Jobs are as important for our characters as they are for real people. A character’s career might be their dream job or one they’ve chosen due to necessity. In your story, they might be trying to get that job or are already working in the field. Whatever the situation, as with any defining aspect for your character, you’ll need to do the proper research to be able to write that career knowledgeably.
Enter the Occupation Thesaurus. Here, you’ll find important background information on a variety of career options for your character. In addition to the basics, we’ll also be covering related info that relates to character arc and story planning, such as sources of conflict (internal and external) and how the job might impact basic human needs, thereby affecting the character’s goals.
We hope the sample list of ideas below will show you how to choose and use your character’s occupation to do more than simply reference a day job. For the full entry for this career and over 120 other ideas, check into our bestselling resource, The Occupation Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Jobs, Vocations, and Careers.
Personal Trainer
Overview: A personal trainer works one-on-one and with small groups of clients to help them achieve their physical fitness goals. This usually involves leading them in an exercise regimen meant to help them reach their goals and advising them in regard to nutrition. Trainers may specialize in…
Necessary Training: While there is no secondary education required for most personal training jobs, some employers would rather hire someone with a degree in the the fitness or health fields. It also helps to achieve certifications….
Useful Skills, Talents, or Abilities: Basic first aid, high pain tolerance, parkour, strong breath control, super strength
Helpful Character Traits: Bold, confident, cooperative, courteous, disciplined, empathetic, enthusiastic, inspirational, observant, optimistic…
Sources of Friction: A client being hurt during one’s session, being unable to afford the necessary equipment or materials, wanting to strike out on one’s own but being stuck working for someone else, obtaining an injury or developing an illness that makes it difficult for one to stay physically fit, being unable to help a client achieve their goals, dishonest clients who…
People They Might Interact With: clients, gym rats, other personal trainers, gym managers and owners, administrative personnel…
How This Occupation Might Impact One’s Basic Needs:
- Self-Actualization: People in this field are enthusiastic about fitness and very often have their own fitness goals. Someone many have taken this job as a way to finance their own fitness goal of becoming a competitive athlete. If the job becomes too time-consuming…
- Esteem and Recognition: It’s natural for people in this field to notice peoples’ bodies; if in comparing themselves to others they find themselves lacking, this can lead to…
- Love and Belonging: A person in this field might struggle making true connections with others if they feel that potential romantic partners are only…
Common Work-Related Settings: Backyard, fitness center, gymnasium, mansion, rec center, spa
Twisting the Stereotype: The hard-nosed, borderline-abusive personal trainer yelling and spitting into the client’s face has been done to death…
Visit the other Occupations in our collection HERE.
How will your character’s occupation help reveal their innermost layers?
Much of your character’s life will revolve around their work, and whether they love it or hate it, their job is a great way to show, not tell, their personality traits, skills, work ethic, worldview and beliefs, and more, so we should choose it with care.
To learn more, we recommend The Occupation Thesaurus book. Explore 120+ jobs to choose a profession for your character that showcases who they are, what they want, and what they believe in. Then learn how that career choice can characterize, drive the plot, infuse scenes with conflict, and get readers on the character’s side through the relatable pressures, responsibilities, and stakes inherent with work.
You can find this bestselling thesaurus writing guide in print, ebook, and PDF formats. To see what other authors think of the book, read its reviews at Goodreads.
Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.
This one holds a special place ’cause my son is a personal trainer (well, he’s other things, too!) 🙂
“The hard-nosed, borderline-abusive personal trainer yelling and spitting into the client’s face has been done to death.”
Particularly since R. Lee Ermey recently died! Who else could play that role in the movie version?
That stereotype definitely comes from real life; I’ve known of few of this type in my time. But when it becomes a cliché, it’s time to dig a little deeper 🙂