How to Pick the Right Esthetician Program Near Montgomery Village Maryland
Once you have decided to enter the field of cosmetology and attend an esthetician school near Montgomery Village MD, the process begins to locate and enroll in the right program. It's important that the program you choose not only provides the necessary training for the specialty you have decided on, but also preps you for passing the licensing examination. When you begin your preliminary search, you may be a little bit confused about the distinction between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don't be, because the names are pretty much interchangeable and both refer to the same type of school. If you plan on commuting to classes you will want to locate a school that is within driving distance of your Montgomery Village residence. Tuition will additionally be an important consideration when assessing prospective schools. Just remember that because a school is the closest or the cheapest it's not automatically the right option. There are several other factors that you should evaluate when analyzing schools, for example their reputation and accreditation. We will go over what questions you should ask about the aesthetician schools you are thinking about later in this article. Before we do, let's discuss a little bit about what types of training programs are offered.
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Esthetician 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 Montgomery Village Maryland 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 Classes
Online esthetician classes are accommodating for Montgomery Village MD students who are employed full-time and have family responsibilities that make it challenging to enroll in a more traditional school. There are a large number of web-based cosmetology school programs available that can be attended through a personal computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More conventional cosmetology schools are typically fast paced due to the fact that many programs are as brief as 6 or 8 months. This means that a significant portion of time is spent in the classroom. With internet programs, you are covering the same amount of material, but you are not devoting numerous hours outside of your home or travelling back and forth from classes. However, it's imperative that the training program you choose can provide internship training in nearby salons and parlors so that you also get the hands-on training needed for a comprehensive education. Without the internship part of the training, it's difficult to acquire the skills necessary to work in any area of the cosmetology profession. So make sure if you decide to enroll in an online program to verify that internship training is provided in your area.
What to Ask Aesthetician Degree Programs
Below is a list of questions that you will want to investigate for any esthetician training program you are contemplating. As we have already covered, the location of the school relative to your Montgomery Village residence, as well as the expense of tuition, will probably be your initial qualifiers. Whether you would like to earn a certificate, diploma or a degree will undoubtedly be next on your list. But once you have reduced your school choices based on those preliminary qualifications, there are additional factors that you must research and take into consideration before enrolling in a cosmetology school. Following we have put together some of those additional questions that you need to ask each school before making a final decision.
Is the Esthetician School Accredited? It's essential to make certain that the esthetician school you pick is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education certified local or national agency, such as the National Accrediting Commission for Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS). Schools accredited by the NACCAS must comply with their high standards ensuring a superior curriculum and education. Accreditation can also be important for acquiring student loans or financial aid, which typically are not available for non- accredited schools. It's also a prerequisite for licensing in many states that the training be accredited. And as a final benefit, a number of Montgomery Village MD businesses will not hire recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or may look more positively upon those with accredited training.
Does the School have a Good Reputation? Any esthetician college that you are seriously considering should have a good to excellent reputation within the field. Being accredited is a good beginning. Next, ask the schools for references from their network of businesses where they have placed their students. Check that the schools have high job placement rates, indicating that their students are highly sought after. Visit rating services for reviews as well as the school's accrediting agencies. If you have any relationships with Montgomery Village MD salon owners or managers, or any person working in the trade, 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 thought of. And finally, contact the Maryland school licensing authority to find out if there have been any complaints submitted or if the schools are in total compliance.
What’s the School’s Specialty? Some esthetician schools offer programs that are comprehensive in nature, concentrating on all areas of cosmetology. Others are more focused, providing training in a particular specialty, for example hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs often broaden into a management and marketing curriculum. So it's important that you pick a school that specializes in your area of interest. Since your goal is to be trained as an esthetician, make certain that the school you enroll in is accredited and well regarded for that program. If your dream is to open a Montgomery Village MD 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 rated school with a weak program in the specialty you are pursuing will not provide the training you require.
Is Plenty of Live Training Provided? Learning and mastering esthetician techniques and abilities involves plenty of practice on volunteers. Find out how much live, hands-on training is furnished in the cosmetology lessons you will be attending. A number of schools have salons on campus that enable students to practice their growing talents on real people. If a beauty academy provides limited or no scheduled live training, but rather depends mainly on using mannequins, it may not be the most effective option for acquiring your skills. Therefore search for alternate schools that furnish this type of training.
Does the School have a Job Placement Program? When a student graduates from an esthetician program, it's important that she or he gets aid in securing that very first job. Job placement programs are an integral part of that process. Schools that furnish assistance maintain relationships with Montgomery Village MD employers that are searching for qualified graduates available for hiring. Confirm that the schools you are looking at have job placement programs and inquire which salons and businesses they refer students to. In addition, find out what their job placement rates are. Higher rates not only verify that they have broad networks of employers, but that their programs are highly respected as well.
Is Financial Assistance Available? Almost all esthetician schools offer financial aid or student loan assistance for their students. Find out if the schools you are investigating have a financial aid department. Consult with a counselor and learn what student loans or grants you may get approved for. If the school belongs to 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 expense, do not drop it as an option until you determine what financial help may be provided.
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Enroll in the Best Montgomery Village Esthetician Training
Picking and enrolling in the ideal esthetician program is imperative to obtain the proper training to become a licensed cosmetology specialist. Be sure to ask all the questions that you need to in order to feel positive about your decision. Make sure to collect all of the responses you receive from the cosmetology school admissions departments, focus on what matters the most to you, and then use that data to contrast schools. A reasonable beginning in your due diligence procedure is to make sure that the institution and program you select are accredited and have excellent reputations within the profession. If you begin with that base, and address the additional questions provided in this post, you will be able to narrow down your list of schools so that you can make the proper choice. And when you graduate and pass your licensing examination, you will be self-assured that you are ready to launch your new career as a professional esthetician in Montgomery Village Maryland.
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