With all that's going on with COVID-19, many have decided to begin paying closer attention to their health and wellness. And sis, the wellness industry is now worth an estimated $40 billion, making it one lucrative industry to get into. With trends like at-home fitness, digital detoxing, and cannabis infusion, there's an open avenue to break into or level up for finding the best careers in health and wellness.
Here are 10 opportunities that are not only growing in demand but are bringing in a nice chunk of change:
1.Registered Nutritional Therapist
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The median income for a Registered Nutritional Therapist is a little more than $60,000 annually, and it's definitely a career that is in common demand. Becoming registered gives you a bit more credibility, and many schools offer programs to get the credentials you'll need. Nutritional therapists typically have their own practices and offer luxury or alternative health plans to ensure their clients health and wellness goals are met. Some also work for clinics and organizations to serve their patients' needs.
2.Wellness Literary Agent
You can make an average of $59,000 as a wellness literary agent, and if you're up on wellness industry trends and news and have experience in publishing, PR, or sales, it's a gig you might be great at. You'll have to get your clients' books in front of publishers and sometimes you'll even be part of the edit and update process of a work. You'll also be handling contracts and making sure your clients get the best deal. And don't sleep on the book industry: More than 60 billion units of actual print books are still being consumed by Americans and the audiobook industry continues to show strides at more than $1 billion in revenue last year.
3.Nutrition Influencer and Blogger
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If you're passionate about all things nutrition and are a great writer, this is a great fit. The starting annual salary for a nutrition influencer and blogger is a little above $33,000 but can grow to more than $80,000, especially if you write for your own website and create your own brand. You can take it to the next level and either run a YouTube channel or blog for a major food, wellness, or healthcare brand (which can bring in an average of $50,000 per year) or start one of your own and join the ranks of influencers making six figures or more.
4.Corporate Wellness Administrator
You can make a median income of $63,000 per year doing a job that involves managing the administration of wellness benefits for employees of a company or corporation. You'll need a bachelor's degree for this job and a few years of experience, and if you have a passion for finding the best options for others to ensure their ultimate wellness, the role of a Corporate Wellness Administrator is worth a try.
5.Virtual Fitness Trainer
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Though some gyms have reopened, many are still taking hits due to many fitness buffs and budding health enthusiasts doing more of their workouts at home. Health and fitness equipment sales more than doubled between March and October of last year, according to research, and trainers have began going virtual, offering classes, one-one-one training and boot camps that people can do from the comfort of their own homes. The virtual fitness market is set to hit more than $59 billion by 2027, and if you can cater to a niche and get certified, you could potentially become a self-employed, very wealthy phenom. If entrepreneurship is not your thing, you can still work as a trainer for a major gym or other organization making a starting average of at least $46,000 a year, a number that goes up substantially based on your experience, certifications, and caliber of client.
6.Wellness App Creator
Wellness apps are reportedly booming and set to bring in more than $14 billion in revenue within the next seven years. If you have great ideas, are in the tech industry already, or simply have an eye for app savvy, get on the train, sis! Creating an app is not as hard as one might think, but it does require quite a bit of planning, research and marketing in order to get it off the ground. You can also work for a tech company and make an average of $64,000 to $96,000 developing mobile apps. Having a bachelor's in computer science, programming, or software engineering is great (especially if you're into the traditional job of working for another company), but a few app creators simply took courses, hired outside vendors to build it, or worked with partners to bring their wellness apps to life.
7.Massage Therapist
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Jobs as a massage therapist are set to grow by 21 percent into 2029, and the median salary is almost $43,000 per year. Depending on your location, you'll need certain certifications and hours of experience in order to legally practice as a massage therapist, and you can even build your own practice of clients. Even in pandemic times, massage therapists are finding unique ways to offer services like expert virtual stretch sessions, massage instruction for people with special needs, and one-on-one personal sessions within sanitized environments like clients' homes or doctor's offices.
8.Virtual Therapist
You can choose to get licensed (as a licensed practical counselor or LPC) or become a non-licensed practitioner (who has a master's degree and can offer lay counseling for life coaching and services of that nature) who helps people in the area of mental wellness. Some licensed counselors work for schools, nonprofits or corporations, while some have their own practices with specialties in EMDR methods or psychotherapy. Some non-licensed counselors lead church ministries, counsel women in nonprofit programs or have their own coaching programs. Online therapy services are charging upwards of $100 per hour, and the average salary for a therapist stands at $69,000 for those with licensure and $64,000 for unlicensed counselors.
9.Personal Wellness Chef
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Starting at an average of more than $44,000 per year (with an increase potential of up to $62,000), this job is a great one if you're well-informed (in some cases, certified) in nutrition or a niche like vegan, raw, cannabis-infused, or gluten-free dishes. Some chefs focus in on certain client goals (ie.. weight loss, weight gain, muscle building, diabetes maintenance, or hypertension control) while others specialize in creating plans for people with allergies or other disorders. You can start your own mobile or personal chef business or work for restaurants and even food brands, creating menus or tailored dishes for mass production.
10. Longevity Wellness Specialist
This gig allows you to focus in on creating plans for people to not only live long lives, but the best version of that. You'll teach clients or groups how to sustain a healthy lifestyle, what supplements and other resources they should tap into to boost quality of life and incorporate management of sustainability of wellness. The average salary is $44,000 per year but salary potential can increase to up to $90,000.
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Camesha created the organization after her struggles with mental health and the lack of community she experienced. The Chicago native explains how she created Sista Afya to be rooted in “culturally grounded care.”
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“So at my organization, Sista Afya Community Care, we focus on providing mental health care through a cultural and gender lens,” she tells xoNecole. “So when we think about the term intersectionality, coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, we think about the multiple identities that lead to certain experiences and outcomes as it relates to Black women.
“So in the context of culturally grounded care, being aware of the cultural history, the cultural values, and then also the current issues that impact mental health outcomes.”
Words like “strong” and “independent” have long been associated with Black women for some time and many of us have begun to embrace the soft life and are using rest as a form of resistance. However, some of us still struggle with putting ourselves first and overall shedding the tainted image of the “strong, Black woman” that had been forced on us.
Camesha shares that while there’s more and more communities being created around empowerment and shared interests like running, she still questions, “are Black women really comfortable with being vulnerable about sharing their experiences?”
Being vulnerable with ourselves and others play an important role in healing the instinctive nature of always being “on” for everyone. “I'm currently facilitating a group on high functioning depression, and yesterday, we talked about how when Black women may be struggling or have shared their concerns with other people. They may be minimized, or they're told to just be strong, or it's not so bad, or I went through something worse back in Jim Crow era, so you should be thankful,” she explains.
“So I think there's a challenge with Black women being able to be honest, to be vulnerable and to receive the support that they need in the same capacity as how much they give support to other people. So that is probably a very common theme. I think we've made a lot of progress when we talk about the superwoman syndrome, the mammy stereotype, the working hard stereotype, the nurturing stereotype. I think we're beginning to unpack those things, but I still see that we have definitely a long way to go in that area.”
I think there's a challenge with Black women being able to be honest, to be vulnerable and to receive the support that they need in the same capacity as how much they give support to other people.
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While we’re unpacking those things, we know that we’re still women at the end of the day. So as we continue to serve in various roles like mothers, daughters, sisters, and caretakers, we have to make caring for ourselves a priority. Camesha reveals four ways we can still care for others without abandoning ourselves.
Trust
First things first, trust. Camesha explains, “Some of the burdens that Black women have can be linked to not feeling like you can trust people to carry the load with you.
“It's hard because people experience trauma or being let down or different experiences, but one of the things that I found personally is the more that I'm able to practice trust, the more I'm able to get my needs met. Then, to also show up as my best to care for other Black women.”
Know Your Limitations
Another thing Camesha highlighted is Black women knowing their limitations. “The other thing that I would like to bring up in terms of a way to care for yourself is to really know your limitations, or know how much you can give and what you need to receive,” she says.
“So often, what I see with Black women is giving, giving, giving, giving, giving to the point that you're not feeling well, and then not receiving what you need in return to be able to feel well and whole individually. So I really think it's important to know your limitations and know your capacity and to identify what it is that you need to be well.”
Don’t Take On A Lot Of Responsibilities
Next on the list is not taking on so many responsibilities, sharing herself as an example. “The other thing is taking on too much responsibility, especially in a time of vulnerability.
“One thing that I personally struggled with was being so passionate about community mental health for Black women, and saying yes to everything and taking on so much responsibility,” she reveals. “That affected me to do well in serving Black women and then also impacting my own well being.”
Practice Self-Care
Lastly, she notes the importance of practicing self-care. “The last thing is really practicing regular self care, regular community care, so that it's embedded into your daily life. So for me, having prepared meals, going to the gym, getting eight hours of sleep, spending time with friends and family, all of those things are part of my self care that keep me at my best,” she explains.
“Then community care, leaning into social networks or social groups, or spending time with other interests or hobbies. That's a part of my community care that keeps me going, so that I can take care of my needs, but also to be able to show up best in care for others.”
Find out more about Camesha and Sista Afya Community Care at communitycare.sistaafya.com.
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