Anonymous wrote:My niece does this in DC (cuts and coloring). 28 years old and making $125,000 a year. Not bad. Did an apprenticeship program through PR Partners while in school before getting licensed. Worked there for 3 years and then went out on her own.

Excellent choice. Plus: cosmetology is virtually AI-proof.

Anonymous wrote:My niece does this in DC (cuts and coloring). 28 years old and making $125,000 a year. Not bad. Did an apprenticeship program through PR Partners while in school before getting licensed. Worked there for 3 years and then went out on her own.

Same for my cousin.

She was making 6 figures a few years out of training. This was in a low cost midwest area

She is very pretty and personable. Women wanted to look like her, lived talking to her, and she made them feel pretty, so she got a ton of business.

If she is smart and good at her job, and presents herself well, she can make a ton of money doing this career.

Anonymous wrote:My niece does this in DC (cuts and coloring). 28 years old and making $125,000 a year. Not bad. Did an apprenticeship program through PR Partners while in school before getting licensed. Worked there for 3 years and then went out on her own.

That’s awesome. And many people on the side go to people’s homes to do hair/makeup for bridal parties, proms, etc and make a lot of money. Great flexibility.

Anonymous wrote:Beauty school dropout?

Stfu

Anonymous wrote:Can't they just watch the plethora of Insta influencers online??

There are licensing requirements of certain numbers of hours of training and apprenticing.

My niece does this in DC (cuts and coloring). 28 years old and making $125,000 a year. Not bad. Did an apprenticeship program through PR Partners while in school before getting licensed. Worked there for 3 years and then went out on her own.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can't they just watch the plethora of Insta influencers online??

That won't get you a license. There's a lot of work required prior to even taking the exam, and not all of that work is due solely from cosmetology schools and aestheticians trying to set up barriers to entry.

Note that there are also apprenticeship programs for nail techs and some others. Know some people who went that route. Gives you a chance to get a feel for the business before you sink too much money and time into it. Which I know because some people went off that route. Better to learn, before you sink 5 grand into coursework, that you don't like feet.

Anonymous wrote:Can't they just watch the plethora of Insta influencers online??

That won't get you a license. There's a lot of work required prior to even taking the exam, and not all of that work is due solely from cosmetology schools and aestheticians trying to set up barriers to entry.

*strongly* recommend also looking at the nonpayment rates by institution when determining which schools are worth attending. You do have to adjust for schools that are of recent origin; a school that opened five years ago hasn't had time for that that many of its students to go into default.

https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2025-07-23/nonpayment-rates-institution-default-prevention-resource-nslds-delinquent-borrower-report

Some of the cosmetology schools do far better than others. A handful have the default rates of mid-tier colleges, but most are in the 30% range, or worse. As always, much of this comes from the population that typically attends.

Beauty school dropout?

List of VA cosmetology schools: https://www.associatedhairprofessionals.com/cosmetology-school-directory/virginia/list

Can't they just watch the plethora of Insta influencers online??

there is an Aveda school in Arlington.

Does anyone have a list of schools my daughter can start looking at? I’m clueless. I’d like her to stay local but willing to look outside NOVA too.