To ask what made up jobs you have come across?

[Thatsnotmygame]

Mine are;

Resilience coach
Life coaches
Rewind therapy - potentially dangerous too
Health coach

I’m sure theres loads more

@stuntbubbles

Erm Career coach is an actual job. It's a profession with professional qualifications and a professional body which validates the qualifications which go up to master level. But made-up jobs do that too. Look at Younique and other bollocks MLMs, they’ll all claim to be part of the professional MLM body, “presenters” “qualify” to “purple status” and other nonsense.

These are in no way comparable. You can't seriously be comparing being a professionally qualified careers adviser/coach with MLM. How ridiculous and quite frankly clueless about what a professional body actually is.

The professional body for careers advisers/careers coaches require you be be qualified to a particular level to be included on their professional register and these approved qualifications are only offered by specific accredited training providers and universities. To work as a careers professional in a school or college the government recommend you are qualified to a minimum of level 6 (degree level) and universities ask for level 7 which is a postgraduate qualification.
The professional body work with, and advise the government on related policy, legal requirements and statutory guidance. The provide briefing papers, conduct research and provide professional training. They also accredit professional qualifications.

So definitely a real job with a fully functioning professional body.

@RaraRachael

Mindfulness mentor - no idea what that is.

Influencer - I find it sad that people hang on every word and are actually influenced by people who document every minute of their boring lives on Instagram. I know someone who does this and I can't think why she thinks anyone cares about her timelapse videos of tidying the house, "Ask me anything about my holiday in Dubai" or pieces to camera showing just how needy and desperate for attention she is

Never heard of a mindfulness mentor but again, mindfulness is a hugely beneficial approach which has a lot of evidence to support its use in different settings.

I've got a level 6 qualification in careers advice.

Very much not a "made up" job.

@ilovesooty

I've got a level 6 qualification in careers advice.

Very much not a "made up" job.

It's so depressing how undervalued the sector is.

@pointless12345

NHS have put money in lifestyle coaches to come into Gp surgeries. It's honestly so pointless and wasted money. Also social prescriber, someone who tells patients who to ring if they feel lonely, gives out CAB number, housing issues. Another pointless NHS waste of money.

Disagree about the social prescribers - the ones I know are bloody brilliant. Support people to find voluntary services, link in with befriending, and all sorts of other services that you wouldn't find unless you looked in the right place on the internet. For a lot of older people who aren't online, they are hugely useful and release time for GPS / nurses to do clinical work when someone's main problem is social rather than health specific.

Homeopath. Although also a professional job with professional qualifications and a professional body

Any job that commoditises something natural and normal that anyone with an ounce of savvy and common sense should be doing anyway but seems incapable unless they hand some quack £££ for the privilege. Forest bathing co-ordinator, ffs, just go for a fecking walk in the woods. It doesn’t need to cost you £20. My pal actually wanted to set up in business with me doing this - the look on my face must’ve said it all.

The coaching business has definitely been tarnished by social media and MLMS. However I understand that it can be legit.

My Instagram is full of women in their early 20s, claiming to be business or life coaches. Asking for extortionate prices for their 1-1s, or asking for thousands for their online course which is usually just telling people how they can also do life coaching or sell courses.

NHS brand manager

@Mreggsworth

The coaching business has definitely been tarnished by social media and MLMS. However I understand that it can be legit.

My Instagram is full of women in their early 20s, claiming to be business or life coaches. Asking for extortionate prices for their 1-1s, or asking for thousands for their online course which is usually just telling people how they can also do life coaching or sell courses.

The key is to look at qualifications and credentials. There's a huge difference between a qualified careers coach who has completed an MA in Career Coaching/Guidance/Development, has professional accreditation and is on the professional register and someone who has either no qualifications or whose qualifications aren't professionally recognised.

Reiki therapist - there’s one near me who started doing online consultations during lockdown which I thought was hilarious.
Also homeopaths.

There is a great book called Bullshit jobs which explains why so many jobs add so little value to their organisation (and why they exist)
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B077T7HQM6/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

The only life coaches I know are also the same ones who do MLMs.

Snap!

Influencer

Entrepreneur ( the MLM variety not the Bill Gates type)

And as another said up thread a Doula, obviously they seems very important to a lot of families but genuine question what do they do that a midwife or birth partner doesn’t? It’s it a totally different level of medical care that the NHS can’t fund ( similar to going private but without the price tag)

Video conference coordinator.
Not the official title, but what someone' i knows job was reduced to at one point during the pandemic. It had to be someone senior enough to have the security clearance to attend...

Blue-chin, what about personal trainers, surely one can just go for a run in the park

Archbishop
Astrologer
Queen
Reflexologist

Earth Angel, she comes to your home, declutters and cleans up for £40 an hour. (I'm assuming some possible sexual services on the side for that price).
Quality initiative project manager at our council, £36k (was given to a young lass with no qualifications other than her Dad is her boss).

@anniegun

There is a great book called Bullshit jobs which explains why so many jobs add so little value to their organisation (and why they exist) ]]

That book is awful!! If this subject interests you then the research that is being carried out around 'decent work' is far better and written by people who know what they're talking about.

I was really sceptical about coaching but agreed to be a guinea pig for a colleague who was taking a coaching qualification. And it was amazing - really helped me to see things differently and what I took from it has changed my life and career for the better.

But that was a rigorous qualification with a set amount of 'practice' and a standard to be reached. It wasn't one of the more dubious coaching things I've seen advertised eg on Facebook.

I've come across a social prescriber - she was actively researching groups that someone with depression may be interested in attending and would then support them to attend. It seemed like a good idea as not everyone has the umph or the internet skills (especially when depressed!) to find that out for themselves.

On my list of dubious jobs:
Lactation consultant - purports to be educated to a certain standard but I've had terrible advice from two qualified ones (one made my baby very ill) and seen more dubious stuff online from some of them. Apparently the average salary is £43k?! And there doesn't seem to be any comeback for harm caused by their dubious advice .

Professional decluttering is not a made-up job. My MiL had held on to so many things that their flat was becoming a health hazard. She and my FiL were both miserable with the situation and wanted it sorted but she just didn't know where to start and the more she put it off the worse the situation became. The family clubbed together to get a declutterer in and she was great, she helped my MiL work out what was actually important to her and threw away/donated/sold the rest. They have a cleaner who comes in once a week which helps keep on top of the tidying and everybody is much happier.

Interior design actually is a very hard job and it is a degree, it takes more than just selecting bits and pieces. The problem is that it is not regulated in the UK, everyone can just call themselves interior designer, in other countries it is, you have to be qualified

I came on to say that I've found Social Prescribers very useful, then saw several others have already said it. So just adding my support for Social Prescribers!

There is a big explosion of 'online business coaches' on my facebook at the moment - absolutely loads of them. And all have taglines like "I help coaches create impact and wealth through brand design" or "Holistic life coach helping awakened women to consciously create the life they were born to live" (those are real, and the first two examples I came across). I can't put my finger on it - is it another form of MLM?

Bramble picker