Lifecoaching as a career
- Thread starter Gaze
- Start date
Not a life coach per say but I've always worked with college students in career/academic offices which I feel is similar to life coaching. Maybe just not quite the long-term planning a life coach may do. I find my work to be incredibly rewarding, yet exhausting. You're not going to always be able to make an impact or help people, and if you do, you might not always know it. It's a career path I'll stay in, because I'm very interested in helping people develop professionally. One day I may even be an independent career/life coach, but right now I'm focusing on my graduate program and current position.
I think that people do this in so many ways without having the professional certification so I don't think anyone needs to have it to be coach or guide or motivational influence in someone's life. I think it matters only if someone is planning to do this for a living. However, the cost of life coaches are pretty expensive. I wonder how realistic it is for people who are not in the best financial position who need coaching but can't afford it. I like the idea that it's more informal and can incorporate skill development such as life planning rather than simply giving short term advice. The unfortunate thing for professions like this however, is that too often people are paying you to tell them what they want to hear. Education is a similar path where you're expected to reflect what people feel or think about how things should be rather than help them realize when something they're doing isn't working or isn't effective and needs change. This is where I think therapists have an advantage. They are able to evaluate past and current issues, assess current habits and patterns of behavior, and figure out how it may affect someone's ability to move on and achieve their goals. If I was going to pursue life coaching, I would probably want to be a licensed therapist first, get some experience in the field, and then turn to life coaching.
