If you really want to make a difference in the lives of youngsters, you can consider coaching youths, but what’s the average youth life coach salary? A youth life coach in the United States earns about $44,825 a year (as of April 29, 2020), according to ZipRecruiter, an online employment marketplace that actively connects millions of employers and job seekers. The youth life coaching salary depends on your skill; specialty, tenure, location, and experience, and the salary range is very broad. You can work in universities, government organizations, non-profit organizations, or establish your own private practice. 

But money should not be the prime factor in deciding whether or not to pursue a career in this field of coaching. What is important is that you like what you are doing and you have to enjoy helping young people.

What Does a Youth Life Coach Do?

Coaching can be a powerful process to help young people and the impact of coaching can be transformational. For a young person, the power of coaching can reach them when they are about to undergo or already undergoing a major transformation, for example, advancing in sports and academics, deciding on which college degree to get, preparing for their first job interview, or buying their first home. Coaching can touch young people at a transitional point in their lives when it can be easy to lose a sense of who they are, where they are heading, and most importantly, what they are worth.

Many who work in youth life coaching are involved in these areas:

• Mentoring
• Pastoral care
• Teaching and learning support
• Sports training

One of the skills that a youth life coach needs is that of being able to bring young people into the conversation, facilitating the space for them to talk, asking questions that bring them in without too much challenge and not putting them on the spot.

Looking Beyond the Youth Life Coach Salary

The ‘youth of today’ are often talked about negatively but what they need and deserve is our support and understanding to help them grow into the stunning adults they will become. Among some of the principles of coaching that are becoming recognized as essential elements of successful coaching in young people are:

• Collaboration: not just talking at young people, but exploring issues with them
• Connection: building relationships with young people
• Curiosity: understanding their learning needs
• Challenge: raising expectations across all levels
• Creation: using engaging pedagogic approaches that stimulate minds
• Change: allowing transformation in young people to occur

To enable these to happen, and in order that they become more widespread, an open and empathic approach from coaches is necessary. This means caring and understanding a young person within a coaching environment. Getting young people to open up and think freely and creatively without a feeling of judgement is something a youth life coach should be passionate about.

A coach can also help young people get involved in decision making. When a young person has the chance to recognize a problem and actually takes actions to resolve it, it builds their confidence, inspires positive thinking, and gives them the belief that they can direct their day to day lives. We have all lost our way at some time or needed help from others and these young people are just the same. Youth coaching is one of the ways we can support these bright and engage young adults. So, look beyond the youth life coach salary and help shape their future!