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female
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36-40,
*ettyBoup
writes:I was wondering, does anyone on here work as a paid agony aunt? And then I guess, come on this site to gain more knowledge/experience? Does anyone know how one would go about gaining paid employment as an agony aunt/advisor? I really love doing this in my spare time and would love to work in the field, even if it were just part time, so I could spend more time doing it guilt free :D I have a therapy(creative expressive) degree as of June and trained as a Samaritans volunteer, so I feel I am qualified. I just don't know where one would go about finding paid work for this, asides from setting up a business :S Just wondered if anyone has any ideas, advice or insider tips ;) Reply to this Question
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reader, anonymous, writes (2 May 2011): They offered me 100k to please go away and never come back. I couldn't do it, though. I ain't cheap.
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female
reader, Dorothy Dix  +, writes (2 May 2011):
Hello again. That what "Aunty Susie" said, about writing to your local newspaper - or you could even call them - to ask about starting up an agony aunt column, does sound good. I never thought of that.Perhaps even going online to some of the many Life Coaching websites around, you could contact them - by email - to ask about the possibility of working for them on a paid basis of course, and what are the basic requirements to make that happen.That's actually a good starting point.You might even suggest to them having a trial first, by working online in their website, on a volunteer basis to see how they like your methods and way of communicating with people with problems.Bearing in mind that a lot of these websites are overseas anyway, so meeting the company face to face would be virtually impossible, as they only work online.So consequently, your main communication with them would be by email.I think I would consider that. It's worth some thought.Another idea is perhaps working for a company - like a charity, for instance - as a paid employee doing basic office work for them. Many charities also have a counselling service (either face to face or over the phone), where people call them to see someone to talk to about issues in their lives. I realize you said you already do this, but it could also be a stepping stone to actual paid work down the line.People have all sorts of problems, as you see here in Dear Cupid, so you could choose what sorts of problems you were most interested in specializing in.For instance, it could be:-(1) Relationships.(2) Budgetting - Teaching people how to manage their money properly. This is a very common problem in many people's lives today - and not just young people either!(3) Helping people find balance in their lives (Work/Life Balance).(4) Family problems.(5) Abusive relationships.(6) Living with someone who has an addiction - drugs, alcohol or gambling.(7) Dealing with depression.(8) Dealing with chronic ill-health.(9) Seeking out a new career.(10) Helping a person to make positive decisions.There are just so many areas a counsellor can help a person to improve their lives and most importantly, to adjust the person's attitude towards their problems.In the meantime while you are trying to work out how you will get into the industry of Counselling / Life Coaching, it might be worthwhile to have a think about in what areas of life you want to specialise in.All of the above areas, are very common in life.But probably the most common one, is relationships. In any case, the counselling / life coaching area is very vast indeed.
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reader, BettyBoup +, writes (30 April 2011):
BettyBoup is verified as being by the original poster of the question Thanks guys.
Dorothy I have done a lot of what you suggested, experience wise. I work as a Samaritans Volunteer, that IS a charity that receives calls from people in disress, feeling suicidal or with an extreme variety of issues. Both the training and experience has done me in good sted. Also I have supported friends with their problems, I do this regularly. And I have been on this site for over 3 years now. I regularly reply and have got a rating of over 8 and am ranked number 9 in top agony aunts. This has made me feel that perhaps I would be good enough to be paid for what I do. I know there are a many, many people with problems they cannot talk openly about with their loved ones, and not everyone is comfortable or able to access this site. Some would perhaps, prefer to use a "professional". I feel my backgroung, my therapeutic degree and experience would qualify to do this work professionally, and I know I would enjoy it and be good at it, as I am genuine in my reasons for this.
As for meeting people face to face, I feel I would need to get a formal counselling qualification for that, as my course has given me an eclectic, and specific to humanistic, person-centered approaches, this degree doesn't qualify me as a "therapist". I would have to continue on to masters level. I however am considering going into teaching. But yes, perhaps a counselling or life coaching qualification might help, at some point. However, like you mentioned, from my experince, face to face counselling is very emotionally draining. I feel I excel in written responses as opposed to face to face due to my natural sensitivity and shyness. This is something I wish to overcome. But as I know written "agony aunt" work is still in demand and still in many published papers and magazines, I am sure I would be able to get some work for written advice or support. I really enjoy my voluntery work and feel rewarded by the hope that I've helped someone, but I know I cannot do this as much as I would like as it currently, "doesn't pay the bills".
Thanks for you ideas and thoughts, and good luck Aunty Susie! I know this work is very specialized and with so many free advice and help sevices out there, the payed jobs are highly sought after I'd imagine, and often had by celebrities! But I still think I have something here that I feel I am "good at" so it would be awsome to do something with it :) Will keep thinking and investigating. Thanks :)
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reader, anonymous, writes (30 April 2011): Contact any local counselling services and your local college. A lot of them offer training. Even if they dont, they may be able to redirect you.
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reader, Dorothy Dix +, writes (30 April 2011):
Hi there. Well on this site, it is all on a volunteer basis.
I think what you said is probably right, by starting up your own business is about the only way to do it and make a living out of it.
What you could do, is begin by working with friends and family to get some experience in all sorts of problems - as well as helping here on Dear Cupid. Certainly, writing on Dear Cupid gives wide experience in many vastly different life issues, so it's a great big learning curve for sure.
Then after working with friends and family with their problems - they can be free of course - then word of mouth (by them), or you could give our some flyers in your local residential area. Another idea is you could place a small ad in your local newspaper, saying what you do and what you specialize in, if you like.
Another idea is you could do some volunteer work - to begin with - with a charity, where people call a number to talk anonymously, about their problems over the phone. That way, you are talking person to person and you are working directly with them. That would be an excellent way of gaining some first-hand experience because you are actually speaking to them and hearing their voices at the time.
Then as you gain more experience, you could gradually do some work out of home or, you could go to your clients, meet them and the 2 of you go for a walk - and talk while you walk.
There are some very good websites about Life Coaches and how they operate and they give some helpful information for people wanting to break into the field.
I'm intending to go into Life Coaching myself soon, and I am gaining some experience from Dear Cupid, because of the many different types of problems people write in with.
I don't really want to do it full time, as I feel it could become emotionally draining if you did too many hours.
I will still be helping out on Dear Cupid, as I really enjoy it.
It is a very enlightening experience, and I honestly have to say I am growing as a person. I find it very personally rewarding.
Check out some of the Life Coaching websites, it is interesting.
Good luck with it and best wishes.
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reader, Aunty Susie +, writes (30 April 2011):
 Just recently, I wrote to the editor of our local newspaper, with the suggestion of starting an 'Agony Aunt' column. I wrote a letter of introduction, selling myself and the idea, much like what you have in you question. Also, I had written a dummy column, questions for example that people might write into the column with, and then my answers. The questions I used, were problems from my own family, for example a problem my niece had, and the advice I then gave her. I had it set out in the format you would expect to see in the paper. This was 10 days, and as yet, no reply! So I can't tell you at this stage if my idea was a good one, or not. Hopefully I will get a response soon. Also, I said in my letter that I was on the Dearcupid.org site as an agony aunt, so that the editor could look at the site to get an idea of what I had been doing. If and when I get a reply, I will let you know what happened ok.
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