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Hello! My name is Emily and I am a current high school student. I'm conducting an interview with any professional in the hair stylist field for a Foundations in Health Science Class project about careers! I have created a total of 13 questions. Comment on this post, answering all 13 questions to be a part of my assignment.
1. What profession did you choose? Why?
2. How many years of college did you go through?
3. What jobs did you work on before you landed your present professional job?
4. How can I decide if I should earn a PH.D. in this field?
5. Were you in a college program?
6. Did you have to pivot and go back to school at a later date?
7. Did you shadow another professional in the field?
8. Did you join any school clubs related to your current profession?
9. Was there a particular subject you struggled with during your school years?
10. What skill sets did you learn or gain while pursuing your career?
11. How do you keep manage your personal and professional life?
12. How many hours do you work in a day?
13. How long will you maintain this profession?
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Katherine’s Answer
I’m Katie, a licensed cosmetologist in Florida…
1) I chose esthetics because of my passion for skin care and technology. I grew up with a lot of acne and hyperpigmentation due to scarring and I wanted to learn more about the skin so that I could not only treat myself but also others.
2) Depends on your state! In the state of Florida, we don’t have an esthetician license, it’s a skin therapist, full specialist, or cosmetologist license. For a skin therapist, it’s 260 hours which can be approximately 3-4 months. For a full specialist, it’s 400 hours, which is about 4-6 months. For a cosmetology license, it’s 1200 hours which is 10 months to a year. I chose cosmetology because not only did I learn about skin, but I learned about hair treatments that I could do during a facial service!
3) During cosmetology school, I worked at Charlotte Russe and Ulta Beauty. These jobs taught me communication skills and customer service skills, VERY important for the beauty industry. It also showed me how to relate to customer’s needs and recommend the most appropriate products based off of their situation. After I got my license, I worked as an apprentice esthetician technician and assistant manager for 18 months. Not only did this give me hands on experience, but it gave me business experience on how to start up a business of my own. Currently, I’m still in the process of starting up my esthetics business, so right now I work as a laser technician (not in the beauty industry, in the defense industry due to my education in engineering and photonics).
4) Look at your options! If you want to be a Ph.D. in Florida, you’ll have to go the dermatologist route which is about 8-12 years of schooling plus residency. Estheticians work alongside dermatologists to provide treatments, so these are called medical estheticians and that’s something you can’t go to school for, that’s a job you find through a dermatologist office or wellness spa. These estheticians do more chemical peels, VI peels, and laser / IPL treatments because they need a medical professional to approve some of these treatments. I know that for the IPL, if you buy a commercial grade device, you do not need a medical director to approve it. So my best advice would be to do research!
5) Yes I was! I went to Daytona State College and I was doing a double major; Cosmetology and Industrial Management Technology which is a hybrid of business and engineering A.S. degree. Cosmetology was my technical portion. Because of my degree path, I was eligible for a free entrepreneurship program that was about 2 months long and towards the end of my cosmetology schooling. That course taught me so much and I’m very happy I got a business degree because it teaches you how to become your own business and how to market yourself.
6) Yes! Currently, I’m in college for photonics and electrical engineering and I do esthetics as a hobby until my course load lightens up, which will give me time to start up my business. I decided to go back to school because I learned about photonics while doing light therapy as an esthetician. Since going back to school, I know so much more about different types of light therapy and photonics based services that I can offer.
7) Yes! While I was in school, I shadowed more of the hair side at a salon near my college, but realized that I wanted to blend hair and skin and do more technological based treatments and that salon didn’t suit that due to the clientele. So, I went to a salon and spa closer to my home and that’s when I became an apprentice and assistant manager for 18 months. I decided to go on my own for two reasons: to go back to school and to specialize in what I wanted to do.
8) It wasn’t a club, but my instructor offered extra training after class for skin care and I attended that.
9) Nails, hair styling, and hair extensions! I’m absolutely horrible at it 😂. In terms of skin, I think lash extensions because of how meticulous it is, but the more you practice, the better!
10) Communication, customer service, time management, budgeting, basic software skills, financial, marketing/business proposals, protocol management, inventory, microdermabrasion, micro-needling, micro current, hydrodermabrasion, IPL (commercial), high frequency, radio frequency (RF), ultrasonic skin treatments, keratin treatments (hair and skin), lash lifting and tinting, lash extensions, brow tinting and lamination, brow and face waxing, extractions, light therapy, pH balance, ingredient knowledge, and skin analysis.
11) Do your research on schools, take business courses, and don’t be afraid to step into other fields to help you stand out in the beauty industry since there’s so much competition.
12) My work environment was a bit more laid back; casual wear and no uniforms. I worked for a medical esthetician, and there was only the two of us, so very small working environment. The clientele was also laid back and ranged from young adults to the elderly
13)Performance anxiety and learning to branch off on your own. Even though I’m 22, I knew it was time for me to start my own business
1) I chose esthetics because of my passion for skin care and technology. I grew up with a lot of acne and hyperpigmentation due to scarring and I wanted to learn more about the skin so that I could not only treat myself but also others.
2) Depends on your state! In the state of Florida, we don’t have an esthetician license, it’s a skin therapist, full specialist, or cosmetologist license. For a skin therapist, it’s 260 hours which can be approximately 3-4 months. For a full specialist, it’s 400 hours, which is about 4-6 months. For a cosmetology license, it’s 1200 hours which is 10 months to a year. I chose cosmetology because not only did I learn about skin, but I learned about hair treatments that I could do during a facial service!
3) During cosmetology school, I worked at Charlotte Russe and Ulta Beauty. These jobs taught me communication skills and customer service skills, VERY important for the beauty industry. It also showed me how to relate to customer’s needs and recommend the most appropriate products based off of their situation. After I got my license, I worked as an apprentice esthetician technician and assistant manager for 18 months. Not only did this give me hands on experience, but it gave me business experience on how to start up a business of my own. Currently, I’m still in the process of starting up my esthetics business, so right now I work as a laser technician (not in the beauty industry, in the defense industry due to my education in engineering and photonics).
4) Look at your options! If you want to be a Ph.D. in Florida, you’ll have to go the dermatologist route which is about 8-12 years of schooling plus residency. Estheticians work alongside dermatologists to provide treatments, so these are called medical estheticians and that’s something you can’t go to school for, that’s a job you find through a dermatologist office or wellness spa. These estheticians do more chemical peels, VI peels, and laser / IPL treatments because they need a medical professional to approve some of these treatments. I know that for the IPL, if you buy a commercial grade device, you do not need a medical director to approve it. So my best advice would be to do research!
5) Yes I was! I went to Daytona State College and I was doing a double major; Cosmetology and Industrial Management Technology which is a hybrid of business and engineering A.S. degree. Cosmetology was my technical portion. Because of my degree path, I was eligible for a free entrepreneurship program that was about 2 months long and towards the end of my cosmetology schooling. That course taught me so much and I’m very happy I got a business degree because it teaches you how to become your own business and how to market yourself.
6) Yes! Currently, I’m in college for photonics and electrical engineering and I do esthetics as a hobby until my course load lightens up, which will give me time to start up my business. I decided to go back to school because I learned about photonics while doing light therapy as an esthetician. Since going back to school, I know so much more about different types of light therapy and photonics based services that I can offer.
7) Yes! While I was in school, I shadowed more of the hair side at a salon near my college, but realized that I wanted to blend hair and skin and do more technological based treatments and that salon didn’t suit that due to the clientele. So, I went to a salon and spa closer to my home and that’s when I became an apprentice and assistant manager for 18 months. I decided to go on my own for two reasons: to go back to school and to specialize in what I wanted to do.
8) It wasn’t a club, but my instructor offered extra training after class for skin care and I attended that.
9) Nails, hair styling, and hair extensions! I’m absolutely horrible at it 😂. In terms of skin, I think lash extensions because of how meticulous it is, but the more you practice, the better!
10) Communication, customer service, time management, budgeting, basic software skills, financial, marketing/business proposals, protocol management, inventory, microdermabrasion, micro-needling, micro current, hydrodermabrasion, IPL (commercial), high frequency, radio frequency (RF), ultrasonic skin treatments, keratin treatments (hair and skin), lash lifting and tinting, lash extensions, brow tinting and lamination, brow and face waxing, extractions, light therapy, pH balance, ingredient knowledge, and skin analysis.
11) Do your research on schools, take business courses, and don’t be afraid to step into other fields to help you stand out in the beauty industry since there’s so much competition.
12) My work environment was a bit more laid back; casual wear and no uniforms. I worked for a medical esthetician, and there was only the two of us, so very small working environment. The clientele was also laid back and ranged from young adults to the elderly
13)Performance anxiety and learning to branch off on your own. Even though I’m 22, I knew it was time for me to start my own business
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