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The differences between life coaches and social workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a life coach, becoming a social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a social worker has an average salary of $50,102, which is higher than the $41,947 average annual salary of a life coach.
The top three skills for a life coach include relationship building, mental health and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a social worker are social work, patients, and patient care.
| Life Coach | Social Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $41,947 | $50,102 |
| Hourly rate | $20.17 | $24.09 |
| Growth rate | 20% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 25,642 | 77,340 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 36 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
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.
Social workers help their clients get through problems that they may be facing. Social workers help identify individuals or groups of people, usually families, who may need assistance, generally through a set of pre-determined criteria. They then determine the best ways to help their clients by interviewing them, getting to know them, and understanding the context of their lives. They create plans that will help their clients become better, such as integrating into a new environment, assisting them in their needs, or even rescuing them from their current place. Social workers have good interpersonal skills and communication skills.
Life coaches and social workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Life Coach | Social Worker | |
| Average salary | $41,947 | $50,102 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $64,000 | Between $37,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Portland, OR |
| Highest paying state | - | Oregon |
| Best paying company | - | Health Advocates |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between a life coach and a social worker in terms of educational background:
| Life Coach | Social Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Social Work |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between life coaches' and social workers' demographics:
| Life Coach | Social Worker | |
| Average age | 36 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.5% Female, 67.5% | Male, 19.5% Female, 80.5% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 19.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 3.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 13% |