How to Select the Right Esthetician Course Near Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

Once you have decided to enter the field of cosmetology and enroll in an esthetician school near Pittsburgh PA, the process starts to locate and enroll in the right program. It's imperative that the school you choose not only furnishes the appropriate education for the specialty you have chosen, but also preps you for passing the licensing exam. When you start your initial search, you might be rather unclear about the difference between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don't be, because the names are pretty much interchangeable and both pertain to the same kind of school. If you anticipate commuting to classes you will want to find a school that is within driving distance of your Pittsburgh home. Tuition will also be a critical factor when evaluating prospective schools. Just bear in mind that because a school is the nearest or the lowest cost it's not automatically the best option. There are various other qualifications that you should weigh when reviewing schools, for example their reputation and accreditation. We will examine what questions you should ask concerning the aesthetician schools you are looking at later within 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 provide a wide range of beauty services to help their Pittsburgh Pennsylvania clients look and feel better. This includes improving the quality of the skin (including the treatment of skin disorders), hair removal, permanent makeup application, and facial massage. Some types of estheticians, like medical estheticians, provide highly specialized procedures that require detailed training in order for it to be done safely and effectively. Medical estheticians can help individuals suffering from serious skin disorders, burns, and other trauma, and to help with pre and post-operative surgery affecting the health of their skin. Estheticians work closely with their clients in a friendly and positive manner, so an enthusiastic attitude and desire to help people is an excellent attribute for an aspiring esthetician to possess. Some of the basic duties an esthetician may perform will include such tasks as:

• Assessing a patient’s needs
• Chemical peels
• Laser treatments
• Waxing
• Facials
• Massage of the head and neck
• Microdermabrasion

Online Esthetics Classes

Online esthetician programs are accommodating for Pittsburgh PA students who are employed full-time and have family obligations that make it hard to enroll in a more traditional school. There are a large number of web-based cosmetology school programs available that can be accessed by means of a personal computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More traditional cosmetology schools are often fast paced since many courses are as brief as six or eight months. This means that a large portion of time is spent in the classroom. With internet courses, you are dealing with the same amount of material, but you are not devoting numerous hours away from your home or driving back and forth from classes. On the other hand, it's important that the training program you pick can provide internship training in area salons and parlors to ensure that you also get the hands-on training necessary for a comprehensive education. Without the internship portion of the training, it's difficult to obtain the skills necessary to work in any area of the cosmetology profession. So be sure if you decide to enroll in an online program to verify that internship training is provided in your area.

What to Ask Esthetics Trade Schools

Below is a list of questions that you need to investigate for any esthetician training program you are considering. As we have previously discussed, the location of the school relative to your Pittsburgh residence, in addition to the cost of tuition, will undoubtedly be your primary qualifiers. Whether you want 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 initial qualifications, there are additional factors that you should research and consider before enrolling in a cosmetology program. Below 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 necessary to make sure that the esthetician college you pick is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged local or national agency, such as the National Accrediting Commission for Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS). Schools accredited by the NACCAS must meet their high standards assuring a superior curriculum and education. Accreditation may also be essential for obtaining student loans or financial aid, which frequently are not available for non- accredited schools. It's also a requirement for licensing in several states that the training be accredited. And as a final benefit, a number of Pittsburgh PA employers will not recruit recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or might look more positively upon those with accredited training.

Does the School have a Great Reputation?  Each esthetician school that you are seriously considering should have a good to excellent reputation within the profession. Being accredited is an excellent starting point. Next, ask the schools for endorsements from their network of businesses where they have referred their students. Verify that the schools have high job placement rates, signifying that their students are highly regarded. Check rating services for reviews as well as the school's accrediting agencies. If you have any connections with Pittsburgh PA salon owners or managers, or someone working in the field, ask them if they are acquainted with the schools you are reviewing. They might even be able to suggest others that you had not thought of. Finally, contact the Pennsylvania school licensing authority to see if there have been any complaints filed or if the schools are in full compliance.

What’s the School’s Focus?  A number of esthetician schools offer programs that are broad in nature, focusing on all facets of cosmetology. Others are more focused, providing training in a specific specialty, for instance hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs frequently broaden into a management and marketing curriculum. So it's essential that you select a school that focuses on your area of interest. Since your intention is to be trained as an esthetician, make certain that the school you enroll in is accredited and respected for that program. If your aspiration is to start a Pittsburgh PA beauty salon, then you need to enroll in a degree program that will teach you how to be an owner/operator as well. Picking a highly regarded school with a poor program in the specialty you are pursuing will not provide the training you need.

Is Plenty of Hands-On Training Provided?  Studying and perfecting esthetician techniques and abilities involves lots of practice on volunteers. Find out how much live, hands-on training is provided in the beauty lessons you will be attending. A number of schools have salons on campus that make it possible for students to practice their growing skills on volunteers. If a beauty academy furnishes limited or no scheduled live training, but rather depends predominantly on utilizing mannequins, it may not be the best alternative for acquiring your skills. So search for alternate schools that offer this kind of training.

Does the School have a Job Placement Program?  When a student graduates from an esthetician program, it's crucial that he or she receives assistance in finding that initial job. Job placement programs are an important part of that process. Schools that offer help maintain relationships with Pittsburgh PA businesses that are seeking trained graduates available for hiring. Confirm that the programs you are considering have job placement programs and ask which salons and businesses they refer students to. Also, find out what their job placement rates are. Higher rates not only verify that they have wide networks of employers, but that their programs are highly regarded as well.

Is Financial Aid Offered?  Almost all esthetician schools provide financial aid or student loan assistance for their students. Ask if the schools you are looking at have a financial aid office. Consult with a counselor and find out what student loans or grants you might qualify for. If the school is a member of the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS), it will have scholarships accessible to students also. If a school meets all of your other qualifications except for expense, do not discard it as an option before you find out what financial help may be available.

Find Out How to Become an Esthetician in Pittsburgh

Enroll in the Right Pittsburgh Esthetician Program

Finding and enrolling in the ideal esthetician college is imperative to get the proper training to become a licensed cosmetology practitioner. Be sure to ask all the questions that you require in order to feel positive about your decision. Be sure to consolidate all of the responses you receive from the beauty school admissions departments, focus on what matters the most to you, and then employ that information to compare schools. A sensible beginning in your due diligence procedure is to make sure that the school and program you pick are accredited and have exceptional reputations within the field. If you begin with that base, and answer the additional questions presented in this article, you will be able to reduce your list of schools so that you can make the right choice. Once you graduate and pass your licensing exam, you will be self-assured that you are ready to start your career as a professional esthetician in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.

 

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