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Is barber and cosmetology considered a professional career?
Executive summary
Barbering and cosmetology are treated as licensed, skilled occupations with formal education pathways, clear career options (salon employee, owner, educator, freelance), and measurable wages — the BLS reports median hourly wages of $18.73 for barbers and $16.95 for hairdressers/cosmetologists [1]. Trade schools and colleges advertise AAS degrees, licensure prep and business skills training, framing these fields as professional careers with upward mobility [2] [3].
1. Professional status: licensing and formal training
State licensure and accredited programs are central to how barbering and cosmetology are defined as professions: multiple sources state that completing an accredited program, passing state board exams, and obtaining a license are required to practice [3] [1]. Community colleges and beauty schools offer AAS degrees and vocational certificates that prepare students for licensure and entry-level employment, reinforcing the notion that these are structured, regulated career paths [2] [4].
2. Pay, market signals and economic framing
Government data and industry schools both treat barbering and cosmetology as income-generating professions: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists median hourly wages for barbers ($18.73) and hairdressers/cosmetologists ($16.95) as of May 2024, giving a benchmark for earnings [1]. Trade-school marketing emphasizes tips, commissions, and potential entrepreneurship as ways to increase income, while positioning the fields as financially viable in 2025 [5] [6].
3. Career variety and upward mobility
Reporting from schools and industry guides lays out multiple career tracks beyond chair work: salon owner/manager, educator, freelance stylist, barber educator, and specialized esthetic or medical-aesthetic roles are commonly listed as options [7] [8] [4]. Colleges highlight hands-on clinics and business training to prepare graduates for ownership or managerial roles, signaling recognized upward mobility within the professions [2] [4].
4. Why schools and colleges frame these as “careers”
Beauty and barbering institutions market these fields as “careers” because they combine technical skill, client relationships, licensing, and business opportunities. Multiple school pages explicitly encourage prospective students to “start a career” in 2025 and note transferable skills such as client communication and sales/marketing useful for entrepreneurship [6] [9] [4]. This promotional framing aligns with the regulated-training + licensing model that typifies many recognized trades [3] [1].
5. The labor-market reality and demand signals
Industry pieces argue demand is steady or growing — noting trends in self-care, grooming, and niche services that keep trained professionals in demand [10] [11]. While school blogs highlight “future-proof” aspects and human connection that technology can’t replace, the BLS profile provides a more neutral metric of pay and typical job duties, showing the occupations are part of the broader personal care and service sector [11] [1].
6. Points of disagreement and promotional bias to watch for
Trade schools naturally present barbering and cosmetology as attractive career choices and emphasize earnings, flexibility, and trend-resilience [5] [6] [9]. These institutions have an explicit recruitment agenda; they do not substitute for impartial labor-market analysis. The BLS page offers less promotional language and provides wage statistics and licensing requirements, serving as a counterbalance to school marketing [1]. Readers should treat school claims about “financial independence” or “future-proof” status as aspirational marketing unless corroborated by independent data beyond the provided school sources [5] [11].
7. What prospective entrants should verify next
Interested people should confirm their state’s specific licensure hours and exam requirements (training hours can differ — e.g., additional barber hours referenced for California) and compare local wage data and job openings, since requirements and market pay vary by state and metro area [12] [1]. Schools typically advertise career services and hands-on clinics; prospective students should verify accreditation, licensure pass rates, and job-placement support rather than relying solely on promotional language [3] [4].
8. Bottom line — is it a “professional career”?
Available sources consistently treat barbering and cosmetology as regulated, credentialed professions with formal education, licensing, defined career tracks, and measurable earnings — meeting common definitions of “professional career” used in occupational reporting and vocational education [1] [3] [2]. However, promotional materials from schools include optimistic claims about earnings and “future-proof” demand that should be weighed against neutral data like BLS wages and state licensing rules [5] [11] [1].