Cosmetology School Sparks Passion in Career Changers

Across the country, people are finding themselves out of work or unsatisfied with their current career. No matter the case, the result is the same: thousands upon thousands pursuing new skills and new credentials to help find something new and better. Trade schools are among the most popular back-to-school options, and among those, cosmetology schools are seeing the most action of them all.

This week, the New York Daily News explores the success of cosmetology schools, specifically the midtown location of the popular Empire Beauty college chain. One student they follow, Kym Lawrence, is a single mom from the Bronx currently reporting to a job that’s lucrative by any standards — an electrician by day, she pulls down a cool $95,000 per year. So why is she going to beauty school by night? It isn’t for the cash, but for something more personal: “Being an electrician is great because it’s big money,” she says, “but it’s not heartfelt.”

It’s a phenomenon that has caught the attention of directors at Empire. There are plenty of reasons to go back to school, and cosmetology school is a great choice — jobs in “the personal appearance field” are expected to grow 14% by 2016, faster than most occupations — but for an overwhelming number of students, cosmetology isn’t something they are being forced into by a changing market and a lack of options. Rather, it’s something they’ve always considered but never pursued until now. Says Steve Haines, executive director at Empire, “I hear a lot of students say, ‘I’ve always wanted to do this.’” While the current economy may be a catalyst toward returning to college, a primary motivation toward cosmetology seems, more often than not, to be as simple as a passion for the craft.

It’s a passion that may set students back in the financial world for a short while, but many are stalwartly prepared to rough it in the name of art. The Daily News also interviewed Shaniqua Jackson, a legislative clerk for the New York City Council, who commented on the reality of leaving an established career to start at the bottom rung of a new path: “I’m pretty sure at first it’s going to be hard to receive the same pay that I’m making now because that’s how it is when you’re just starting out.” That said, she’s preparing already: according to the article, since graduating from Empire in June, she has been storing away a sliver of each paycheck as a cushion for when she takes the full plunge into hairstyling.

It may be a sacrifice for now, but it’s a small price to pay to pursue a once lost dream. Says Lawrence of her degree, “The question isn’t even why look into a second career now… I was always touching my mother’s and sister’s hair. I was always doing people’s hair, and that was the only thing that really made me happy.”

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