14 Pros and Cons of Being a Professional Recovery Coach

Professional recovery coaches help individuals with past addictions attain lasting sobriety following treatment.

If you’re considering becoming a professional recovery coach, you will be helping these individuals and creating unique plans to help them kick their addiction habits for good.

On your journey as a professional recovery coach, you will develop close relationships with those you help.

You will also be a huge part of their support system.

Pros of Being a Professional Recovery Coach

Here is a list of the pros of being a professional recovery coach:

1. High-Demand

Professional recovery coaches are in high demand.

In fact, job openings for professional recovery coaches are expected to increase by 23% in the next three years.

This is mainly due to the high number of individuals suffering from addiction.

Recovery coaches have the option to work in various settings, such as rehab centers, hospitals, child welfare agencies, doctors’ offices, and sober homes.

It’s also possible to work with patients one-on-one.

2. Rewarding Career

As a professional recovery coach, you have a lot of potential to make a big difference in the lives of those who need it.

Professional recovery coach jobs are extremely rewarding.

You will be entirely satisfied knowing that you are making a difference in your community.

Many people will notice the work you do.

While success is never guaranteed, you can feel good knowing that your efforts can change the world.

3. Freedom

Working as a professional recovery coach gives you a lot of freedom when it comes to getting your career off the ground.

You will make the choice of whether you prefer to work part-time or full-time.

You also have control over your work schedule to fit the needs of your clients and your personal life.

Professional recovery coaches also get to decide whether they would like to work from home, travel, or work from an office.

You can also work over the phone.

The options are endless.

4. Exciting Work

Working as a professional recovery coach never gets boring.

The job is full of excitement and challenges for you to take on.

Addiction is a worldwide problem.

Your clients will come from many different backgrounds.

Your job will be to support those looking for help in defeating their addiction.

Chances are high that their addiction problems are preventing them from living the lives they really want.

It will take a lot of dedication and confidence on your end.

5. Full of Diversity

Every client you help will be different.

Your role will adjust to every client’s needs.

The relationships that you develop with your clients will help you meet their needs.

Your goal will be to help individuals come up with various strategies to help them further meet their desire for recovery.

With that being said, you will need to carefully adjust your treatment method.

The clients you work with will be of different ages and come from different walks of life.

6. Skills Can be Used Elsewhere

Another perk of being a professional recovery coach is that your skills can be utilized in different areas of your life, not just your work life.

Since you are trained in basic intervention, counseling, and addiction treatment, you can utilize these skills to help out family and friends who may be dealing with addiction.

Additionally, these skills can also be applied to a career change in the future if you’re looking to go in a different direction.

7. Potential to Earn More

You can easily increase your earning potential as a recovery coach.

Since most recovery coaches are paid per service, you have the power to charge more than other professionals in identical careers who get paid a set salary.

Many recovery coaches are paid $150 an hour on average.

However, if you are hired by a treatment team, you may earn $25 an hour.

Fortunately, you’ll never lack work, as many people are looking to receive support from people like you.

Cons of Being a Professional Recovery Coach

Here is a list of the cons of being a professional recovery coach:

1. Inadequate Pay

On average, professional recovery coaches earn $20 per hour.

If you are single and without kids, this may be an ideal salary for you.

However, if you have children and a family, you may find this salary inadequate.

With more experience, you can easily increase your pay and advance in your career.

However, there are various factors that determine the final amount of salary you receive, including your educational background, location, and employer.

2. Challenging Clients

Being a recovery coach means you will come across clients who are easy to tolerate and those who are challenging.

Clients can be rude, have bad attitudes, and have too much pride, making your job even more difficult.

Some clients may acknowledge they need help but fail to make any attempt to change.

This may leave you feeling helpless.

Simply put, some clients may not be a perfect match for you.

Instead, they may be better suited for a therapist or another recovery coach.

3. Stressful

Let’s face it.

A job as a recovery coach can put a lot of unwanted stress on you.

It’s easy to allow the problems of your clients to really get to you.

You cannot expect to see immediate progress when dealing with clients who are suffering from addiction.

Recovery is a slow process.

There may even be times when no progress is made.

This can be disheartening, especially after you’ve put in a lot of effort to help your clients.

4. May Experience Empathetic Distress

On your journey to help those suffering from addiction, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with compassion fatigue.

This is a career that reveals other’s traumas.

When you constantly put the needs of your clients before your own, you can drown in that trauma.

The best way to avoid this state of exhaustion and tension is by creating an even balance between your personal life and work life.

5. Mishaps are Common

You can expect a lot of positive results on your journey as a recovery coach.

However, there are also several mishaps that come with the job.

For example, you may be helping a client who shows great progress but suddenly returns to his old ways and experiences a huge setback.

While setbacks are not always permanent, they can drain you.

You may also lose a few clients in the process if they decide to return to their addictive patterns.

Either way, it’s important to learn how to cope with this part of your job.

6. Not a lot of Work-Life Balance

To be successful as a professional recovery coach, you must put forth a lot of effort and energy.

Anything less could result in you abandoning your own needs.

This could put your personal life at risk.

Sooner or later, you’ll realize that you aren’t able to relax or spend time with your own friends and family.

It’s important that you set healthy boundaries from the beginning so that you have an even balance between your work and personal lives.

7. Puts Your Well-Being at Risk

Your main goal as a recovery coach is to help individuals on their road to recovery from substance use addiction.

If you are a recovering addict yourself, you put yourself at huge risk of turning back to your old ways.

For example, it’s possible to form a special relationship with a client who may drag you into his universe.

This is why you must have a lot of strength if you want to become a professional recovery coach to keep you protected against these risks.

Pros and Cons of Being a Professional Recovery Coach – Summary Table

Pros of Being a Professional Recovery Coach	Cons of Being a Professional Recovery Coach
High-Demand	Inadequate Pay
Rewarding Career	Challenging Clients
Freedom	Stressful
Exciting Work	May Experience Empathetic Distress
Full of Diversity	Mishaps are Common
Skills Can be Used Elsewhere	Not a lot of Work-Life Balance
Potential to Earn More	Puts Your Well-Being at Risk

Should you Become a Professional Recovery Coach?

A career as a professional recovery coach is not only interesting but also rewarding.

It enables you to help those who are fighting drug or alcohol addiction.

You will have ample opportunity to meet with people, support them, and evaluate their progress.

But being a professional recovery coach also comes with some drawbacks.

You will have to deal with difficult clients, several setbacks, and a few health risks.

However, if you can get over these hurdles and still show compassion with the work you do, this career may very well be a good match for you.