What is a Transition Coach? How to become certified

Want to become a certified transition coach but don’t know where to start?

You’re in the right place.

Today, we’ll go over the top transition coaching certifications. Plus, I’ll guide you through the six steps to launch your own transition coaching business.

By the end, you’ll know how to build an impactful business that allows you to live a life you truly love.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

Key takeaways:

• Since we all experience many big life changes, transition coaching is an in-demand coaching niche
• You’re not legally required to get certified – the real impact comes from the transformative changes you help your clients achieve
• To maximize your earnings, pick a profitable niche and offer results-focused coaching packages

What is a transition coach?

Transition coaches help clients manage big changes in their lives.

This could be a:

• Change coach guiding clients through new life phases
• Career transition coach helping clients find the right career path
• Relationship transition coach showing how to handle relationship ups and downs
• Health transition coach supporting people in making changes to support their health 
• And so on

The focus varies, but all transition coaches have at least one thing in common: They help their clients GROW.

How do they do this?

In several ways, such as…

• Teaching clients to leverage transitions to create more of what they want
• Providing tools and techniques to help clients embrace change instead of fearing it
• Showing clients how to set and achieve realistic goals
• And offering guidance and accountability

As a result, clients experience benefits such as better emotional well-being, more confidence, and overall happiness. In other words, through transition coaching, you have the power to positively transform your clients’ lives.

Want to know how to make that happen?

Then, keep reading.

What does a transition coach do?

Big life transitions can spark personal growth but often bring a lot of stress.

As a transition coach, you help clients turn these otherwise stressful transitions into opportunities for a happier, more balanced life.

This is even more important because, on average, we experience a major life change every 12 to 18 months.

So, depending on your niche, you could have a high demand. (We’ll dive deeper into picking a profitable transition coaching niche in a bit.)

Some of your potential clients creating that demand include people navigating:

• A divorce
• A career change
• Moving into retirement
• Losing a loved one
• Health issues
• New parenthood

Given how frequent and impactful these big life events are, you can make a meaningful difference in many lives and ways.

Ready to do so?

Then, let’s look at how YOU can become a successful transition coach.

How do you become a great transition coach?

There are six key steps to becoming a transition coach:

1. Finding a niche
2. Creating your transition coaching brand
3. Thinking about certification
4. Creating and pricing your coaching package
5. Getting your first clients
6. And working with your first clients

Let’s go over each one together.

1. Find a niche

Want to help your clients get results faster and easier?

Then you need to pick a niche.

For transition coaching, some profitable niches include:

• Career transition coaching
• Executive transition coaching
• Life transition coaching
• Academic transition coaching

But what if you’re not interested in them? Are these your only options?

Definitely not.

Take Karen Carr, for example. She’s a successful retirement transition coach.

And then there’s Lizzie Martin, who focuses on transitions into parenthood and returning to work.

But maybe you’re still struggling with finding your niche.

Don’t worry – I created this video to help:

So, picking a profitable niche is a great start. But to stand out and attract your dream clients, you also need your own coaching brand, which we’ll go over next.

2. Create a transition coaching brand

Your coaching brand is all about your unique selling proposition (USP).

In other words: What makes your offer different and better?

Often, this is either an innovative approach or a valuable solution addressing a specific need.

And your USP pulls in those clients who need your exact offer.

For example, I help busy entrepreneurs build successful businesses so they can leave their 9-5.

Why is this my focus? Because it’s exactly what I did myself.

This means I know the typical challenges my target audience will face. Plus, I also know how best to overcome them.

That’s what makes my offer unique and valuable.

And it’s how I help my clients get results like these:

For more, check out this video where I share the three elements to make your business stand out:

Next up? Figuring out if you want to get certified.

3. Obtain a transition coaching certification

Many new coaches think they need to get certified to start coaching.

I used to think the same, but here’s the truth: While you can get a certification, you don’t need it.

Most coaching niches, including transition coaching, aren’t officially regulated.

Several of my clients don’t have coaching certifications, but they still run thriving six-figure businesses helping their clients get transformative results.

And guess what?

Those results are what your dream clients really care about.

To help them achieve those, you need real-life practice. That’s why I advise you to start coaching ASAP.

That said, if you’re just starting, a certification can make you look more credible. So, decide what’s best for you.

I’ll dive more into the best transition coaching certifications in a bit.

But first, let’s look at how you can design your coaching to help your clients get amazing results and make money at the same time.

4. Create and price a transition coaching package

Want the best results for your clients?

Create coaching packages highlighting the transformation they’ll experience.

Results-focused coaching packages are more… 

• Marketable
• Profitable
• AND effective

By highlighting the outcomes, you shift the focus to what clients care about: Their results. They’re willing to pay more for these outcomes, which makes your packages easier to sell.

So, what should your transition coaching program look like?

I recommend starting with a three-month program at $1,500. 

That’s enough time to see real improvements. Once you have more experience and testimonials, you can raise your price.

For instance, almost all my experienced students charge $5,000+ for their coaching services.

For more, I break down the steps to set up your first package in this video:

Got your coaching package ready? Then, it’s time to find your first clients.

5. Get transition coaching clients

Finding your first transition coaching clients is more straightforward than you might think.

Here are three great places to start:

• Your network: Referrals are powerful. Ask friends or colleagues if they know someone going through a major life change.
• Social media: Figure out on what platform your target audience hangs out and join them there. The key is to build genuine connections by answering questions and joining relevant discussions. In this article, I talk more about leveraging social media for your coaching business.
• Podcasts: Appearing on podcasts is a great way to boost your visibility and credibility. Pick the ones your target audience listens to.

Want more strategies to find your first paying clients? Then this video is for you:

Now, it’s time to work with your clients.

6. Work with your clients

Landed your first client? Then all that’s left to do is offer them a transformative experience.

Don’t worry – it’s simpler than it sounds.

The key is to make TRANSFORMATION the core of your coaching.

How?

By working with goals, milestones, and subgoals:

• Define the main goal based on what your client ultimately wants to achieve
• Create milestones to track progress
• Break these milestones down into smaller, manageable subgoals

Next, implement them in your coaching sessions:

• Each coaching call focuses on reaching a specific subgoal
• And each subgoal builds toward the main goal

📘 Looking for more? I dive deeper into how to hold effective coaching calls in this article.

You now know what it takes to become a life transition coach, but how do you get certified?

Let’s tackle that next.

How to choose a certification

Want to become a certified transition coach?

There aren’t many transition coach certifications out there (we’ll go over the good ones below). But you can benefit from life coaching certifications from trusted organizations like the ICF.

The ICF offers three main credentials:

• Associate Certified Coach (ACC): Best for beginner coaches – 100 coaching hours (75 paid) with 8+ clients and 60 training hours
• Professional Certified Coach (PCC): 500 coaching hours (450 paid) with 25+ clients and 125 training hours
• Master Certified Coach (MCC): 2,500 coaching hours (2,250 paid) with 35+ clients and 200 training hours

Now, let’s go over the top six life and career transition coaching certifications.

Life transition coaching certifications

If you want to become a certified life transition coach, the following three life transition coaching certifications are great options for you.

The Art & Science of Coaching Life Transitions

Coach Training Alliance’s The Art & Science of Coaching Life Transitions program focuses on major life changes.

Within it, you’ll dive into the challenges and opportunities that come with life transitions. Plus, you’ll learn practical skills to help clients navigate these changes.

Program details:

• Price: $149
• Accreditation: ICF
• Format: Online (four weeks)

Seasons of Change

Inspired by the natural shift in seasons, the Institute for Life Coach Training’s program prepares you to guide clients through big life changes.

This change coach certification is perfect for mastering techniques to support clients facing any type of transition.

Program details:

• Price: $500
• Accreditation: ICF
• Format: Online (eight weeks)

Parental Transition Coaching Qualification (PTCQ)

Want to help parents balance career and family life?

Then Parent and Professional’s Parental Transition Coaching Qualification program could be for you.

This UK-based transition coaching certification is for coaches with a coaching qualification or at least five years of coaching experience. So, make sure you have that before joining.

Program details:

• Price: $1,913 (or £1,500)
• Accreditation: ICF
• Format: Online (five months)

Career transition coaching certifications

Want to become a career coach?

Then these three career transition coaching certifications can help you build a successful career coaching practice. 

Certified Career Transition Coach (CCTC)

Career Thought Leaders’ Certified Career Transition Coach program teaches you how to help clients navigate career changes.

In it, you’ll learn to identify key career drivers and build actionable plans.

Program details:

• Price: $945
• Accreditation: ICF
• Format: Online (live or self-paced)

Certified Career Management Coach (CCMC)

Through Positive Coaching Solutions’ Certified Career Management Coach program, you’ll learn how to support employees and executives in all stages of their careers.

Program details:

• Price: $2,695 (or $2,295 early bird)
• Accreditation: ICF
• Format: Online (eight weeks)

The Art and Science of Coaching Career Transitions

Besides its life transition coaching certification, Coach Training Alliance also offers a certification program for job transition coaches.

It covers the essentials for setting up and running a successful career transition coaching practice.

Program details:

• Price: $149
• Accreditation: ICF
• Format: Online (two weeks)

Through these programs, you’ll become a certified transition coach, but how much money can you make as one?

Let’s take a closer look.

How much does a transition coach make?

Your transition coaching income depends on several factors:

• Experience
• Niche
• Location
• Certification

To give you an idea, Salary.com puts the average US transition coach salary at $45,094.

So, is that the limit of what you can earn?

Definitely not.

That’s just the average.

And when you’re self-employed, you set your own rates.

This means you can earn much more. It all comes down to having the right strategy.

In fact, it’s exactly how so many of my students manage to create six-figure businesses that let them live life on their own terms.

And I say…

👋 High five to that! 👋

Next steps

And that’s how you become a certified transition coach!

Getting a transition coaching certification can boost your credibility. But the key to attracting your ideal clients is the transformative results you help them achieve.

Your ability to deliver that is the foundation of long-lasting business success.

Ready to get started?

Then check out my free guide on building a six-figure online business. It’s packed with the exact steps to grow your business into a thriving success.

Read more:

How to Become an Empowerment Coach

What Makes a Great Coach?

How to Become a Stress Management Coach