it or not. When I get to work, I sit down in my chair and drink a cup of coffee. When those people get to work, they…well, they do actual (physical) work.
When I think about physical jobs, I’m not just thinking about people in the fitness industry, like personal trainers and group fitness instructors. Look at workers who clean hotel rooms; daycare teachers who run after kids all day long; nurses; professional landscapers. These people are active because they have to be. Sure, some people are more hardworking than others, and some people get the job done faster and better in a shorter period of time. But in general, those people work physically harder than I do during the day. They put my small efforts — taking a lap down the hall to talk to co-workers, purposefully printing to a faraway printer — to shame.
Sometimes I get those feelings like, “I’m not doing enough,” and “I’m tired of sitting here,” and I wonder if I couldn’t be doing something more action-oriented and physical. But on the other hand, I feel like I shouldn’t complain — there are probably a lot of people who have to stand on their feet all day who wouldn’t mind sitting behind a desk like I do. So, at least for the time being, I’ll sit during the day and continue to try to move around as much as I can.
What do you think are the pros and cons of a fitness-related career?
Related Reading:
Kelly at Fitness Fixation lists the advantages for her of choosing a career in fitness.
I get to learn new things all the time. I love learning, it’s responsible for so much of the dork in me. Exercise probably saved me from being one of those people who hangs around grad schools and community classes forever. I get to learn new things all the time, and I have so much to learn about the things I even know something about, and it’s great. There’s always sports and athletic shit I want to pursue, and now I have the baseline fitness level and confidence to try it, and if I had my way, I’d probably take seventeen different classes a day, and probably drop dead of sweaty exhaustion in a week, but die happy.
I read this post of Becca’s some time ago, but sometimes I’ll go back and read it again just because I like it so much. She quit her profitable day job to work as a CrossFit instuctor. My favorite quote:
Opportunities are not luck — opportunities are rewards we are handed because we earn them.
Sagan knows the importance of having a good fitness teacher.
When I used to go to the YMCA, I would faithfully attend step classes and kickboxing classes almost every day of the week because I grew so fond of my teachers and the classes that they taught. All of the instructors were volunteers so they were there because they wanted to be there (not the case with many university profs, I might add), and this in turn caused their energy and enthusiasm to rub off on the rest of us.
Tiffany at Swata Young Professionals is an athletic trainer, and volunteered for one of the breast cancer 3-Day 60-mile walks last year. She said she’s proud of her profession and was glad she was able to help.
Almost every walker asks, what do you do for a living, and it is great to answer back “I’m an athletic trainer.” It all makes me proud to be a part of this profession and to surround myself with those who work tirelessly (and tired!) to help out those in need.
Bev Sklar at That’s Fit sometimes dreams about becoming a bicycle messenger.
Mun Fitness Blog: The Story Of an IT Programmer Who Made a Career Switch to Fitness World
New York Times: The Case for Working With Your Hands. (Tired of working behind a desk? You’re not the only one.)
4 Comments
It is certainly easier for me to know when I’m doing a good job at my p/t job because, y’know, managers will actually say, “Hey, good job!” whereas, at my Office job? It’s like, “Hmm, your numbers were kind of off this week.” Dude, I wasn’t in on Monday. “So? You couldn’t do this in four days?” …!!!!! $^@$%#$@!!!
As much as I like my current job, I still miss the every day hustle and bustle of running around a three-county beat in Southeast Texas. It put a lot of miles on my car, but I was outside most days and moving. The only time I slowed down was to actually sit and do my writing.
I gained an appreciation for physical jobs the summer after my freshman year of college, when I worked at a zoo. Holy zebras. Someday, some zookeeper is going to be rich and famous when they write a book about their secret to staying fit, the Shovel Ten Times Your Bodyweight in Exotic Manure Every Day and Eat Whatever You Want Diet.
Seriously, these were some ripped people, and if you asked them about their workout habits they would laugh at you. In the lunchroom, you should have seen the volume of food they could put away. They’re on their feet at least 8 hours a day, and most of that time is spent carrying, lifting, shoveling, etc. etc. This is done absolutely without regard to rain, sleet, thunder, holidays, or anything else, because the animals can’t go without food just because the weather is inconvenient. Also, this is in the deep south, and the summer heat will suck the energy out of even the most sedentary person.
Anyway, it was fun and I got supercool biceps, but you could also see the toll it takes after a while. People in their 40’s or older, that had been working there for decades, usually had extremely sun-damaged skin, and back and knee problems were rampant.
I don’t know – I love fitness (some would say too much, lol!) but there is something to be said for keeping my profession and my hobbies separate. Also, I can continue teaching for years to come but like my stint in gymnastics taught me – when your livelihood depends on your body, you are one injury away from unemployment.