Life Coach Job Description Information

Life coaches assist people with making decisions about how to improve their personal and professional lives. Like counselors, life coaches use questions to help people determine what choices to make.

 

Types

  • Many life coaches are self-employed, but some work in groups of more than one coach in a professional partnership. Others work for agencies or services that employ several coaches.

Features

  • Life coaches help clients establish priorities, set goals and construct concrete plans to achieve those goals. As clients then work toward the goals, coaches hold them accountable and help them monitor their progress, including handling setbacks.

Skills

  • Successful life coaches are good listeners who ask open-ended questions to guide clients in the right direction, rather than simply telling them what to do. Patience, confidentiality, empathy and the ability to maintain a professional emotional distance from clients is also important to the work of a life coach.

Education

  • Life coaches often have a bachelor's or master's degree in counseling. In some states, life coaches fall under the category of occupational counselors, which requires a state-issued license to practice and a passing grade on a written examination.

Certification

  • The International Coaching Federation (ICF) offers life coaching certification to professionals who take a 125-hour ICF training course or a similar course in coaching, work a set number of hours in the field and receive letters of recommendation from established coaches. This certification is voluntary, but often helps coaches find employment or potential clients.

Compensation

  • In December 2009, life coaches averaged annual salaries of $49,000, according to Indeed.com.

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Life Coach Salary Information

Life coaches may help people gain confidence in their professional lives, motivate them on a job search or provide guidance in personal relationships. Life coaches should be patient, bold and have a strong drive to help people. Salaries for life coaches are determined by variables such as experience, employer and geographical location.

 

Average Salary

  • According to the Life Coach Certification website, the typical annual salary range for life coaches is between $35,000 and $60,000. However, salaries vary widely, as the amount you make really depends on the number of clients you have and the rate you charge. The Life and Business Coaching website reports that full time life coaches earn about $82,000 a year, while part time life coaches earn about $26,000 per year. The highest paid life coaches earn well over $100,000 a year, according to a 2006 "Forbes.com" article, however, only about 20 percent of life coaches earned this salary.

Hourly Rate

  • Many life coaches generally work on an hourly rate or charge per session. According to the Life Coach Certification website, the average rate a life coach charges for a 45 minute session is $165, or about $220 an hour. The rate may be higher or lower, depending on the client, the life coach's experience and competition with other life coaches in a given area.

Experience and Certification

  • Life coach salaries vary widely by experience and other factors like certification. According to the Life Coach Certification website, a life coach with over 10 years of experience typically earns between $75,000 and $95,000 a year. Clients will recommend a good life to coach to their friends, which in turn brings in more business. Obtaining life coach certification may also help increase income prospects. Certification gives a life coach more credibility and the ability to garner more clients.

Benefits

  • Life coaches have the benefit of working for themselves and setting their own hours. They can also work from anywhere, and can have their own home offices. Life coaches generally meet their clients in person.

Read more: Life Coach Salaries | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8094764_life-coach-salaries.html#ixzz1gjlbnyvo

How to Become a Life Coach

If you are a charismatic and energetic person that wishes to help people, life coaching could be the right career choice for you. A life coach assists their clients in reaching their full potential. Becoming a life coach is a simple process and the field is growing as many people seek out personal and professional advice.
  1. Decide on which area of life coaching that you should specialize in. There are coaches that give people advice on financial matters, relationships, time management, career counseling and honing leadership abilities. Choose the area that you think you will be best suited and set out to get training in that field.
  2. Attend a life coaching seminar to get an idea on how life coaching works. Most seminars will give its attendees advice on how to reach their goals and succeed in life. Pay close attention to how the life coach interacts with the crowd.
  3. Speak to the life coach following the seminar or class. Ask them for advice on how to break into the field and other tips for succeeding in the career.
  4. Sign up for a life coaching course online or at a local college. These classes will give you the tools you need to become a certified life coach.
  5. Become accredited once you finish a life coaching course. This step is particularly important since many clients and businesses will not hire a life coach without any credentials.