Working as a life coach can offer you a lot of joy and fulfillment if you like helping other people. As a life coach, you'll be teaching people how to make better decisions in their lives and map out life strategies that are intended to lead to greater success. You can choose to become a one-on-one coach who meets with clients individually, a group coach, or a combination of both. To become a professional life coach who people will want to hire, you'll want to get certified in the field. Here are some key things that you can do to earn your life coach certification and start working in this rewarding profession.

Choose a Niche

There are many types of life coaches, and choosing a category to specialize in can help you reach your target demographic more effectively. Some life coach niches that you may be interested in pursuing include:

• General life coaching
• Career coaching
• Skills coaching
• Team coaching
• Wellness coaching
• Religious coaching
• Parenting coaching
• Relationship coaching

Complete Your Training

There are many training courses that can prepare you for your life coach certification by giving you the knowledge that it takes to succeed in this profession. You can find many accredited training courses online, or you may be able to attend local in-person classes. Each training course has a set number of hours that must be completed. Part of your training may also involve working with a mentor who already has experience in life coaching and can give you an even deeper understanding of what this position involves.

Work with Clients

Before you apply for your life coaching certification, you'll likely need to work with clients for a set number of hours. If your mentor has a surplus of clients, you may be able to take on some of the extra clients. The place that offers your training course may also be willing to provide you with additional resources that will help you get clients.

Apply for the Right Level of Certification

The life coaching certification for which you'll apply will depend on the amount of training that you've received. Certifications are often divided into multiple levels that have their own education and client contact requirements.

Take the Exam

Like with most other certifications, you'll need to take and pass an exam to earn your life coach certification. Your exam may consist of multiple-choice questions to test your knowledge of important subjects that are related to life coaching. It's important that you know the passing expectations and minimum passing score so that you can prepare yourself better.

Once you've completed these steps and earned your certification, you can finally call yourself a certified life coach. Carefully reviewing details of all the training programs can help you pick the right course that will give you the tools that you need to apply for your specific life coach certification level.