How to Find the Right Esthetician Training Near South Portland Maine
Since you have decided to enter the field of cosmetology and attend an esthetician school near South Portland ME, the task begins to find and enroll in the best program. It's essential that the school you select not only furnishes the appropriate training for the specialty you have chosen, but also preps you for passing the licensing examination. When you begin your initial search, you might be somewhat unclear about the distinction between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don't be, because the names are essentially interchangeable and both relate to the same type of school. If you anticipate commuting to classes you will want to find a school that is within driving distance of your South Portland home. Tuition will additionally be an important consideration when evaluating possible schools. Just keep in mind that because a school is the closest or the cheapest it's not necessarily the right choice. There are several other qualifications that you should evaluate when analyzing schools, for instance their reputation and accreditation. We will review what questions you should ask regarding the aesthetician schools you are thinking about later in this article. Before we do, let's talk a little bit about what types of training programs are available.
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Esthetics Training Requirements
Esthetics school is an investment of time, energy, and money. Requirements vary from state to state, but the majority of states require that you complete at least 600 hours of training. Full-time school can take an average of six months to complete, and part-time school can take anywhere from 9-12 months. The primary purpose of esthetics school is to get you ready to pass the state licensing exam. They also teach basic skills that you will need to perfect through experience and sometimes additional classes, such as giving facials, body treatments, and performing waxing. More advanced training includes learning to work with machines, such as IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) and Lasers used to rejuvenate the skin and permanently remove hair.
Esthetician Job Description
Estheticians (or aestheticians) are skin care specialists who typically work in South Portland Maine spas and salons as well as resorts and medical facilities to provide a variety of treatments for their clients. Some of the typical duties of an esthetician include performing deep skin cleansing and treatments, hair removal, and massages. Estheticians also recommend skincare treatments, products, and regimens to their clients. Many estheticians are self-employed, which allows them to set their schedules and work where they wish. However, these professionals still often need to work evenings and weekends. These skin care specialists also spend much of their time standing and may be exposed to harmful chemicals. Certified estheticians have excellent customer service and communication skills. They're adept at time management, observation and monitoring and are competent in understanding and using the tools necessary for facial procedures and extractions. Certified estheticians are familiar with medical, spreadsheets, and word processing software. They present a professional appearance and have the physical fitness to stand for prolonged periods of time. A career in esthetics generally requires working evening and weekend hours.
Online Esthetics Courses
Online esthetician classes are accommodating for South Portland ME students who are employed full-time and have family responsibilities that make it difficult to enroll in a more traditional school. There are many online cosmetology school programs offered that can be attended via a personal computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More traditional cosmetology programs are typically 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 internet courses, you are dealing with the same volume of material, but you are not devoting many hours outside of your home or travelling to and from classes. However, it's essential that the school you choose can provide internship training in local salons and parlors so that you also obtain the hands-on training necessary for a comprehensive education. Without the internship portion of the training, it's impossible to acquire the skills necessary to work in any facet of the cosmetology field. So don't forget if you decide to enroll in an online school to verify that internship training is available in your area.
What to Ask Esthetician Schools
Below is a series of questions that you should look into for any esthetician training program you are contemplating. As we have previously discussed, the location of the school relative to your South Portland home, together with the price of tuition, will probably be your initial qualifiers. Whether you wish to earn a certificate, diploma or a degree will undoubtedly be next on your list. But once you have narrowed your school options based on those initial qualifications, there are additional factors that you need to research and take into consideration before enrolling in a cosmetology program. Below we have put together several of those additional questions that you should ask every school before making a final determination.
Is the Esthetician School Accredited? It's essential to make certain that the esthetician college you choose is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized local or national organization, such as the National Accrediting Commission for Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS). Programs accredited by the NACCAS must measure up to their high standards assuring a superior curriculum and education. Accreditation may also be essential for getting student loans or financial aid, which frequently are not available for non- accredited schools. It's also a criteria for licensing in some states that the training be accredited. And as a concluding benefit, many South Portland ME businesses will not employ recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or may look more favorably upon those with accredited training.
Does the School have a Great Reputation? Any esthetician school that you are seriously evaluating should have a good to excellent reputation within the industry. Being accredited is an excellent beginning. Next, ask the schools for endorsements from their network of employers where they have referred their students. Verify that the schools have high job placement rates, signifying that their students are highly demanded. Visit rating companies for reviews together with the school's accrediting agencies. If you have any contacts with South Portland ME salon owners or managers, or anyone working in the field, ask them if they are familiar with the schools you are looking at. They might even be able to suggest others that you had not looked into. And last, check with the Maine school licensing authority to see if there have been any grievances filed or if the schools are in total compliance.
What’s the School’s Focus? Some esthetician schools offer programs that are comprehensive in nature, concentrating on all areas of cosmetology. Others are more focused, offering training in a particular specialty, for instance hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs often broaden into a management and marketing curriculum. So it's imperative that you pick a school that focuses on your area of interest. Since your objective is to be trained as an esthetician, make certain that the school you enroll in is accredited and respected for that program. If your desire is to launch a South Portland ME beauty salon, then you need to enroll in a degree program that will teach you how to be an owner/operator as well. Choosing a highly ranked school with a weak program in the specialty you are seeking will not deliver the training you require.
Is Any Live Training Provided? Practicing and mastering esthetician skills and techniques demands plenty of practice on people. Ask how much live, hands-on training is furnished in the cosmetology classes you will be attending. Some schools have salons on site that make it possible for students to practice their developing talents on real people. If a beauty program offers limited or no scheduled live training, but rather relies mainly on the use of mannequins, it may not be the best alternative for acquiring 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 school, it's crucial that he or she gets assistance in finding that very first job. Job placement programs are an integral part of that process. Schools that provide assistance develop relationships with South Portland ME employers that are searching for qualified graduates available for hiring. Verify that the schools you are looking at have job placement programs and find out which salons and establishments they refer students to. In addition, ask what their job placement rates are. High rates not only verify that they have broad networks of employers, but that their programs are highly respected as well.
Is Financial Assistance Available? The majority of esthetician schools provide financial aid or student loan assistance for their students. Find out if the schools you are investigating have a financial aid office. Talk to a counselor and identify what student loans or grants you may qualify for. If the school belongs to the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS), it will have scholarships accessible to students as well. If a school meets all of your other qualifications with the exception of cost, do not drop it as an option until you find out what financial aid may be provided.
Learn How to Become an Esthetician in South Portland
Enroll in the Right South Portland Esthetician Course
Picking and enrolling in the right esthetician school is important to receive the proper training to become a licensed cosmetology practitioner. Be sure to ask all the questions that you need to in order to feel certain about your decision. Don't forget to consolidate all of the information you receive from the beauty school admissions departments, prioritize what matters the most to you, and then utilize that data to compare schools. A reasonable beginning in your due diligence process is to make certain that the school and program you choose are accredited and have impressive reputations within the field. If you begin with that base, and address the additional questions presented in this article, you will be able to reduce your list of schools so that you can make the ideal selection. And when you graduate and pass your licensing exam, you will be self-assured that you are prepared to begin your career as a professional esthetician in South Portland Maine.
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