For parents · Launch League blog
How much should you pay for a career coach?
By Nick Gonzalez, founder, U.S. Air Force veteranPublished
The short answer
There is no standard price. The International Coaching Federation's 2023 study found coaches in North America reported an average of about 272 US dollars per one-hour session, but most of their clients are managers and executives. Teen career coaching is usually sold as a package, so compare the total and what your teenager will have at the end.
The cost-per-outcome test
Divide the total price by the number of things your teenager will be able to hold at the end: a written plan, named conversations with people in the field, a decision with reasons, something tried. A cheap package that produces nothing costs more per outcome than a pricier one that produces four.
How much should you pay for a career coach? Start with what the numbers measure
The most-quoted coaching prices come from the International Coaching Federation's Global Coaching Study. The 2023 edition, based on 14,591 survey responses from 157 countries, found an average fee of 244 US dollars per one-hour session worldwide, and 272 US dollars in North America.
Before you use those numbers, look at who they describe. In the same study, 56% of coaches said their clients were mostly managers or executives, 57% of clients had their coaching paid for by someone else, usually an employer, and only about one in five clients was under 35. Those averages are about adult business coaching, not a teenager deciding between college, a trade and a degree.
I looked for a reliable published survey of what youth career coaching costs and did not find one I would stand behind. So I'm not going to give you a range. What I can do is explain what moves the price, so you can tell whether a quote is fair for what it includes.
What drives the price of career coaching
The ICF study found that fees rise with a coach's years of experience, with how senior their clients are, and with the share of clients whose employer pays. That last one matters for parents: a coach whose day job is executives billed to companies has prices set by a market you are not in.
Beyond that, these are the things that genuinely change what a coach has to charge:
- Number of sessions and how long each runs.
- Work between sessions: written summaries, reading your teen's tasks, preparing introductions. This is where good coaching spends much of its time.
- Introductions to people in the field. A coach who arranges real conversations is doing work a coach who only talks is not.
- Licensed assessments, which can carry a per-use cost.
- In-person sessions and travel versus video.
- One-to-one versus group. Group coaching costs less per family and gives each teen less individual time.
Hourly, package or report: the three ways coaching is sold
Hourly billing is simple and keeps you in control, but it rewards more sessions rather than a finished result, and it is easy to drift.
A package bundles a fixed number of sessions with defined outputs for one price. It is the most common format for teenagers, and it is easiest to compare, because you can ask exactly what is included.
Assessment-plus-report means your teen completes one or more tests and you receive a written report, sometimes with a debrief session. Reports can be interesting. They rarely change what a teenager does next week, which is why I would not pay for one on its own.
The cost-per-outcome test, worked through
Picture two offers. The first is three sessions and a personality report. The second costs more: six sessions, a written plan in your teen's words, and two arranged conversations with people doing the work.
Count what you'd be holding at the end. The first gives you one report. The second gives you a plan, two named conversations, and probably a decision about which path to test next. Divide each price by those counts and the cheaper option often turns out to be the expensive one.
This is also how I would tell whether any coach, including me, is charging fairly: ask them to name the outputs, then decide whether those outputs are worth the total to your family.
Questions to ask about price before you pay
Get the answers in writing. A coach who prices fairly will not mind.
- What is the total, including tax and any assessment fees?
- What exactly will my teenager have at the end?
- What is the refund policy, and when does it apply?
- If you offer a payment plan, what is the total, and how much more is it than paying once?
- What happens if my teenager misses a session?
- Is anything sold separately later, such as extra sessions or reports?
What Launch League charges, and why it's one price
The Future Ready Sprint is $1,295 plus HST for six weeks of one-to-one coaching over video, with a written plan, at least two conversations with people doing the work, a family wrap-up and a 90-day check-in. There is an instalment option, and the page states the total it comes to, because a family agreeing to instalments is agreeing to a total.
If the first two sessions aren't worth it, you get the whole fee back. If your teenager does the work and doesn't finish with the plan and the two conversations, coaching continues free for up to four more weekly sessions to get there.
When the right amount to spend is nothing
If your teenager already has a direction and the contacts to test it, you don't need a coach. If they'll talk to you honestly and you know two people in the field they're curious about, start there. Spend money on the gap, not on the parts you can already do.
Questions
Quick answers
- Why do some coaches charge so much more than others?
- Experience and clientele, mostly. The ICF's 2023 study found fees climb with years of coaching and with how senior the clients are. A coach who mostly serves executives on company budgets will price accordingly, which tells you little about how they would work with a 16-year-old.
- Is a cheaper career coach a worse one?
- Not necessarily. Price tracks experience and market more than quality with teenagers. Judge by outputs: what your teen will have done and will hold at the end. A modest price with clear outputs beats a high price with vague ones.
- Does a coaching credential raise the price?
- Often, because it costs the coach time and money. An ICF Associate Certified Coach, for example, needs at least 60 hours of coach training and 100 hours of coaching experience. A credential tells you about coaching skill, not whether the coach knows careers or works safely with minors.
- Should I ever pay a coach who promises my teen a job?
- No. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre's advice on job scams is never to pay deposits or fees for a job. A coach can teach your teenager how to look and introduce them to people, but nobody honest sells a job.
Next step
Want help with your teenager's next step?
Read next
Keep reading
Sources: International Coaching Federation, 2023 Global Coaching Study executive summary · International Coaching Federation, credential paths and requirements · Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, job scams. Coaching is not therapy, medical, legal or financial advice.