How to Become an Esthetician | Esthetician Schools Burlington NC

How to Enroll In an Esthetician School near Burlington North Carolina

Burlington NC esthetician client with cucumber facial Now that you have made a decision to enter the field of cosmetology and enroll in an esthetician school near Burlington NC, the process starts to search for and enroll in the ideal program. It’s important that the school you select not only furnishes the proper education for the specialty you have decided on, but also prepares you for passing the licensing examination. When you begin your preliminary search, you may be rather puzzled about the contrast between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don’t be, because the titles are basically interchangeable and both pertain to the same kind of school. We’ll talk a bit further regarding that in the next segment. If you intend on commuting to classes you will need to find a school that is within driving distance of your Burlington home. Tuition will additionally be an important consideration when reviewing potential schools. Just keep in mind that because a school is the closest or the lowest cost it’s not necessarily the right option. There are a number of other factors that you should evaluate when analyzing schools, such as their reputation and accreditation. We will review what questions you should ask regarding the cosmetology schools you are considering later within this article. Before we do, let’s discuss a bit about what cosmetology is, and what types of courses are offered.

What is Cosmetology

esthetics facial toners Burlington NC Cosmetology is a profession that is all about making the human anatomy look more beautiful with the use of cosmetics. So of course it makes sense that numerous cosmetology schools are regarded as beauty schools. Most of us think of makeup when we hear the word cosmetics, but basically a cosmetic may be anything that enhances the look of a person’s skin, hair or nails. In order to work as a cosmetologist, most states require that you take some kind of specialized training and then be licensed. Once you are licensed, the work environments include not only Burlington NC beauty salons and barber shops, but also such businesses as spas, hotels and resorts. Many cosmetologists, after they have gotten experience and a customer base, open their own shops or salons. Others will begin servicing clients either in their own residences or will travel to the client’s house, or both. Cosmetology college graduates have many titles and work in a wide variety of specializations including:

Estheticians
Hairdressers
Hairstylists
Beauticians
Barbers
Manicurists
Nail Technicians
Makeup Artists
Hair Coloring Specialists
Electrolysis Technicians

As earlier stated, in the majority of states working cosmetologists must be licensed. In certain states there is an exception. Only those offering more skilled services, for instance hairstylists, are required to be licensed. Other people working in cosmetology and less skilled, including shampooers, are not required to become licensed in those states.

Esthetician Degrees and Certificates

Burlington NC esthetician client with face mask There are essentially two avenues available to receive esthetician training and a credential after completion. You can enroll in a certificate (or diploma) course, or you can work toward an Associate’s degree. Certificate programs normally take 12 to 18 months to finish, while an Associate’s degree usually takes about 2 years. If you enroll in a certificate program you will be instructed in all of the major areas of cosmetology. Briefer programs are available if you want to focus on just one area, for instance esthetics. A degree program will also most likely incorporate management and marketing training to ensure that graduates are better prepared to manage a salon or other Burlington NC business. More advanced degrees are not common, but Bachelor and Master’s degree programs are available in such specializations as salon or spa management. Whichever type of training program you go with, it’s important to make sure that it’s recognized by the North Carolina Board of Cosmetology. Numerous states only certify schools that are accredited by certain respected agencies, such as the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS). We will review the advantages of accreditation for the school you select in the following segment.

Online Esthetics Schools

woman attending esthetician school online in Burlington NC Online esthetician classes are accommodating for Burlington NC students who are working full-time and have family commitments that make it difficult to enroll in a more traditional school. There are a large number of web-based beauty school programs offered that can be accessed via a desktop computer or laptop at the student’s convenience. More conventional beauty schools are frequently fast paced because many courses are as short as six or eight months. This means that a substantial amount of time is spent in the classroom. With online programs, you are covering the same volume of material, but you are not spending numerous hours outside of your home or commuting to and from classes. However, it’s essential that the training program you pick can provide internship training in area salons and parlors to ensure that you also get the hands-on training necessary for a complete education. Without the internship portion of the training, it’s difficult to gain the skills required to work in any area of the cosmetology profession. So be sure if you decide to enroll in an online program to verify that internship training is available in your area.

Questions to Ask Esthetician Training Classes

Burlington NC models benefit from esthetic treatments Following is a series of questions that you need to research for any esthetician training school you are contemplating. As we have already covered, the location of the school in relation to your Burlington home, together with the price of tuition, will probably be your primary qualifiers. Whether you would like to pursue a certificate, diploma or a degree will no doubt be next on your list. But once you have narrowed your school choices based on those preliminary qualifications, there are even more factors that you should research and consider before enrolling in a cosmetology school. Following we have compiled several of those supplemental questions that you should ask each school before making a final selection.

Is the School Accredited? It’s essential to make certain that the esthetician school you enroll in is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged local or national agency, such as the National Accrediting Commission for Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS). Programs accredited by the NACCAS must meet their high standards assuring a superior curriculum and education. Accreditation can also be essential for obtaining student loans or financial aid, which typically are not obtainable in 27215 for non- accredited schools. It’s also a requirement for licensing in several states that the training be accredited. And as a final benefit, a number of Burlington NC businesses will not hire recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or may look more favorably upon those with accredited training.

Does the School have an Excellent Reputation? Any esthetician college that you are seriously considering should have a good to outstanding reputation within the field. Being accredited is an excellent beginning. Next, ask the schools for endorsements from their network of businesses where they have referred their students. Verify that the schools have high job placement rates, signifying that their students are highly sought after. Check rating companies for reviews as well as the school’s accrediting organizations. If you have any relationships with Burlington NC salon owners or managers, or any person working in the field, ask them if they are familiar with the schools you are looking at. They may even be able to suggest others that you had not looked into. And last, contact the North Carolina school licensing authority to see if there have been any complaints submitted or if the schools are in full compliance.

What’s the School’s Specialty? Many esthetician schools offer programs that are comprehensive in nature, focusing on all facets of cosmetology. Others are more focused, providing training in a specific specialty, for example hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs frequently expand into a management and marketing curriculum. So it’s important that you enroll in a school that focuses on your area of interest. If your goal is to be trained as an esthetician, make sure that the school you enroll in is accredited and respected for that program. If your aspiration is to start a Burlington NC beauty salon, then you need to enroll in a degree program that will instruct you how to be an owner/operator. Choosing a highly regarded school with a poor program in the specialty you are seeking will not deliver the training you need.

Is Plenty of Hands-On Training Provided? Studying and perfecting esthetician techniques and abilities involves plenty of practice on people. Ask how much live, hands-on training is provided in the cosmetology classes you will be attending. Some schools have salons on site that allow students to practice their developing skills on real people. If a beauty academy offers minimal or no scheduled live training, but instead depends mainly on the use of mannequins, it may not be the most effective alternative for cultivating your skills. Therefore try to find other schools that provide this type of training.

Does the School Provide Job Assistance? As soon as a student graduates from an esthetician program, it’s imperative that he or she gets assistance in securing that very first job. Job placement programs are an integral part of that process. Schools that furnish assistance maintain relationships with Burlington NC employers that are seeking trained graduates available for hiring. Check that the schools you are looking at have job placement programs and ask which salons and organizations they refer students to. In addition, find out what their job placement rates are. High rates not only confirm that they have broad networks of employers, but that their programs are highly regarded as well.

Is Financial Aid Available? The majority of esthetician schools provide financial aid or student loan assistance for their students. Find out if the schools you are reviewing have a financial aid department. Consult with a counselor and find out what student loans or grants you might get approved for. If the school is a member of the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS), it will have scholarships accessible to students too. If a school satisfies each of your other qualifications except for cost, do not eliminate it as an alternative until you learn what financial assistance may be available.

Attending Esthetician School Near Burlington NC?

Perhaps you live in the Burlington North Carolina area, or have found a school that you will commute to or even relocate to attend. Either way, following is some interesting background information about the location of your new esthetician program.

Burlington, North Carolina

Burlington is a city in Alamance and Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Alamance County, in which most of the city is located, and is a part of the Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point CSA. The population was 50,042 at the 2010 census,[4] which makes Burlington the 17th largest city in North Carolina. The Metropolitan Statistical Area population was over 150,000 in 2010.

Alamance County was created when Orange County was partitioned in 1849. Early settlers included several groups of Quakers, many of which remain active in the Snow Camp area, German farmers, and Scots-Irish immigrants.

The need of the North Carolina Railroad in the 1850s to locate land where they could build, repair and do maintenance on its track was the genesis of Burlington, North Carolina. The company selected a piece of land slightly west of present-day Graham. On January 29, 1856, the last spikes were driven into the final tie of the North Carolina Railroad project, uniting the cities of Goldsboro and Charlotte by rail. The next day, the first locomotive passed along the new route. When the iron horse arrived in Alamance County, locals referred to it as "the eighth wonder of the world".

Enroll in the Right Esthetics College near Burlington NC

Picking and enrolling in the right esthetician school is essential to get the proper training to become a licensed cosmetology technician. Make sure to ask all the questions that you need to so as to feel certain about your decision. Be sure to compile all of the information you receive from the cosmetology school admissions departments, prioritize what matters the most to you, and then utilize that data to compare schools. A reasonable start in your due diligence process is to make sure that the college and program you choose are accredited and have outstanding reputations within the profession. If you start with that base, and answer the additional questions presented in this article, you will be able to filter your list of schools so that you can make the proper selection. And when you graduate and pass your licensing test, you will be self-assured that you are prepared to begin your new career as a professional esthetician in Burlington NC.