Motivational speaker vs life coach

The differences between motivational speakers 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 motivational speaker, 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 $39,142 average annual salary of a motivational speaker.

The top three skills for a motivational speaker include seminar, public speaking and colleges. The most important skills for a life coach are relationship building, mental health, and crisis intervention.

Motivational speaker vs life coach overview

	Motivational Speaker	Life Coach
Yearly salary	$39,142	$41,947
Hourly rate	$18.82	$20.17
Growth rate	12%	20%
Number of jobs	1,024	25,642
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	43	36
Years of experience	12	6

Motivational speaker vs life coach salary

Motivational speakers and life coaches have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Motivational Speaker	Life Coach
Average salary	$39,142	$41,947
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $55,000	Between $27,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between motivational speaker and life coach education

There are a few differences between a motivational speaker and a life coach in terms of educational background:

	Motivational Speaker	Life Coach
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Business	Psychology
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Motivational speaker vs life coach demographics

Here are the differences between motivational speakers' and life coaches' demographics:

	Motivational Speaker	Life Coach
Average age	43	36
Gender ratio	Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5%	Male, 32.5% Female, 67.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 6.7% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7%	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 Percentage	11%	8%

Differences between motivational speaker and life coach duties and responsibilities

Motivational speaker example responsibilities.

Lead discussions and training seminar focusing on rape and sexual molestation prevention to incoming freshman
Speak out to high school, colleges, and different events to educate about homelessness and other social justice issues
Create and implement workbooks, PowerPoint and other materials base on individual needs.
Write and perform original material in comedy clubs, corporate events, colleges and universities.
Develop marketing materials: graphic design, print, multimedia, powerpoint, web, and social media.
Perform Psychological/Psychiatric/Intake assessments on perspective patients.

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.

Motivational speaker vs life coach skills

Common motivational speaker skills

Seminar, 17%
Public Speaking, 14%
Colleges, 8%
Non-Profit Organization, 5%
at-Risk Youth, 5%
Domestic Violence, 5%

Common life coach skills

Relationship Building, 17%
Mental Health, 10%
Crisis Intervention, 6%
Community Resources, 6%
Developmental Disabilities, 5%
Behavior Modification, 5%