Although this message is for Ethel I am also sending it via Lactnet because 
I think we get a lot of questions like this.  As I have worked at this for 
over 35 years and moved to another country in the process, perhaps I can 
give you some tips.

Most counsellors start off with the same motivation as you Ethel - to help 
other women lactate after a difficult/amazing/easy/problematic 
breastfeeding experience with their own babies.
You do not say where you live, but I don`t think that counsellors anywhere 
in the world make a lot of money from this profession.  If I had a dollar 
for every "directory enquiries" call I have received during my career , i.e. 
can I recommend a counsellor in another city, where to buy a pump, or those 
questions that can really be answered over the phone (unpaid) I would be a 
millionaire.
But if you really put your soul into this work, it is not always 
cost-effective.

So unless we are lactation consultants in hospitals or combining work as 
clinic or hospital nurses with counselling, most of us don`t give up our day 
jobs for a long time.  I am also a childbirth educator, and it was only 
after my 4 own kids grew up, and we finished paying for education, weddings 
etc. that I could focus on prenatal courses and breastfeeding counselling 
and give up other jobs that gave a more steady income.

I think that the most important first step Ethel is to do a training course 
in breastfeeding counselling with any grass-roots breastfeeding organization 
in your region that is recognized.  I consider IBCLC like a "second degree". 
My impression of IBCLC is that the exam is all-important and that the 
quality of the clinical hours depends on the local supervisors.  There are 
cases where IBCLC counsellors do not have sufficient counselling skills and 
this can happen where the supervisor wants to rush students through the 
exam, and the study and clinical hours get fudged.  I don`t want to 
bad-mouth anyone but this can happen in a hospital department where the 
supervisor is anxious to prove that she has qualified lactation counsellors 
on staff.

In prenatal education and lactation counselling, the art of listening and 
counselling skills are far more important than passing examinations.  Some 
people can read a text-book, memorize it and pass exams.  Others have exam 
phobia and go to pieces even though they know the material.  All the time 
there is new knowledge, new techniques, new ideas so passing an exam is not 
enough if the student doesn`t continue studying by attending conferences and 
study days.

So a lot depends on the personality of the counsellor. And that cannot be 
learned.   It is only by going through a preliminary training course in 
one`s own region, that a tutor can get to know her students and if necessary 
discourage one from continuing if the tutor sees that her attitude is 
judgmental, intrusive, overwhelming or that her social and listening skills 
are weak.

In the Israel Childbirth Education Centre for example, we run training 
courses for breastfeeding counsellors.  These courses are given by IBCLC 
qualified tutors, but the student does not finish the course with IBCLC 
certification.  This is very helpful for childbirth educators, doulas, 
hospital and clinic nurses who want to incorporate breastfeeding in their 
work.
But if they want to set up in business as a lactation counsellor or be 
employed in a health facility officially as such, she is then encouraged to 
go the IBCLC route in the same way as in other professions one might go on 
to do a second degree.

I know that not all Lactnetters will agree with me so I hope you get answers 
also from others.
Good luck
Wendy Blumfield

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ethel Ellison" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 1:25 AM
Subject: Becoming an LC?


>I am interested in becoming an LC in private practice, but need to be very
> careful before starting my education as this would be a complete career
> change for me (from software development), and I am the primary (and often
> the sole) income for a family with very tight finances.  I've been lurking
> on LACTNET to see if this would be an acceptable place to ask some very
> basic questions.  I think it is, although I don't think there is anyone 
> here
> as close to the beginning of the journey as I am (if I decide to do this).
>
> My first question is, what does the journey to becoming an IBCLC look like
> for someone who isn't in the field of health care already?  I have, of
> course, looked at the IBCLE website to see what the pathways are, but I 
> find
> that most of my questions aren't answered.  The pathway that most appeals 
> to
> me is #2, as I learn very efficiently in classroom settings, but I haven't
> been able to find a program that will work near where I live (20 miles 
> north
> of Seattle, WA, USA and happy to commute for an education).  I've also
> looked for distance education Internet courses, but haven't found any.  Am 
> I
> correct in understanding that there are very few programs in lactation
> education that meet the requirements for Pathway 2, and that for most 
> women
> who are not in health or medicine now the only option is really pathway 
> #3?
>
> My next question is, are there any intermediary steps I can take to start
> earning an income in the field of lactation support to pay for the rest of
> my education?  I realize that an education for a profession does not come
> without a cost, and I realize that lots of experience working with mothers
> and babies is key to being a superior LC.  However, because my family
> depends so heavily upon my income, I really need to consider if I can 
> afford
> to invest the unpaid time and the expenses needed to become an LC.  I am
> currently on a contract and will be receiving unemployment when that
> contract ends next March, and probably won't find a new job in a hurry due
> to the economy.  That will give me some room to get started without going
> broke.  However, if I am going to do this instead of focusing on my 
> current
> career, I need to know how soon I can make some money to supplement or
> replace unemployment insurance.
>
> If my hope of being able to start earning an income before I'm done with 
> my
> education isn't realistic - is it possible / reasonable to get the 
> clinical
> experience I will need while working full-time during normal working 
> hours?
> Would I be able to get those hours of experience during the evening or on
> weekends?
>
> I've heard lots of sources say that you will often need to pay someone to
> supervise you while you get your clinical experience.  How much does this
> usually cost?
>
> Finally, is my image of private practice as an IBCLC realistic?  I imagine
> myself earning $20,000 a year or more after expenses doing 30 hours of 
> work
> a week average, plus about 5 to 10 hours a week of continuing education or
> volunteer work.  I imagine myself working out of my own home in the 
> suburbs
> (as opposed to having an office in the city), working primarily evenings 
> and
> weekends, with occasional daytime work by appointment, and making most 
> house
> calls evenings, nights (as in, "Call me at 3 AM!" - something I could have
> used when breastfeeding was an middle-of-the-night LC) or weekends.  I 
> would
> try to do most of my job as house calls, although I would have an office 
> for
> visits in my home, since getting the children to cooperate with making the
> house a pleasant atmosphere probably won't be easy and will require them
> leaving the house with Dad for the duration.  I likely would follow up my
> IBCLC with certification as a post-pardem doula and would try to 
> specialize
> in night support.
>
> My motivations for becoming an LC are (a) to find a more meaningful and
> fulfilling job while meeting my family's financial needs (b) to provide
> mothers with the knowledgable lactation care I wish I'd had so they don't
> have to spend hours hunting online and in books the way I did to find
> adequate information and (c) to have a more flexible job so I can be more
> involved with my own children and so my husband can afford to work
> (childcare expenses virtually erase his income if he works the same hours 
> as
> me).
>
> My breastfeeding experience so far is just nursing my twins to 2.5
> years, and during those years I dealt with late lactogenesis (my milk came
> in 6 days after a needed C-section) and 4 days of supplementation with an
> SNS and finger-feeding, mild nipple-confusion, lactose overload, mild
> thrush, mild repeat mastitis, overactive letdown, nursing strikes,
> oversupply (the root cause of many of the previous issue, I've no doubt),
> return to work at 8 months, pumping (I never got the hang of
> hand-expression), and dealing with excess lipase (my milk soured so my
> children wouldn't eat it if I went 30 minutes without scalding expressed
> milk).
>
> Any other advice you may have is also welcome.  Feel free to reply to me
> off-list.  I really hope that this is not too off-topic, as I know that 
> this
> list is intended for people who are already lactation professionals - if 
> it
> is, I apologize in advance and will not post again unless I succeed in
> becoming a lactation professional myself :-)
>
> Thanks,
> -Ethel
> [log in to unmask]
>
>             ***********************************************
>
> Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
> To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
> Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
> COMMANDS:
> 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: 
> set lactnet nomail
> 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
> 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
> 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet 
> welcome
> 

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome