Expert: Timmy Chou - 11/21/2008

Question
I am currently about to attend college for mediation, as a unexperienced newby in the field i would like to ask you what would be good to major in to be successful in this job field?

Answer
Thank you for your question.

Kudos to you for choosing to work in ADR.  I can tell you that mediation work can be very rewarding and satisfying work.  The ADR profession is still really in its infancy and very little
professional structure exists for practitioners in most states.  Virtually anyone may provide services as a mediator.  However, licensure is offered in many states.

Nearly every state requires some training in order to be
licensed.  Interestingly, few states will forbid you to offer services if you are not state licensed.  For example, a sample of the Virginia licensure code is available here:

http://www.courts.state.va.us/tom/tom.htm

My experience is that effective mediators have taken advantage of some
specific training because the role of a neutral facilitator is quite
different.  Legal advocates and therapists may have to retool their
natural professional approach and behave in some counter-intuitive ways.  Quite a range of training is offered from Master's degrees to specific certificate training (such as ADR in health care settings, for example).  Nova Southeastern offers a PhD as well.

You can seek a degree in ADR, but you are not precluded from pursuing a career in ADR with just about any major you want.

The best online resources are found here:

http://www.mediate.com/

and here:

http://adrr.com/

Other excellent information resources may be found at these professional organization sites:

American Bar Association:

http://www.abanet.org/dispute/home.html

American Arbitration Association:

http://www.adr.org/

You may be able to attend a seminar on ADR through a law school or
through the local court system in your location.  Be sure to check out the ABA site.

The truth is that it is very difficult to "start out" as a mediator or
arbitrator.  Virtually anyone who gets into the field permanently as a
career has come from some other field and is able to rely on related
expertise.  Typically professors, attorneys, people with state department experience, therapists, and consultants have the credibility and financial resources to make a career viable, but almost all of us begin mediation work relying on income from our primary expertise.

Some career paths are emerging in some states through local government and court systems.  These jobs are typically around court-ordered mediation for divorces, smaller business disputes, and often around victim-offender mediation.  They are usually staff level jobs that do not pay tremendous salaries.  Some states and private foundations sponsor and fund quasi-governmental mediation "centers" in a non-profit model.  These are few and far between and it is possible to work or run one of these programs.

If you are committed to this career path, I would encourage you to spend alot of time up-front in as many training venues as possible. Numerous groups sponsor seminars and certificate programs in everything from health care to military mediation.  You may have to volunteer for a long time to do enough mediations yourself to begin to build a credible resume.  If you put a serious oar in the water and jump out there full-speed, you can make things happen, but it will take time.

I know very few practitioners who can rely on income from ADR services
alone and most people (including myself) are primarily motivated by the personal satisfaction of the work itself, rather than any expectation of high income.

Another career path open to ADR students is peacemaking and international mediation and negotiation.  This path is highly academic and will likely involve you in the State Dept. or other governmental agency.  The money here is pretty good, but you are likely to be traveling alot.  The best positions here are highly competitive.  Agencies like HHS often have office of "community dispute resolution" that employ able mediators.

Another extremely useful skill that can jumpstart a mediation career is language proficiency.  If you are fluent in Spanish or Chinese or other high-demand language, you are worth your weight in gold in the mediation field.

Feel free to follow up with any other questions.

Good luck to you!