How to Become a Life Coach in Rhode Island

Have you ever considered becoming a life coach? Life coaching is a good career choice for anyone with the experience to offer advice to their peers. As a life coach, you could use your own special skills and expertise to help others succeed in their endeavors.

In today’s fast-paced world, clients seek coaching to help with a variety of tasks and skills, giving life coaches the ability to specialize in a number of niche areas according to their own strengths and abilities. For example, some coaches specialize in helping those with disabilities to navigate the world more easily, others help those looking to improve their romantic lives, and still others help people looking to start a new career. The possibilities are nearly without limitation.

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Rhode Island Requirements for Life Coaches

Life coaching remains a largely unregulated field throughout the Unites States, and Rhode Island is no exception. With no licensure requirements and no regulating body, many coaches seek credentialing through a reputable organization like the International Coach Federation (ICF). Though not required, acquiring and maintaining professional credentials are a good way to inspire trust in potential clients as well as provide an ethical and moral framework for practice.

Life Coach Training in Rhode Island

Due to its unregulated nature, life coach training comes in a variety of lengths and venues, including in-person and online training programs. Some programs available in the state of Rhode Island include:

  • Coaching Changes Lives offers professional coach training, with a Mastery in Coaching Certification requiring 70 hours of training.
  • Lumina Learning® offers two training programs geared toward business solutions. The Client Practitioner program is intended for those interested in working on solutions within their own organizations, while The Business Practitioner program is geared toward those who wish to work as consultants to other organizations.
  • The Center for Self Leadership offers training in their Internal Family Systems Model.

Life Coach Credentialing

As mentioned, credentialing is an important step for any life coach looking to advance their career. ICF, a popular program with many coaches, offers three levels of credentialing based on training hours and coaching experience:

  • The Associate Certified Coach credential requires at least 60 hours or training, and 100 hours of experience.
  • The Professional Certified Coach credential requires a minimum of 125 hours of training and 500 hours of experience.
  • The Master Certified Coach credential requires at least 200 hours of training and 2,500 hours of experience.

Job Growth and Salary Outlook

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not track state-specific data for life coaches; however, they do report an average annual income of $61,900 for 2015, quoting a study conducted by the ICF. The report goes on to say that most life coaches claimed to work only part-time, often preferring to pursue the career as a sideline. As such, life coaching gives the appearance of being both lucrative and having strong growth potential.

A Career as a Life Coach

Although life coaching requires a high degree of expertise within each practitioner’s chosen niche area, it also comes with a high level of freedom. Coaches need to be able to meet with clients on a regular basis to help them set and revise goals, manage expectations and remain motivated, but interviews can be conducted either in-person or online. As a life coach, you would be able to set your own schedule and meet with clients from anywhere. If personal freedom and the satisfaction of being a part of someone else’s success sounds good, this might be the career for you.