Unbiased opinion about life coaching career? (psychologist, anxiety, therapy, dating)

[angelscorpio]

Hi, I started in the past to get interest in studying Psychology since I myself made a LOT of readings in the area for personal self help improvement. So people say I am very good at it, but considering my age, the Bachelor + master degree (8 years), and that my sister is already a Psychologist and seeing her changing career for a more profitable one I ended up desisting. That's why I am putting my eyes on life coach since it's short, affordable and apparently in demand. Obviously, there is no point of comparison with a real B.S in Psychology, nor do I pretend to compete with them, but just make a living. I am single so worried about doing 6 numbers doesn't take my sleep honestly. All I want is to do what I like to do: helping people and helping myself doing it.

My other option is Physical Therapist Assistant but heard reimbursements are impacting the field drastically not to mention there is no shortage and a big new crew new graduates hunger for jobs.

So, what would be your thoughts on life coaching? Does it really sucks? or you can make a decent living on it?

Thank you in advance. [CENTER]Save[/CENTER]

[Ruth4Truth]

Well, PT is in health care, which is a growing field. IMO that would be your better bet. Life coaching may be a flash in the pan--a fad that could fade eventually. Also, as a Life Coach, you really have to market yourself; you need to drum up enough business to at least pay your bills. That's not easy, and of course, you'd be self-employed, so--no benefits. As a Phy Therapist, you'd be working for a clinic and would have benefits.

Are you good with science? There's a fair amount of chemistry involved in getting a Phys. Therapy degree, along with Anatomy & Physiology, and all that.

I know someone who switched from a very lucrative career to Psychologist. She took a big cut in income, but she LOVES her work, and finds it very rewarding. It gives her life more meaning than the high-paying job she had before. But she had to get an MA to be able to do it, and really make a go of it.


Lots of things to consider, OP.

[irootoo]

My only thought on the matter is that life coaching is something that could fall prey to hard times during a recession or depression, because it is so optional and insurance doesn't cover it.

[TabulaRasa]

Another issue is that unlike counseling/therapy, which require clinical oversight, state certification, and supervision as a part of training, life coaching is not regulated and has no real oversight, board of ethics, etc. Essentially anybody can hang their shingle and bill themselves as a life coach, so there is always the risk of those who lack relevant training and who are not required to exhibit core competencies giving the title a bad name/rep.

[angelscorpio]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Well, PT is in health care, which is a growing field. IMO that would be your better bet. Life coaching may be a flash in the pan--a fad that could fade eventually. Also, as a Life Coach, you really have to market yourself; you need to drum up enough business to at least pay your bills. That's not easy, and of course, you'd be self-employed, so--no benefits. As a Phy Therapist, you'd be working for a clinic and would have benefits.

Are you good with science? There's a fair amount of chemistry involved in getting a Phys. Therapy degree, along with Anatomy & Physiology, and all that.

I know someone who switched from a very lucrative career to Psychologist. She took a big cut in income, but she LOVES her work, and finds it very rewarding. It gives her life more meaning than the high-paying job she had before. But she had to get an MA to be able to do it, and really make a go of it.


Lots of things to consider, OP.

Honestly I am not good at science nor chemistry. Maybe anatomy and some physiology. I would do it just for the money, and the short time (AA) because of my age, and in regarding the level of satisfaction.. Ummm, not sure. I never dreamed about being a PTA, but well, sometimes life circumstances put you on this. Who knows, maybe it ended up being more attractive when in field. However, is not PT (Physical Therapist), but PTA (Physical Therapist Assistant) which is totally different. PTA's are under supervision of PT's and do the "dirty job". PT's I've read they got more jobs openings, but the panorama for PTA's seems is kind of different as I mentioned before.

Actually I was going to study OTA instead of PTA, since it involves more Psychology, but after spending time investigating this career is practically impossible to find jobs not to mention is not taught in my College institution but a very expensive Universities. So I started to consider PTA since although is similar it involves more Physical activity, is well paid and it's a AA two years, so I thought that would be perfect for me. What else an almost 44 ys person would want at this point of the life?

On the other hand, PTA is taught in College and is very affordable, but I am afraid to commit the mistake I did when I started my first career 20 years ago. It is dead-end job now. I've read PTA are struggling in finding jobs, and reimbursements menace to bury the career into another dead-end job.

That's why I started to consider life coaching since it fits more for who I am, but as you mentioned before is hard to market. Even though, if it is in high demand it wouldn't be that hard to find clients for sure, isn't it?

So, if life coach,nor PTA are good options then, what would be a good fit for a person like me that like to help people giving advice and stuffs? I am not sure of spending a Bachelor + master at this level of my life. Any suggestions?

[angelscorpio]

Originally Posted by irootoo

My only thought on the matter is that life coaching is something that could fall prey to hard times during a recession or depression, because it is so optional and insurance doesn't cover it.

Yes, you are right, and I think other careers will also fall on this.

Originally Posted by TabulaRasa

Another issue is that unlike counseling/therapy, which require clinical oversight, state certification, and supervision as a part of training, life coaching is not regulated and has no real oversight, board of ethics, etc. Essentially anybody can hang their shingle and bill themselves as a life coach, so there is always the risk of those who lack relevant training and who are not required to exhibit core competencies giving the title a bad name/rep.

I agree with you, and it is also true that a degree in Psychology is not a guarantee that people won't commit mistakes. And I think there are certain people who just want to find a practical solution for their problems and more common sense answers, so maybe life coaching fills that void.

When I had a serious problem with my family I had to visit some specialists and they all gave me different perspectives of the problem. One of them never offered solutions and all he was just doing is "studying me" as his guinea pig. Just only one seemed to listen, and helped me a lot. So it all depends...

[almost3am]

I think others have done a good job explaining the issues surrounding life coach:
1. You need to find work, which could be a struggle unless you are good at sales
2. It could be a fad type job
3. In times with less discretionary income, that could be something people drop
4. How do you get your first work when you have no experience?

[JrzDefector]

I've had two excellent life coaches. My current one is a successful artist who does it to supplement her income. The other one was very educated on learning disabilities and had a successful business career behind her - she was basically doing life coaching as a sort of supplement to retirement. Both were motivated by the money of course, but also by a desire to help others find the same level of satisfaction and success they had found in life.

If you want to be an in-demand life coach, you must be very informed about a great number of topics and you must have a successful life yourself. A good life coach is well-versed in aspects of psychology, but also career management, organization, business, the arts and functional behavior in general. Emotional intelligence is above all the most important quality.

Basically, what I'm saying is that to be a successful life coach, you need to have a well-rounded life and a vast amount of knowledge. It's not really something you fall into out of default but more out of having a wealth of experience that you want to share with people who are struggling.

My current life coach helps me to deal with my lack of organization due to my ADD, navigate my family boundaries in an emotionally healthy way, work out my priorities with regard to the tasks and responsibilities ahead of me, brainstorm on ways to address my concerns, work new elements into my schedule, etc. She's my cheerleader, but that's just a bonus aspect - she's mainly the person who helps me maintain my focus on my goals and avoid the distractions of disorganization, depression and anxiety.

My concern here is that while you want to help people get their lives together, you don't really seem to have YOUR life together.

[angelscorpio]

Thank you all for your input. I had forgotten that I am also interested in the SEO media. Normally this is not a career per se, but a master included into a bachelor program like business administration or akin. I don't want to spend 4 ys in a bachelor just to get this SEO course. On the other hand, this is also sold separately as a 3 mo. "course" ($6k-7K almost the same price as an AA in PTA) in some Universities and institutions to be taken as a complementary course for those already graduates in related careers. My mean concern is taking only this course would be enough to get a job.

[Tracysherm]

I'm not sure I can give an unbiased opinion, but I'm completely transparent about my biases.


I'm a licensed mental health professional, and I've run into numerous people who are, or trying to become, "life coaches." I have seen some commonalities among the ones who are NOT good.


I've seen people who were trained as mental health professionals decide to transition into coaching because of the "healthier" clientele who pay out of pocket so no insurance has to be involved. I've also encountered people who used to be mental health professionals, who lost their licenses (that's never good) who decided to transition to the unregulated, unaccountable field of coaching. I've seen people with very successful business experience transition into coaching. And I've seen people who simply decide that "coaching" sounds like a nice positive thing to do, but they lack the education/experience/skills to succeed.


1. A life coach must have expertise & experience that can actually help someone improve their life. I admit I'm biased that I think that graduate work and supervised clinical experience are necessary in most cases for a person to serve as an effective "helping guide" to others. But there are exceptions: a)-some clergy members who never even had counseling classes in an M.Div program, seem to have an innate (God-given?) skill with guiding a lot of people. b)-some people who have had personal experience with success in business or entrepreneurship can combine that with some innate skill they have, and they can be very effective in coaching people with goals in business or entrepreneurship. But in most cases, for coaching people in general areas such as organizing life priorities, problem-solving, forming and sustaining productive healthy relationships, developing & projecting confidence, I've seen that clinical mental health training seems to be essential. Unless you have had some singular kind of success in business and you have the innate ability to teach and coach others, then you'd definitely need clinical mental health training if you wish to be a life coach.


2. Not all life coaches help you with actual "life" but something specific. Some people who claim to be life coaches really just focus on narrow things like improving interviewing skills, or dressing and grooming oneself professionally. These people can be helpful, but in very narrow areas. And on top of that, they need to be impeccable in those areas themselves. I once met an older lady at a conference who had been a clinical social worker for years, but who had decided to move into coaching. She was saying she wished to specialize in helping young professionals be more professional and succeed more in professional settings. But the lady herself had long, unkempt grey hair, and she dressed like a 1972 hippie, and her demeanor was outstandingly flaky. I predicted she would not be successful in her coaching venture. Similarly, there are coaches out there who are really professional organizers. I don't want to say "only" professional organizers, because some are great at what they do and teaching it to others. (I always say when I get burned out of mental health, I'd loved to be a professional organizer). but some have labeled themselves "coaches." These are not just people who help you organize your closets and kitchen cabinets, but the ones that help teach you lasting, transferable skills in organizing all areas of your life to help you functioning more successfully in those areas. That, to me, takes some experience with cognitive-behavioral interventions.


3. Beware of the coaches who just want career that has no accountability. Like I said, there are "former" licensed mental health professionals out there who decided on coaching after losing their professional license. I've even encountered one who had been an MD. Really, there is little respect for someone who "used to be a doctor" no matter how you spin it. People lose their licenses for a reason. Then you have the former mental health professionals who just get tired of paperwork & documentation and dealing with insurance (including Medicare/Medicaid) and try to be coaches. Yes, dealing with payers is stressful. Dealing with documentation requirements and the audits around these is stressful. But in a field in which we don't have a lot of concrete "product" to show, and which is often under suspicion by the general public, I embrace the accountability that comes with payer requirements, and audits and licensing reviews. If I do what I'm supposed to do and do it honestly, then those reviews show it. If someone wants to have their own personal coaching business, but they don't like documentation, multi-tasking, and record-keeping, then they aren't likely to have a very successful business. Also, with other licensed professionals, you are dealing with a person who must adhere to a code of ethics and observe professional boundaries. But a "life coach" has no such guidelines/rules. What's to stop a life coach from dating her client who she decides is attractive? what's to stop a life coach from continuing to provide ineffective services while getting paid, even after he knows he cannot help the client? What's to stop a life coach from practicing while under the influence of substances?


4. I've never encountered an effective, successful Life Coach for whom coaching was their first career. This ties into #1. It's is most often, among the decent ones, a second career, for which they build upon a wealth of past experience. they have succeeded in their fields, and have usually published in their fields, and now they are ready to share that experience by helping others. No one going to college thinking "I want to be a life coach" is going to end up a good life coach. Who will want to pay put of pocket for some 25 year old with a BA/BS to coach them in areas of life? Even if you're a brilliant, engaging, motivating 25 year old. You still won't be someone people would want to shell out money to for life guidance. and these days, every other person you meet has a Bachelor's; it's nothing that makes you suddenly able to transform people's lives.