Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor

Types of Degrees Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many cosmetology, barber/styling, & nail instructor graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	870
Undergraduate Certificate	374
Associate Degree	4

What Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to cosmetology, barber/styling, and nail instructor 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, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

Skills for Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor Majors

A major in cosmetology, barber/styling, and nail instructor prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor Majors

As a cosmetology, barber/styling, and nail instructor major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
• Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

What Can You Do With a Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with cosmetology, barber/styling, and nail instructor:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Barbers	13.5%	$27,960
Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists	13.0%	$24,730

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor

Some careers associated with cosmetology, barber/styling, and nail instructor 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, barber/styling, and nail instructor careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	10.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	23.1%
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)	54.7%
Some College Courses	6.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	0.9%
Master’s Degree	0.6%

Online Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor 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)	193	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	0
Associate’s Degree	6	0
Bachelor’s Degree	0	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, Barber/Styling, and Nail Instructor

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to cosmetology, barber/styling, and nail instructor.

Major	Number of Grads
General Cosmetology/Cosmetologist	53,628
Aesthetician/Esthetician & Skin Care Specialist	43,005
Nail Technician/Specialist & Manicurist	13,887
Barbering/Barber	10,975
Facial Treatment Specialist/Facialist	2,787
Other Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Arts	2,195
Master Aesthetician/Esthetician	1,861
Hair Styling/Stylist & Hair Design	1,156
Salon/Beauty Salon Management/Manager	469
Make-Up Artist/Specialist	451
Electrolysis/Electrology & Electrolysis Technician	328
Permanent Cosmetics/Makeup & Tattooing	113

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.