Developing a Career in Pilates: Life as a Pilates Instructor

If you had a chance to check out last week’s blog, you may be considering furthering your Pilates education and potentially recouping your training expenses as a paid instructor! We want to provide you with all of the resources and context you need before making the decision to join our Niche Instructor Training Program (NIT) so let’s chat about all of the various ways that you can bring the gift of Pilates to the world! Are you curious not only about the instructor lifestyle but the instructor pay? Take a look at our blog post that dives into this! 

• Hourly Instructor 

Being an hourly instructor is a great fit for anybody who is excited to share their love of Pilates with the world in a manageable capacity. You get to set your own hours, and perhaps you are working around your family’s needs or your 9-to-5 job. Regardless of your situation, being an hourly instructor is still a valuable way to be involved with your local studio, particularly if you have evening and weekend availability. Pilates studios can’t function without the help of hourly instructors (shout out to our very own Sarah Kim or Laura Eugley!)

• Part Time Instructors

A part-time instructor position could look very similar to the schedule and responsibilities of an hourly instructor, but with a more regular and committed schedule. This is great for anyone who works a separate part-time job and wants to accumulate a 40-hour work week, for parents that have child care in some capacity, or for anyone who is on the fence about diving in completely!

• Full Time Instructors

Don’t let the term “full-time” scare you. We can’t imagine that there is a studio that would expect an instructor to teach 40 classes a week. At Niche, our full time instructors teach approximately 15 hours a week and fill the remainder of their time helping our studio run smoothly! For Niche, this means that our full time instructors take on marketing, client experience, and any fiscal responsibilities. It takes many hands and many unique talents to keep a Pilates studio functioning. 

• Pilates Education

If teaching Pilates classes isn’t the right fit for you, perhaps teaching Pilates Instructors is. This would be a great fit if you have prior fitness instruction experience. A lot of the preparation to being a great instructor is the ability to speak clearly and concisely, and stay adaptable in front of an audience. You might already have years of experience keeping your cool while offering modifications to clients or trying to remember which side you just cued. If so, you would be a great fit for working with newer instructors who are just dipping their toes into the industry. 

Our intention is not to intimidate you, but to equip you with the knowledge and tools to thrive in your Pilates career. In addition to your instructor training, Niche has a wealth of helpful information for Pilates Instructors on our blog! Check out our blog post about teaching outdoor mat classes, for instance. The reason that you love Pilates as a client? Your instructor is putting it into their class plan, practicing the class on their own beforehand (or with other instructors) and then delivering it to you! As part of NIT, we’ve developed a class plan and cueing formula to bring intention and flow to each and every class so that you feel confident as an instructor and clients feel confident in their ability and movement! 

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