Cosmetology College

[Diane Lynn]

Today, I got accepted into a cosmetology program at Dorsey Schools. I started thinking about a future for me, and I thought I, as a woman would like to work in the cosmetology field, as either a manicurist, our a makeup artist. I don't want to work sales, or a shop, and am no longer interested in doing Graphic Designing. I am not sure about college at 51, as I would take on about 18,000 in student loans.

[Andy66]

Congratulations! Look into grants. scholarships and whatever you can, beccause thats alot of loan.

[Chari]

Good for you Diane! IMO it is never too late to continue your education, and knowledge is a commodity that can never be taken away from you! Consider asking some professionals in the fields that interest you, as to how & where they learned their techniques. Enjoy.

[Cheryl123]

Yes go for it Diane! Don't look at the obstacles. You've taken the biggest step. Look for scholarships and the possibility of working in a salon as a helper while going to school. There's always a way .. and I know this would make you happy. That's what it's really all about, isn't it?

[kimdl93]

Have you looked into the earnings potential? I have no idea what the market is, but $18,000 sounds like a lot to pay off.

[Diane Lynn]

They tell me it would Dr a 10 year term, and if I am having trouble with the payment amount, they will work with me with a payment I can afford.

I just had a idea. A safe place for CD' s for advice, and maybe a exchange room. Have woman bring Bentley used cloths and take one they like.

[TNRobin]

Funny thing, I was actually thinking the same thing that you are now. In TN a nail technician (fancy term for a manicurist) has to have 600 hours of training, so that's about 8-10 thousand here. Hair is out, since I'm a paraplegic, and being in a wheelchair I don't think that many clients would want to sit on the floor when I got to the top of their head! LOL

I'm 52, so we're in the same boat. I already retired once from the military and my current career doesn't lend itself well to being transgendered. Due to forum rules I can't mention what it is though...seriously.

Enough about me, sorry about that. Congratulations and the best of luck to you. By the way, I used to date a woman that lived in Lansing. My best friend was raised there.

[Eryn]

The sticking point is the tuition and loans. Make sure that there are jobs out there for which that particular school will prepare you. Don't take the school's word for it. They're in business to make money and as soon as the loan is made and the money is in their hands they don't really care what happens to you. Talk to people in the business and find out how they broke into it. Lots of vocational students these days believe those daytime TV commercials are left with big loans to pay off and skills that aren't really salable.

Have you considered electrology? If there isn't competition nearby you could do very well at that.

[josee]

I have been attending the local Paul Mitchell academy since September, 2 months after I went full time. It is the best thing I have ever done.
After 20 years as an HVAC tech, I needed something different.
A good cosmetologist can make decent money if you apply yourself and salons everywhere are constantly hiring. Especially the chain salons.

[TNRobin]

Eryn, good point on electrology. In TN it only requires 300 hours to satisfy the schooling requirement, versus 600 for nails and 1500 for cosmetology as a whole. There seems to be a high demand, as I had to do some searching to find one, and I make my appointments months out to insure that I have an appointment. That might be something for someone else to seriously consider. For me, I just don't have that much interest in the field, not as far as working in it. I don't know where I'm going career wise, but I'm a research nut when it comes to checking anything out first. Everyone should be just to insure that jobs are out there when they finish.

By the way, Josee, we have a Paul Mitchell Academy here where I live. An acquaintance of mine finished a couple of months ago and had no problem at all getting a job. She had planned to keep the job that she had and take her time looking for something in a salon, but she had enough offers with enough money that she couldn't turn it down. That's the sum total of my experience with them, but I'd have to say that they seem to be a highly regarded school.

[Eryn]

...good point on electrology. In TN it only requires 300 hours to satisfy the schooling requirement, versus 600 for nails and 1500 for cosmetology as a whole....For me, I just don't have that much interest in the field, not as far as working in it.

One should only prepare for a field that one will enjoy!

I know from my electrologist that her entire livelihood depends upon good vision and eye-hand coordination. Electrologists often experience back problems from leaning over their clients for so long. The upside is that you're helping people look better and the work atmosphere is quite pleasant.

The money is also far better than cosmetology. Not many hairdressers are making $50 or $80 an hour as electrologists do. Even here in SoCal, my electrologist's main problem is not having enough hours in her appointment book to handle the demand.

[Nicole Erin]

Yeah I learned the hard way about cosmetology.
The reaon salons are always hiring is cause they cannot keep anyone around. Chain salons pay a little more than minimum. Independent salons (which almost always call themselves "upscale" or "high end") are really running a hustle. I worked for one prick who offered NO base wage, wanted the workers to hustle people on the streets, and kept 60% of our earnings. Of course he is one of the biggest pricks in the salon industry around here. That job lasted one week.

Anyways if someone is wanting to get into cosmetology thinking it is the best bet for a TS, please do your homework. Aside Mr Crook, I was not able to get hired anywhere even though most of those i went to school with got into SOME kind of salon.

As much as the world hates big corporations, it really is best to just work for them. They are providing job opportunities and abiding by employment laws where the mom and pop shops are doing their own thing.

[Brooklyn]

I'm a few weeks from finishing cosmetology school. Cosmo is 80% about hair, so if you're more interested in nails and makeup, def look into the shorter programs for nail techs and estheticians. As far as a niche market on T-people, almost every salon is T-friendly if you pay for service, and most trans people are saving their money for other things.

[TNRobin]

I don't have any expectation that I'll ever get rich doing nails, regardless of where I go, but I'm doing fine as far as funds go already, so that's not a big concern with me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not rich, just happy and comfortable, at least until all of the bills start coming in for the myriad of surgeries in my future. LOL

The business that I own now means that what I make is mine, after paying for more tooling and machinery, electricity and whatnot, so it's by the job, not the hour, but if I was to break it down into an hourly thing then it would come out way, way ahead of what I'll make doing nails. But there's almost no one on one interaction with people. In the years that I've been doing this I've only met maybe 1/2 dozen of the people that paid me for my work. I'd like to break out of that and spend some time out in public working with the public. Most of the people that I know at the local salon where I seem to spend a large part of my personal time, and a nice chunk of money as well, know that I'm transgendered and not a single one of them batted an eye or skipped a beat when I told them, and I'm in the midst of the bible belt! YIKES!!! :rulez: Just pretend that the rule book is a bible.