Best Careers for a Changing Job LandscapePosted December 19, 2007
It has only been a year since U.S. News published Best Careers 2007, yet much has changed. As a result, in Best Careers 2008, we've dropped five of the 25 profiled careers and added 11 new ones.
Hairstylist/Cosmetologist: Executive SummaryPosted December 19, 2007
In a recent British job satisfaction survey, hairstylist ranked No.1. It's not surprising: It's one of the few careers in which you pleasenearly every client. (Save for the occasional one who cries, "What haveyou done to my hair!") People tend to be loyal to their haircutter, so if you're at allpleasant, you can develop plenty of long-term friends or at leastacquaintances. After all, there's a lot of time to chat whileshampooing, cutting, and torturing hair so it curls or straightens. Other pluses: This career is a fashionista's dream: It's one of therare fields with good job opportunities in which you're rewarded forstaying current on fashion and design. And your job won't beoffshored—it may make sense to do robotic surgery from India, but nothaircuts. Most men now get their hair cut by a stylist rather than by abarber, and more and more men seek out related services such as facialsand manicures. So, not surprisingly, the number of male hairstylistsand cosmetologists is growing. Whatever your sex, to succeed you must be a great listener so youcan unearth what the client really wants. You also need a good fashionand design sense so you can offer appropriate suggestions. Perhaps mostimportant, you must be able to translate a great hair concept into agreat haircut. In addition, you must be engaging enough that yourclients remain loyal and willing to buy the hair and skin potions thatrepresent an ever larger proportion of a hair salon's profits. Withthose skills, you can likely get hired by a high-end salon, day spa,resort, or possibly even a film or TV studio, all of which tend to paybetter than does the average clip joint. Or you can open your own. This career's downsides: Pay tends to be low until you've improvedyour skills and developed a clientele. You're on your feet all day andoften into the evenings and weekends, because that's when most peoplewant their hair cut. You have to work with chemicals that may beunpleasant. Finally, you must react well to dissatisfied clients: Fixthe problem if you can, and if you can't, take a deep breath and let itgo—we all make mistakes. But few hairstylists find this career a mistake. Indeed, you'll have few bad hair days. Smart SpecialtyWigs and hairpieces. You may find lucrative workbuilding and styling wigs and hairpieces for people who have lost theirhair, or even for stage, screen, and TV. TrainingUsually, you have to graduate from a state-licensed barber orcosmetology school. Full-time programs generally last nine to 24months. After that, you usually start as an apprentice, which means alot of cleaning up in exchange for watching a senior stylist and thenhaving the stylist watch you. Continuing education classes are offered,sometimes free, sponsored by a hair product manufacturer. Classes aretypically about fashion, hair techniques, or product use. Other Resources
http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/best-careers/2007/12/19/hairstylistcosmetologist-executive-summary.html
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