Training to become a life coach

What is a life coach?

A life coach helps individuals to become the best versions of themselves. They empower clients to make, meet and exceed professional and personal goals.

Not just about giving advice, life coaching involves building relationships with clients and supporting them to make positive changes. Instead of fixing a client's problems, a life coach provides the tools necessary for the client to manage these challenges on their own.

Life coaches work with individuals, groups or organisations and often specialise in a particular type of life coaching such as:

• career
• health and wellbeing
• personal development
• relationship.

Is there a demand for life coaches in the UK?

As the profession is unregulated statistics on life coaching are hard to find but it's estimated that there are around 80,000 to 100,000 life coaches in the UK. And it is an industry that is continuing to grow, with an increasing demand for life coaches - particularly those with certifications from recognised bodies.

The demand for life coaches is rising due the growing appetite for self-improvement and the stresses of modern living. People's lives are becoming more demanding and complex leading them to seek out life coaches to help guide them through journeys of personal development, career progression and relationship changes.

How much do life coaches earn?

This very much depends on:

• experience
• location
• number of clients
• type of coaching.

As such the income of life coaches can vary significantly. However, according to the Coaching Academy:

• new life coaches often charge £30 to £75 per hour
• experienced coaches between £100 and £200 per hour
• executive or corporate coaches in excess of £250 per hour.

For a 45-60 minute session fees between £150 and £450 are common for well-established life coaches.

What's the difference between a life coach and a therapist?

Although they share similar elements, life coaching should not be confused with counselling or therapeutic careers. Life coaches and therapists both help people to overcome obstacles, personally develop and achieve their goals but there are some obvious differences between the two.

Life coaching and therapeutic careers differ in the following areas:

• Regulation - Life coaching is an unregulated profession in the UK, which means anyone can call themselves a life coach. In comparison, therapists are regulated healthcare professionals. All therapists have to be registered either with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) or with a relevant professional body in order to practice.
• Training - Life coaches can gain certifications through various training providers and coaching programmes but this isn't a requirement of the role. You can call yourself a life coach with no certifications or qualifications. Therapists, on the other hand, need to gain both undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications, as well as undergo regular continuing professional development (CPD).
• Focus - Life coaches focus on the future and aim to identify areas for self-improvement and encourage personal growth. They are not qualified to diagnose or treat health, or mental health related issues. Meanwhile therapists focus on deep emotional healing and aim to discover how past events contribute to their clients' current problems.

Do I need a degree to become a life coach?

No, there are no specific entry requirements, meaning anyone can call themselves a life coach. However, as the number of practicing life coaches increases, clients are doing their research and seeking coaches with some formal training.

Because it's not a graduate career, life coaching degrees are hard to find. The majority of undergraduate courses focus on sport or business coaching. However, the University of Cambridge's Institute of Continuing Education (ICE) offers an undergraduate Certificate in Coaching. Studied part time over the course of a year, the programme provides students with the communication and interpersonal skills necessary for establishing and maintaining an effective coaching relationship. You'll cover modules such as:

• Introduction to coaching: core skills and methodologies
• Raising awareness in self and others
• Coaching applications and practice.

The course costs £5,150 for UK students in the 2026/27 academic year.

Can I study a postgraduate course?

At postgraduate level, general coaching and mentoring courses are more widely available. This is good news for those who studied an unrelated degree but would like to pursue a career in coaching. For example, the University of Warwick provides the three-year, part-time MA Coaching. Core units include:

• Listening, questioning and direct communication,
• Establishing trust and building relationships
• The coaching process
• The use of self and coaching presence.

Discover more about Masters degrees and explore your postgraduate funding options.

Search postgraduate coaching courses.

While university study provides an in depth knowledge of general coaching practices, as well as opportunities to extend your professional networks, it isn’t needed to pursue a career as a life coach and it's unlikely to increase your chances of success or boost your prospects in what is currently an unregulated profession. As such, consider the time and financial commitment carefully before deciding on this route.

Are professional life coaching courses available?

Yes. Becoming a certified life coach reassures clients that you're trained to a high standard. To achieve this, consider taking a life coach course that is accredited by professional associations such as:

• Association for Coaching (AC)
• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
• European Mentoring and Coaching Council UK (EMCC UK)
• International Coaching Federation (ICF)
• International Authority for Professional Coaching and Mentoring (IAPC&M).

All of the following organisations run courses accredited by at least one of the above associations.

• The Coaching Academy runs a Life Coaching Diploma (endorsed by the AC and ICF). You have three years to complete the course, which offers two accreditation pathways and six core modules.
• With i-coach Academy you can study the Foundation in Coaching Practice (accredited by the EMCC) and Coaching Essentials for Managers and Leaders. Courses take 38 weeks and ten weeks respectively.
• Animas Centre for Coaching offers a Diploma in Transformational Coaching, accredited by the AC, EMCC and ICF. Delivered over six modules and taking 9 to 12 months to complete, you'll cover Core coaching skills, Thinking and beliefs, Transformative presence, Narrative transformations, Transforming paradigms and Ethics and professional practice.
• At Full Circle you can choose between the five-month Certificate in Professional Coaching Practice and the 12-month Diploma in Professional Coaching Practice, both accredited by the ICF. You can also study a nine-month Coaching Mastery programme.
• Pure Coaching Academy runs an intensive eight-week Training to become a life coach course, accredited by the IAPC&M. The course syllabus covers a range of modules including The coaching principles, Confidence coaching, Extreme self care, Values and vision alignment, The fear factor, Charisma and rapport and Spiritual coaching.

How do I start my life coaching career?

Opportunities for life coaches with recognised professional qualifications are increasing. You could work for the National Health Service (NHS), or as part of community projects in schools, universities or prisons. You could also work for a specific organisation, internally mentoring its staff.

However, the majority of life coaches are self-employed. You could work with organisations on a freelance basis or work from home, coaching clients online or over the phone. With experience you could set up your own coaching business, meeting with individuals and/or groups to provide face-to-face mentoring, traveling to give motivational talks to organisations or at community projects and training future life coaches.

As a life coach the majority of your clients will come to you through word of mouth and on the recommendation of others, so initially business may be slow.

If you decide to start your own coaching business you'll need to successfully market yourself. Promote your business via social media (create pages on Facebook and LinkedIn), YouTube, blogging and by setting up a website. Learn how to start a business.

To build your reputation and increase industry contacts, join a professional coaching body and attend conferences, seminars and events alongside other life coaches. The ICF and the AC both frequently run national and international conferences, workshops and webinars led by professional coaches.

Find out more

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