Work Environments of a Pilates Instructor/Movement Coach
Last blog post I shared, I discussed the different career trajectories of a Pilates instructor/movement coach. I also think it’s helpful to consider the different teaching environments you could find yourself in. I’m sure there are more options than I am listing here but these are environments that I am aware of and they all have their pros and opportunities for improvement.
If you find you’re feeling stuck or stagnant, consider the environment you’re working in. Is it an environment you feel like you can contribute to? Is it an environment that allows for your skills and strengths to shine while giving you opportunities to continue developing? If not, you might consider trying a different environment. Before making a radical change, see if you can observe in the different setting to see if it seems like a path you want to pursue.
Boutique studio: Boutique studios are independently run studios by an owner, partnership, or co-op. These are typically small, independent, and local businesses. The benefit of a boutique studio is that owners are typically very invested in their business and wanting them to succeed. You can typically correspond directly with the owner(s) and feel like you’re a part of a close and valued team.
Franchise: While franchises might be large in scale, there are local owners who are responsible for the studio you might be working at. There is likely consistency amongst the various studios and a sense of belonging to something bigger. And there could be opportunity to open your own franchise if you’re interested where you don’t have to recreate the wheel but can carbon copy the protocols that have made the other branches successful. Always a challenge for working with larger establishments is you might feel like you don’t have as much control over policies and protocol. This is where knowing your personality is helpful in understanding if this will be a good environment for you.
Healthcare: Working in healthcare could include working for a physical therapy clinic, chiropractic clinic, hospital, or rehab center. The benefit of these environments is that you will likely have the opportunity to work with clients of varying conditions and situations that will require you to communicate with health care professionals. There is great opportunity to learn and interact with others in this type of environment.
Gym Settings (Gyms, Corporate Wellness): Gyms can provide an opportunity to work with a large variety of clientele who might not otherwise seek out a Pilates studio experience. Some centers enjoy the benefit of having larger budgets to invest in studios and support instructors but this is not always the case. Corporate wellness environments are typically gym type settings located within campuses of larger companies. I’ve noticed in these settings a greater sense of community and engagement since people tend to know each other or at least have some common ground amongst each other.
Freelance: Freelance would consist of working for yourself in some capacity. Whether you act as an independent contractor to a variety of locations, run your own virtual programming, or fill in for short term needs at various locations. Freelance instructors tend to enjoy quite a bit of independence in terms of accepting what interests them, creating the schedule they want, setting their rates and payment structures, and ability to move around. However, this type of arrangement can be less stable and predictable and might require you establishing your own website and social media presence.
In Home: Many instructors love running their own home studios. They enjoy not having any commute time, being able to control their schedules, having their overhead largely absorbed into their cost of living. Others might not enjoy this option as it entails possibly having strangers into your home (you can control this by only accepting clients referred to you or people you know), requires you maintaining a high level of cleanliness through your home if people will be passing through it to access your studio space, and home studio owners might feel challenged by not having a physical separation between their work and home.
Academia: There are positions out there involving teaching Pilates/movement in academic settings. Instructors in these settings seem to enjoy setting curriculum and working with a young audience and getting to know them over the course of their time together. Typically, you’re only teaching a very small percentage of your work hours in this type of environment so it is likely supplemental to something else that you’re doing.
Am I missing any? Or any other thoughts you would add to these?