Cosmetology

Types of Degrees Cosmetology Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many cosmetology graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Undergraduate Certificate	67,070
Basic Certificate	63,709
Associate Degree	1,324

What Cosmetology Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to cosmetology and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Cosmetology Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in cosmetology should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Skills for Cosmetology Majors

cosmetology majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Cosmetology Majors

As a cosmetology major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Cosmetology Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with cosmetology:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Barbers	13.5%	$27,960
First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers	14.6%	$38,400
Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists	13.0%	$24,730
Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance	12.5%	$64,250
Manicurists and Pedicurists	13.2%	$24,330
Skincare Specialists	13.7%	$31,290
Spa Managers	14.6%	$38,400

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Cosmetology

Some careers associated with cosmetology require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for cosmetology careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	12.4%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	15.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	45.8%
Some College Courses	7.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	8.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	10.5%
Master’s Degree	0.2%

Online Cosmetology Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	2,314	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	121	0
Associate’s Degree	178	6
Bachelor’s Degree	1	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Cosmetology

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to cosmetology.

Major	Number of Grads
Culinary Arts	22,680
Funeral & Mortuary Science	2,451
Casino Operations and Services	619
Other Personal & Culinary Services	84

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Tiffany Bumgardner under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.