What it's Like to Be: A Dating Consultant

Consultancy is one of the best ways to make a living right now. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the consulting industry is expected to grow by 83 percent from 2008 through 2018. It seems everyone wants expert advice when it comes to managing their money, marketing their business and, apparently, improving their love lives.

Thomas Edwards, a 24-year-old from Boston, specializes in the latter. Technically "a dating and lifestyle strategist," Edwards describes his business, The Professional Wingman, as "a company that helps men and women enhance their dating and social lives" and says his main goal is to increase his clients' odds of attracting -- and retaining -- the opposite sex.