In my country of origin it is very difficult to find a good coach to supervise your training. Specially useless are those guys you find as gym staff with "ask me" written in the t-shirt, because they are usually not knowledgeable at all, they are simply people who got muscular. The next step in complexity and knowledge you mostly find are medical doctors who have no idea of sports and will put you immediately to walk or at most swim if you are over 35.
I moved recently to the States and I guess things are different here. I want to find a coach who is able to direct and supervise my strength training so that I get health benefits and avoid injuries, because I have tried hard alone for long time and I constantly find myself in a dangerous position, always risking injury (or actually injuring myself badly).
What is the name of such profession? Where should I start my search? What should I specially look for in such person and what should I avoid?