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Cosmetology Apprenticeship

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Cosmetology apprenticeship program and beauty school both prepare you to get a cosmetology license. But the path these two approaches take are very different.

Beauty school offers theory classroom and hands-on pratical training under one roof. Cosmetology at California beauty schools is a 1000 hours program (reduced from 1600 hours effective 1/1/2022).

Cosmetology apprenticeship consists of two parts:

1. classroom instruction of total 220 hours
2. on-the-job training of 3200 hours

These two parts are typically done with different establishments. Beauology offers both of these components of cosmetology apprenticeship under one roof.

Your personal constraints of available time and money can help you choose between these two paths for getting a cosmetology license.

Beauty schools offer a quicker path to getting a license. But they are often more expensive compared to an apprenticeship program. In the cosmetology apprenticeship program you are required to work at least 32 hours a week under a professional cosmetologist trainer and get paid at least the prevailing minimum wage. This ability to earn an income while preparing to get a license makes the apprenticeship program financially a better option compared to attending a beauty school where you may get saddled with student loan to pay for the tution.

The other big difference between the two paths is the quality of pratical training. Beauty schools often do not offer you the ability to work on real clients. Even if they do clients do not expect high quality work at a beauty school. Your trainer in a cosmetology apprenticeship program is doing professional quality services on real paying clients. As you assist your trainer or as you do the services under the trainer's guidance you learn professional work faster. You become much more 'job ready' from day one after you graduate via cosmetology apprenticeship program instead of a beauty school.

We also hear about some beauty schools putting students under significant pressure to get models to complete their required operations. Such pressure does not exist in a cosmetology apprenticeship as the trainer establishment already has good flow of clients. Otherwise they would not have hired you as an apprentice in the first place!

In the cosmetology apprenticeship program you are required to work at least 32 hours a week under a professional cosmetologist trainer and get paid at least the prevailing minimum wage. Thus you 'earn while you learn' to become a professional cosmetologist!

The cosmetology appenticeship program requires classroom instruction for the pre-appretince training (39 hours) and required-supplemental-instruction (220 hours). Beauology divides the total classroom instruction time into several 6-hour classes. Instead of paying for the program all at once or in few installments you can pay for one 6-hour class at a time. The classes are held once a week on Tuesdays from 10am to 4:30pm.

After you get the apprenticeship license you are required to complete the 220 hours of classroom instruction and 3200 hours of on-the-job training within two years.

Before you can get the apprenticeship license you are reqired to complete the 39 hours of pre-apprentice training. This preparation step can take about three months.

Let's talk numbers. Assume the prevailing minimum wage is $15 per hour. Your total gross earnings from on-the-job training hours of 3200 are at least $48K. The actual total earnings will be further enhanced by any tips you get and lowered by the required payroll and income tax deductions.

Beauology incurs various costs to administer and run the two year cosmetology apprenticeship program. At the time of this writing (April 2022) we charge you about $10K to cover our costs of the program. Textbooks, supplies, and fees charged by the State Board, are your additional costs of about $750.

Unlike going to beauty school, the cosmetolgy apprenticeship program puts money in your pocket after you account for the total earnings minus the expenses.

Beauology strives to offer a win-win path to cosmetology license. The numbers we quote above are subject to change. The total cost of the program is paid 'pay-as-you-go' in small manageable amounts per class.

At most once you can take a leave of absence from the cosmetology apprenticeship program and restart the program using a new apprentice license within three years of stopping the program.

After three years the hours expire and you start fresh.