At Modern College, we know that a good hairstyling program should be designed to ignite creativity while also fostering technical expertise in aspiring hairstylists. Whether you’re passionate about crafting the perfect cut, exploring avant-garde styles, or gaining knowledge that you can then use to share with others, our hairstyling program equips you with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in a variety of exciting career paths.
In today’s post, we dive into some of the varied and exciting career paths that graduates of the hairstylizing program can expect to pursue in their professional careers!
The Importance of Discussing Career Paths
Before we look at the careers themselves, we wanted to share a quick note on why you should consider the different career paths that open for you after graduating from any college program.
Colleges like our own, specialize in offering accelerated programs that can get you career-ready as soon as possible. Not only do you walk away with the theoretical knowledge to be a visionary stylist, but you’ll also acquire valuable time in-salon working with real clients where you can further hone your skills!
At Modern College, we pride ourselves on preparing aspiring hairstylists for dynamic careers in the beauty industry and beyond.
Remember: entering the world of hairstyling offers more than just a job—it opens doors to a diverse range of professions where creativity, skill, and passion converge. So without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the careers you might be interested in pursuing:
1 – Salon Hairstylist
This is probably the most direct route for graduates of our program. As a salon hairstylist, you’ll work in a bustling salon environment, providing essential hair services such as cutting, styling, and coloring to a loyal clientele.
Your day-to-day will include consultations with clients, recommending styles that complement their features, and staying updated on the latest trends. In many cases, graduates begin by working as junior stylists, but once you gain experience, you can likely advance to senior stylist or salon manager, shaping your career trajectory within the salon industry.
One of the perks of this career path is that you get to enjoy the stability of building strong relationships with your clients and regulars. You also have the potential to earn additional wages through commissions and tips.
Overall, by the time you complete your studies, you will have spent a sizable amount of time working in real-work salons, so you should have a good idea of what the work in this environment entails and whether it’s the path you wish to pursue.
2 – Freelance Hairstylist
This is most likely the second most popular career path for graduates. Rather than working in an existing salon, you could work your craft out of your own home studio or on-demand at venues or for special events.
This path is particularly exciting if you crave flexibility and aren’t afraid of handling all the aspects of managing a personal business. Though, the shape of the business can also vary – as stylists can work on photo shoots, at fashion shows, weddings, and other events.
One advantage of this path is that you can set your own schedule, work in diverse settings,and be selective with your projects. It might not be as simple as working in a salon until you make connections, but as long as you have a strong portfolio you can likely start finding clients.
Overall, the challenge for this path would be in building a client base and managing your initial clients list, as well as handling the business and networking aspects of freelancing.
3 – Educator
We’ll admit, we’re highly encouraging of our students to consider becoming educators in the future (we’ve even had more than a few educators over the years who came from our own ranks).
The best part about becoming an educator is that you get to share your passion and expertise with the next generation of stylists. Most of the teaching spots are available at vocational schools, beauty academies, but there are also some within product companies.
Of course, since we live in a day and age where social media is prevalent, there’s also a lot of possibility for becoming an educator online – either by creating your own video lessons or even offering your services as styling tutor.
To really succeed as an educator, you’ll want to ensure that you’re also an effective communicator. A little patience for slow starters also never hurt anyone!
Out of all the paths, many of the educators we’ve spoken to have said that this has been the most rewarding part of their post graduate careers.
4 – Product Representative
It’s one thing to cut hair and another to help stylists decide how they cut hair.
This role is a little different from the ones above in that you get to dive into the business side of hairstyling by representing leading hair product companies. Working in this role requires that you develop strong relationships with salon owners and other stylists, and be very familiar with your products and know how to demonstrate them. This can include everything from shampoos, to conditioners, to even the scissors that stylists use.
This career path involves a mix of product knowledge, salesmanship, and a passion for promoting hair care solutions. As you’ll spend a large portion of your time communicating with possible clients and other prospects, it will probably help if you consider yourself outgoing!
People in these positions can often expect strong performance based salaries, with the opportunity to progress into management or training roles.
5 – Film and Special Effects Stylist
There’s a reason why the people we see on TV look the way they do! Stylists play an important role in the film and TV industries, helping bring characters to life by giving them the required look for any given scene.
In this line of work, you get to immerse yourself in the world of entertainment as a film hairstylist, collaborating with directors, costume designers, and makeup artists to create captivating hairstyles for actors.
A fun part of this is that not only do studios need stylists to get their stars prim and proper for the screen, but production companies often work with stylists to help with their special effects. Working with wigs or styling the hair of villains in fantastical settings often involves a lot of creative thinking and some experience as a stylise to pull off the looks!
Following this path might be trickier to get into at first, but there are frequently students in film production programs looking for stylists to help with projects where you can build up your portfolio and make connections. Also, depending on your city, there could be a substantial film and television industry there hiring for their next production.
Final Thoughts
At Modern College, we do our best to empower our students to explore these diverse career paths and beyond. Whether your passion lies in transforming clients’ looks in a salon or creating iconic hairstyles for film, the hairstyling program prepares you for success in a dynamic and evolving industry.
Ready to embark on a rewarding career in hairstyling? Explore our hairstyling program at Modern College campuses in Barrie, Sudbury, and North Bay, Ontario. Connect with us at [email protected] to learn more about our enrollment process, and how we can support your journey to becoming a hairstyling professional.
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