For high school students interested in careers in fitness or college students studying exercise science or a related subject, summer is the perfect time to explore job opportunities that allow you to get your foot in the door or try out roles that may interest you in the future. You can use any of the popular job search platforms to find job openings that align with your interests, but it’s always a good idea to think outside the box and get creative.

Consider the following options as you search for that perfect summer job:

• If you are an athlete, look for opportunities to work with youth in your sport. Many parents of young athletes hire high school and college students to provide one-on-one sport-specific or even position-specific coaching.
• Explore sports camps in your area. The focus may range from sport-specific high-level coaching (e.g., high school football players working on their fitness and skills during the off-season) to more recreational camps where kids play kickball, softball and other team sports and games as part of a summer camp program.
• If you are a college student, reach out to your campus rec center to find out what types of opportunities may be available during the summer months. Many universities have students that live on or near campus year-round, so that may be a good opportunity to train or teach group fitness classes to your fellow students.
• If you are a group fitness instructor or interested in teaching classes, research the class schedules at local fitness facilities, as well as community centers, senior centers and churches, to see if there are any modalities of particular interest to you. Or, identify gaps in their schedules and inquire whether they’d be interested in adding to their offerings. You might also ask an experienced instructor if you can shadow them as they teach as a learning opportunity.
• Contact local hotels to ask whether they offer seasonal classes to tourists during the summer season. In many tourist-driven areas, hotels offer things like boot-camp workouts on the beach or guided hikes. This may be the perfect opportunity to gain valuable experience while enjoying the great outdoors. If you’re feeling more adventurous, consider working on a cruise ship or at a resort.
• Many local fitness facilities need extra help in the summertime, as memberships tend to increase. This might mean working the front desk or as a member of the on-floor staff.
• Look into activity-specific gyms (e.g., rock climbing gyms) and offer group classes that might be of interest to their members, either to support their participation in that activity or as a form of cross-training. Also, consider asking non-fitness-specific businesses if they think their customers might be interested in group fitness classes; a good example might be offering a trampoline workout for parents while their kids enjoy a trampoline park.
• Look for seasonal events in your area and then offer programs to help people train for them. For example, if you find out about a 10k or half-marathon taking place in the fall, develop a running club geared toward helping members use the summer months to build up to the race distance.
• Reach out to people you know in the fitness industry who may be offering, or able to connect you with someone who is offering, summer jobs or internships. You never know who might need an office assistant or substitute instructor or be looking for additional help to get them through the busy summer season.

The fitness industry offers countless opportunities for young professionals and the summer months are a perfect time to explore seasonal and part-time work, as many businesses consider the summertime their peak season. Sure, you could flip through online job search platforms looking for opportunities but getting a little creative and proactive in your search can go a long way to propelling you to success in an always evolving and exciting industry.

If you’re interested in gaining foundational skills in personal training, including exercise science, program design, client assessment and professional responsibilities, consider Intro to Personal Training: A Career Starter Course Specialization, offered by Coursera and led by ACE President and CEO Cedric X. Bryant, PhD, FACSM. In this course, you’ll also learn valuable business skills and strategies for building strong client relationships.