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In Lincoln Nebraska, why does a 2-year, community college associate’s degree cost only $14,000 and a 1-year cosmetology degree cost $20,000?

And to make things worse, the average hourly wage earned by a new hair stylist is $9.00, but an entry level associate’s degree earns $12.00 per hour. Does this seem logical or practical to you?

According to a 2018 New York Times article, thirteen years after graduating, some students still owe more than $8,000. And Beauty Schools have deterred attempts to create cheaper alternatives.

Some states require 1000 hours of education for a cosmetology degree, but Nebraska is nearly double that, at 1800. It can take less than one tenth the time and money to become an emergency medical technician. The more hours students are mandated to be in school, the more debt they must incur.

Schools don’t have to pay students for the services they provide; in fact, the students pay tuition for the hours they work in the salons.  The classes can be boring and repetitive. Some instructors are students themselves or have little to no experience in the field.

“I would say probably 60 percent of my first year was sitting around waiting for an appointment,” one recent graduate said. “I thought I would make enough money to live, but I couldn’t pay my student loan and had to get another job.”

In 2018 Nebraska legislators, after a long battle with the schools, reduced the requirement to 1,800 hours. The problem is, most of new graduates will struggle for years before they are able to comfortably live and pay off the student debt, if they can at all.

“I thought I would make enough money to live, but I couldn’t pay my student loan and had to get another job”

With booth-rental salons up over 75 percent, it is hard for students straight out of school to find a place to continue to learn, let alone the ability to pay rent. “I learned more in the first month, in the salon, than I did in the entire year of beauty school, but it took time to build my clients,” said a local stylist.

“The problem is the schools in Nebraska are teaching their students to work at a commission salon to build a clientele, then take that clientele and booth rent at another salon,” said a local salon owner.  “We spend time and money training and building our new stylists a clientele, then they take those clients with them and we have to start all over. It’s just bad business education.”

There is a solution. In 2018 the state of Nebraska approved the licensing of apprentice salons. The apprentice salon can give potential stylists the education and hourly requirements to get their license to practice cosmetology. There are no student loans required. This is an option for people that cannot afford a $20,000 tuition.

The great thing about the apprentice salon is, the stylist-in-training can earn a living while still learning their craft. Since this is such a new program there are very few if any apprentice salons out there. The apprentice gains hands-on experience in salon procedures under the watchful eye of a professional. This means the apprentice is literally learning his or her trade on the job.

Most of the time, the apprentice will have a full-time job in the salon after the apprenticeship is completed and they have earned their license. This gives a substantial advantage over a student who only has experience in beauty school.

We hope in 2021, the state of Nebraska approves more and more of these apprentice salon licenses to help alleviate some of the burden of student debt. More people choosing an apprenticeship means that they can work and be paid for their time while also learning their craft.