What do you do if your daughter wants to drop out of college and go to cosmetology school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The dummies responding encouraging this are as bad as the idiots who claim dropping out of college isn't the worst idea while citing Bill Gates and Zuckerberg [genius IQ autistic computer whizzes who dropped out of HARVARD!].

Service industry is full of broken dreams and regrets and substance abuse.

You can always pay for college later when she has the interest. Remember, this is a kid who doesn't study much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The dummies responding encouraging this are as bad as the idiots who claim dropping out of college isn't the worst idea while citing Bill Gates and Zuckerberg [genius IQ autistic computer whizzes who dropped out of HARVARD!].

Service industry is full of broken dreams and regrets and substance abuse.

I've had two hair stylists who went back to college and received degrees after being stylists for a while. One became a teacher, the other an accountant.

They both went back to doing hair because (1) they could make more money as a stylist and (2) schedule their own working hours to be their for their kids whenever they needed.

If she really thinks this is a better path for her, dropping out now is better than wasting all that money four years later. She can always go back to college in a year if she figures out it's not for her.

[Anonymous]

I never finished college. Have 2yrs under my belt. I'm a 40yr old woman and was just looking at my last pay stub and will close the year out at 305k. Highest year yet. College is not the end all be all. My boys are required to mow lawns, rake leaves, and shovel snow my 14yr old saved 8k just this year doing this.

Soft skills are what will propel you ahead in life. I manage a bunch of young millenials and it's a very rare day that one of them impresses me. I have no idea what the hell they are learning in college. Doesn't seem like much. All i know is they require everything to be spoon fed its like figuring things out on their own and being resourceful is a rare capability.

My advice if you go into a "blue collar" job is own the business, don't work at somwone else's business. Be smart. Save the money you were going to spend on tuition. Let her learn her trade well, work at a well run salon, observe observe observe and then help her open her own salon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, FWIW, I have two degrees. My hairdresser has two houses. I have one. She put her two kids through college and grad school. I have *no clue* how I will be able to do that as I am still paying my student loans. She and her husband travel quite frequently. They have a pretty good life. Don't sneeze at a "trade".

The only caveat re: any profession that requires you to use your body is that you need to prepare to retire earlier than someone who sits at a desk all day. So your daughter will need to be prepared for that.

NP. I have a hairdresser who is in a similar financial position. She is doing extremely well financially and she loves her job. She has many high-flying clients and she is sought after in her industry. She thrives on interacting with her clients and being creative. She walks into a room and she commands attention because of her success and her abilities.

But she also has a ton of hidden costs and demands. A big one is that she has to be "on" 10 hours a day. If she is at the shop or at a location she has to be totally "there". She doesn't get do-overs and she doesn't get to be snippy when some entitled brat has a spaz attack. She pays out the wazoo for individual health insurance. She gets no paid time off. If she takes a vacation day it is lost revenue. A parent is very ill and she doesn't feel she can take time to be with the parent because of the lost revenue (which is helping pay some of the mom's bills) and what if the illness gets worse and then she really needs to take time off...

Now, again, she loves her job and her career. Where she is right now is exactly where she wanted to be when she started out all those years ago. And her profession gave her some flexibility when she needed it when her children were young because she could leave and enter the job market pretty easily.

However, if you asked her she would tell you that her one regret is that she doesn't have a fallback degree, which would open some doors for her if she wanted to shift out the profession. She has sporadically "gone to college" by taking some classes but it is hard to do that in her career. She pretty much has to be there at the shop 10 hours a day because she needs to be at the shop when her clients can be there. That makes getting a degree really hard because class times don't usually start at 6 or 7 am OR at 9 or 10 pm. And, yes, there is online, but that also is hard if you're not used to taking courses and navigating your way through the system.

So, OP, I don't have any good advice except maybe to encourage your daughter to get a job at a salon as a receptionist. She can work there part-time as she finishes the Spring semester at her current school and maybe she can also work at a salon during the summer. As she is there, she will be talking with the stylists and other personnel, and that may help her make choices with a better understanding of what will be the best path for her. I'll be honest that my inclination and hope would be that she would come to the realization that maybe sticking it out for 2 more years would be her best option because it is good to have options down the road ...

Good luck, OP! It sounds like you have a nice kid and I wish her well!

[Anonymous]

One further thought, OP. I am 8:03. Is your daughter making this choice out of desire or desperation? There is a difference.

Desperation is if your daughter is not feeling successful at college then she may be reaching out for something else. And she may be hoping that this something else might be easier or that she will somehow / someway be more successful at that instead of college.

Desire is doing something that is so engrained in you that it is a natural extension of who you are. My hairdresser played "hairdresser" starting when she was 3 or 4. She has always been playing with hair and make-up and clothes and style. It is what she thrives on.

What would your daughter say if you asked her if she was making this choice out of desire or desperation? It might be worth it to ask.

Has your daughter gone in to talk to the academic advising center at her college? Maybe they can help her figure out 1) a better course selection / major that matches her interests, and 2) occupations that will be interesting and fulfilling for her (of which, of course, cosmetology may be one).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The dummies responding encouraging this are as bad as the idiots who claim dropping out of college isn't the worst idea while citing Bill Gates and Zuckerberg [genius IQ autistic computer whizzes who dropped out of HARVARD!].

Service industry is full of broken dreams and regrets and substance abuse.

So are law, medicine, and finance. What industry isn't? Those problems do not discriminate.

[Anonymous]

OP, get curious about what your daughter is telling you. What is it that is appeals to her about this plan? Ask her that before anything else. I can imagine a whole range of answers, each of which might lead to further questions. Does she like the connection to beauty and fashion? (Would there be ways to pursue that interest in a four-year college?) Does she want to get out from under the weight of classes that just don't interest her? (What will she do to ensure that she doesn't have the same problem in cosmetology school?) Is the idea of having a clear path what is appealing? (Are there other possibilities that might do that, too? Has she explored "vocational" majors--like nursing or education--at her school?)

[Anonymous]

Agree if she is talented she can do well. Could own her own salon. Make her take business mgmt courses at the local community college, too.

[Anonymous]

I would want to make sure that she understood the possible consequences of dropping out. Not studying much is fine but is she a hard worker? If she is not then a trade will not save her.

[Anonymous]

I would suggest to her to finish out the year and get a part time job in a salon washing hair, sweeping floors and cleaning up to see if that is the environment that she really wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The dummies responding encouraging this are as bad as the idiots who claim dropping out of college isn't the worst idea while citing Bill Gates and Zuckerberg [genius IQ autistic computer whizzes who dropped out of HARVARD!].

Service industry is full of broken dreams and regrets and substance abuse.

Wtf?

Hair dressers In upscale salons have awesome careers and make great money.

They are also very unlikely to be replaced by robots. People go to their hairdresser for tyeraphy as much as a good sut and style.

If OPs daughter is good with people and knows how to get others to talk about themselves as well as good enough of a stylist to make them feel beautiful, she will always have work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My eyebrow girl probably makes $200k a year.

Yes until she screws up a rich person's eyebrows or someone has an allergic reaction and she gets sued or maybe au natural eyebrows come back in.

OP, if you can afford it I say have her get the degree and take courses that might help her like business. They let her go that direction. It will help her in life sadly. When she's dating (be it men or women) a lot of people won't give the time of day to her if she didn't go to college. I'm just the messenger folks...thought I would say that proactively....don't shoot the messenger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One further thought, OP. I am 8:03. Is your daughter making this choice out of desire or desperation? There is a difference.

Desperation is if your daughter is not feeling successful at college then she may be reaching out for something else. And she may be hoping that this something else might be easier or that she will somehow / someway be more successful at that instead of college.

Desire is doing something that is so engrained in you that it is a natural extension of who you are. My hairdresser played "hairdresser" starting when she was 3 or 4. She has always been playing with hair and make-up and clothes and style. It is what she thrives on.

What would your daughter say if you asked her if she was making this choice out of desire or desperation? It might be worth it to ask.

Has your daughter gone in to talk to the academic advising center at her college? Maybe they can help her figure out 1) a better course selection / major that matches her interests, and 2) occupations that will be interesting and fulfilling for her (of which, of course, cosmetology may be one).

This. My stylist has a degree from a pretty prestigious school. She comes from an affluent family of professionals. She just seems to be super passionate about doing hair. I think she loves her job. If it's something your daughter really wants to do rather than an escape hatch from college I think that's a different thing.

[Anonymous]

Tell her to finish college first and then tell her that you will pay for cosmetology school (and maybe something else) and support her fully.
It’s good for your life to go to college (career wise in case she changes her mind, brain wise as higher level thinking skills are also a good thing , maybe future spouse wise and just being able to relate to your future kids who might like school more) but there’s no shame in cosmetology either if that makes her happy.
Just tell her to get a degree first. All she has to do is pass .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The dummies responding encouraging this are as bad as the idiots who claim dropping out of college isn't the worst idea while citing Bill Gates and Zuckerberg [genius IQ autistic computer whizzes who dropped out of HARVARD!].

Service industry is full of broken dreams and regrets and substance abuse.

So are law, medicine, and finance. What industry isn't? Those problems do not discriminate.

Ha! So true. I’m a lawyer and as soon as I read that I thought...wait until you hear about the legal field!