How to Become a Life Coach in Pennsylvania

Are you the person others come to when they want to make improvements in their lives? Does your lifetime of experience and knowledge mean you generally have solid advice to give? Perhaps you should consider becoming a life coach.

Life coaches use their wisdom and expertise to help others succeed in their lives, whether they want to improve in a specific area or they’re just looking to make overall changes. As a life coach, you would be able to decide what expertise you possess to best help others find success. For example, some coaches help people choose or start a career, some help people deal with a grieving process and others help those who just want to make better choices on a daily basis. The possibilities to specialize and utilize your own specific skills are nearly limitless.

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Requirements for Life Coaches

There is no oversight or governing body for life coaches in Pennsylvania, as it remains a largely unregulated field. But those seeking a career as a life coach can adhere to professional standards by seeking accreditation from a trusted organization such as the International Coach Federation (ICF). Affiliation with a credible organization will provide the necessary professional and moral structure for work as sensitive as giving advice to others and allow for clients to feel a sense of trust in hiring you.

Pennsylvania Life Coach Training

Life coach training is as varied and versatile as the career path itself, and is offered in different levels and types of courses, including in-person training, online training or specialty programs. A few of the training courses listed as available in Pennsylvania include:

Becoming Credentialed

Seeking professional credentialing through a reputable organization such as ICF allows potential clients to place trust and faith in your services as a life coach. ICF offers three levels of credentialing based on training hours and coaching experience: Associate Certified Coach, Professional Certified Coach and Master Certified Coach. Requirements for periodic renewals and ongoing continuing education ensure continued professionalism from registered life coaches.

Earnings and Growth Expectations

Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not track specific data for life coaches due to its unregulated nature, the BLS did report an average annual income of $61,900 for the year 2015, based on data collected from the ICF. The ICF report also indicated that many life coaches pursue the career either part-time or as a sideline career, making the earning potential for full-time coaches possibly quite a bit higher.

Growth potential, another area generally tracked by BLS is similarly unavailable for life coaching; however, if the plethora of available training programs is any indication, there is great potential for soaring popularity in the coming years.

Life Coaching as a Career

The ICF reports a high degree of career satisfaction for life coaches, possibly due to its self-employed nature, allowing coaches the freedom to set their own rates and hours. Life coaches also have the ability to meet with clients anywhere, including virtually. Along with the fulfillment of helping others realize their dreams, life coaching has a lot of potential for career satisfaction.