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Health and wellness instructor vs life coach

The differences between health and wellness instructors and life coaches can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a health and wellness instructor, becoming a life coach takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a life coach has an average salary of $41,947, which is higher than the $39,996 average annual salary of a health and wellness instructor.

The top three skills for a health and wellness instructor include home health, CPR and yoga. The most important skills for a life coach are relationship building, mental health, and crisis intervention.

Health and wellness instructor vs life coach overview

Health And Wellness InstructorLife Coach
Yearly salary$39,996$41,947
Hourly rate$19.23$20.17
Growth rate19%20%
Number of jobs76,45125,642
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age3736
Years of experience126

What does a health and wellness instructor do?

A health and wellness instructor or coach is someone who guides people and helps them set goals for their lives. These goals may be to manage stress better, improve energy, lose weight or even attain a certain body goal. You may be required to give nutrition and exercise counseling to clients as well as give advice on lifestyle and behavioral changes to help improve the lives of people.

What does a life coach do?

A Life Coach specializes in presenting techniques and mental roadmaps to help clients progress towards their short and long-term goals in various aspects of life. Their responsibilities include facilitating discussions in a one-on-one or group setting, identifying the clients' needs, developing action plans and other strategies to reach goals, and encouraging the clients' progress. A Life Coach may also create various projects and programs to help clients navigate through multiple paths and obstacles, providing support along the way.

Health and wellness instructor vs life coach salary

Health and wellness instructors and life coaches have different pay scales, as shown below.

Health And Wellness InstructorLife Coach
Average salary$39,996$41,947
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $58,000Between $27,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between health and wellness instructor and life coach education

There are a few differences between a health and wellness instructor and a life coach in terms of educational background:

Health And Wellness InstructorLife Coach
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorKinesiologyPsychology
Most common collegeUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillNorthwestern University

Health and wellness instructor vs life coach demographics

Here are the differences between health and wellness instructors' and life coaches' demographics:

Health And Wellness InstructorLife Coach
Average age3736
Gender ratioMale, 33.7% Female, 66.3%Male, 32.5% Female, 67.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 5.1% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 5.4% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage13%8%

Differences between health and wellness instructor and life coach duties and responsibilities

Health and wellness instructor example responsibilities.

  • Lead group exercise classes and teach CPR classes.
  • Conduct testing for BMI, flexibility, height, weight, and blood pressure.
  • Teach yoga, mindfulness meditation and body awareness tailor to clients' mental and emotional needs.
  • Design programs for clients, including nutrition, yoga, Pilates, cardiovascular and weight training.
  • Educate patients about healthy lifestyle behaviors -Developed anaerobic and aerobic exercise routines derive from a doctor's physical examination of patients
  • Instruct group exercise classes including tabata, tone, and spinning.

Life coach example responsibilities.

  • Assist clients with personal and professional coaching, copywriting, managing, marketing and promotions.
  • Incorporate MBTI and other coaching tools to help executives and sales teams achieve increase productivity.
  • Train and experience at managing challenging classroom situations using CPI methods and positive behavior reinforcement practices.
  • Perform additional responsibilities as deemed appropriate by school and district supervisors such as organizing and managing elementary school mathematics information nights.
  • Deliver MBTI leadership workshop for executive staff providing organizational development solutions.
  • Provide support to individuals in vocational rehabilitation and work with them learning employment and socialization skills.
  • Show more

Health and wellness instructor vs life coach skills

Common health and wellness instructor skills
  • Home Health, 29%
  • CPR, 13%
  • Yoga, 12%
  • Wellness Programs, 5%
  • Membership Sales, 4%
  • Physical Education, 4%
Common life coach skills
  • Relationship Building, 17%
  • Mental Health, 10%
  • Crisis Intervention, 6%
  • Community Resources, 6%
  • Developmental Disabilities, 5%
  • Behavior Modification, 5%

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