Life Coaching Courses: Content and Goals
Life coaches are professionals that offer coaching sessions to individuals to help them figure out a better way to run their professional, romantic and personal lives. Life coaches often take courses and can earn certification in the field. Training offers information on how to help people better structure their life, improve their relationships, business life, and more.
Free Online Life Coaching Classes
While there aren't very many online courses that focus specifically on coaching, individuals who are interested in this topic could find it useful to take courses in leadership and adapt them to suit their particular needs. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) OpenCourseWare program features the materials for a few free leadership courses that do not offer academic credit but also don't require registration or tuition. Online course materials include lecture notes, PDF files, optional assignments for students to complete and readings for students who don't mind purchasing textbooks.
MIT
- Leadership and Personal Effectiveness Coaching was designed to help students learn how to communicate within a team and individually. Course topics include conflict resolution, setting goals, and informational interviewing. Storytelling used for leadership and the ability to communicate one's own vision are also covered. The 12 labs for this course and the supplementary handouts for four of them are provided as .PDFs.
- Leadership Tools and Teams focuses on teaching students how to work as a team and exposing them to team models. Notes for the first two lectures of this graduate-level product development course are available as .PDFs. The interactive elements and presentations that were a large part of the original course are not part of the OpenCourseWare experience, but the lecture notes that are available cover the Distributed Leadership Model and an initial analysis of what makes a team work. The reading list for the original course references materials that need to be purchased. It's worth noting that the course was originally designed for students to work in teams.
- Practical Leadership offers users useful feedback on their leadership abilities. Notes for all six lectures of this seminar are provided as .PDF files via OpenCourseWare. Assignments are described, but none of the feedback or collaboration that was part of the original assignment is offered in the free online experience. The seminar's list of readings is provided, so it could prove useful for online students to purchase those materials. Reading topics include leadership frameworks, influencing others, decision-making, and communication. There is also a self-assessment portion to the class, and users have the option of keeping a journal.
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Free Online Life Coaching Certificate Programs
Free life coaching courses online are uncommon, as is certification for free. However, some programs have free courses where certification can be added on for an additional fee.
Health and Wellness
- Yale's The Science of Well-Being Course offers insight into why we think the way we do and the changes necessary to incorporate healthy wellness habits into our life. This free course doesn't end in a free health coach certification but can be a good jumping off point into a career as a health and wellness coach.
- ACE Health Coach Certification offers a free course preview on their health coaching certification. The cost of the program includes health coach exam fees and is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. This course will help you understand how to guide people on their health journey through making lifestyle changes to their diet and exercise regimens.
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Life
- The Life Coach Training Institute offers a life coaching free online course with live streaming options and certificate program. With 10 modules spread out over 30 hours of self directed learning, this option can end in life coach certification for an added fee.
- Inner Life Skills Also offers a free abbreviated course on life skills through 16 coaching tutorials. Additional certification courses can be taken for a fee, which can take six months.
- The Home Study Centre offers this online coaching course for free that can end in certification. Courses introduce you to the characteristics of a good life coach and will help transform your passion for helping people into a viable career.
Life Coaches: Salary Info and Job Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not collect information specifically on life coaches. However, life coaches fall within the category of rehabilitation counselors. According to BLS, rehabilitation counselors are expected to have a job growth of 10% between 2019 and 2029 with a median salary of $35,950 as of May 2019. Life coaches also fall within the category of school and career counselors, which have an expected job growth of 8% from 2019 to 2029 and a median salary of $57,040 as of May 2019. Another source, 'payscale.com' indicates that life coaches made an average of $32.10 per hour in 2020.
