Become a Cosmetologist | Cosmetology Schools Norvelt PA

How to Enroll In a Beauty School near Norvelt Pennsylvania

nail technicians training at Norvelt PA beauty school Since you have decided to become a cosmetologist and enroll in a beauty school near Norvelt PA, the task begins to find and enroll in the ideal school. It’s important that the program you select not only furnishes the necessary training for the specialty you have chosen, but also preps you for passing the licensing exam. When you begin your preliminary search, you may be somewhat puzzled about the contrast between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don’t be, because the titles are basically interchangeable and both relate to the same kind of school. We’ll talk a little bit more concerning that in the next segment. If you anticipate commuting to classes you will want to choose a school that is within driving distance of your Norvelt residence. Tuition will likewise be an important consideration when evaluating prospective schools. Just remember that because a school is the nearest or the least expensive it’s not always the best choice. There are many other considerations that you should weigh when comparing schools, for example their reputation and accreditation. We will examine what questions you should ask concerning the cosmetology schools you are thinking about later within this article. Before we do, let’s discuss a bit about what cosmetology is, and what kinds of training programs are available.

What is Cosmetology

Norvelt PA makeup ar4tist applying makeup Cosmetology is a profession that is everything about making the human body look more attractive through the application of cosmetics. So naturally it makes sense that a number of cosmetology schools are described as beauty schools. Many of us think of makeup when we hear the word cosmetics, but basically a cosmetic may be almost anything that improves the look of a person’s skin, hair or nails. If you want to work as a cosmetologist, the majority of states mandate that you take some type of specialized training and then be licensed. Once you are licensed, the work settings include not only Norvelt PA beauty salons and barber shops, but also such businesses as spas, hotels and resorts. Many cosmetologists, once they have gained experience and a customer base, open their own shops or salons. Others will start servicing clients either in their own homes or will go to the client’s residence, or both. Cosmetology college graduates go by many professional names and are employed in a wide range of specializations including:

Hairdressers
Hairstylists
Beauticians
Barbers
Manicurists
Nail Technicians
Makeup Artists
Hair Coloring Specialists
Estheticians
Electrolysis Technicians

As previously stated, in most states working cosmetologists must be licensed. In some states there is an exception. Only those offering more skilled services, for instance hairstylists, are required to be licensed. Other people employed in cosmetology and less skilled, which include shampooers, are not required to become licensed in those states.

Cosmetology Degrees and Certificates

Norvelt PA hairdresser cutting hair There are basically two options available to get cosmetology training and a credential after completion. You can enroll in a certificate (or diploma) course, or you can work toward an Associate’s degree. Certificate programs typically call for 12 to 18 months to complete, while an Associate’s degree ordinarily takes about 2 years. If you enroll in a certificate program you will be instructed in each of the main areas of cosmetology. Shorter programs are offered if you prefer to concentrate on just one area, such as hair coloring. A degree program will also probably incorporate management and marketing training so that graduates are better prepared to run a salon or other Norvelt PA business. Higher degrees are not prevalent, but Bachelor and Master’s degree programs are offered in such areas as salon or spa management. Whatever type of course you go with, it’s important to make sure that it’s recognized by the Pennsylvania Board of Cosmetology. Numerous states only recognize schools that are accredited by certain highly regarded organizations, for instance the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS). We will examine the benefits of accreditation for the school you select in the following section.

Online Cosmetology Classes

student attending cosmetology school online in Norvelt PA Online beauty schools are accommodating for Norvelt PA students who are employed full-time and have family commitments that make it hard to enroll in a more traditional school. There are many web-based beauty school programs available that can be accessed by means of a desktop computer or laptop at the student’s convenience. More conventional cosmetology schools are often fast paced given that many courses are as short as six or eight months. This means that a significant amount of time is spent in the classroom. With internet programs, you are covering the same amount of material, but you’re not devoting many hours away from your home or driving back and forth from classes. However, it’s essential that the training program you pick can provide internship training in local salons and parlors in order that you also obtain the hands-on training needed for a complete education. Without the internship part of the training, it’s difficult to gain the skills necessary to work in any facet of the cosmetology field. So don’t forget if you choose to enroll in an online program to confirm that internship training is available in your area.

What to Ask Cosmetologist Training Classes

Questions to ask Norvelt PA beauty schools Below is a list of questions that you should research for any beauty training school you are contemplating. As we have already discussed, the location of the school relative to your Norvelt PA home, together with the cost of tuition, will probably be your primary qualifiers. Whether you would like to pursue a certificate, diploma or a degree will undoubtedly be next on your list. But once you have reduced your school options based on those preliminary qualifications, there are even more factors that you should research and take into consideration before enrolling in a cosmetology program. Following we have compiled several of those additional questions that you should ask every school before making a final selection.

Is the Program Accredited? It’s important to make sure that the cosmetology school you choose is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged local or national organization, such as the National Accrediting Commission for Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS). Programs accredited by the NACCAS must meet their high standards ensuring a quality curriculum and education. Accreditation may also be important for getting student loans or financial aid, which typically are not available in 15674 for non- accredited schools. It’s also a prerequisite for licensing in several states that the training be accredited. And as a final benefit, many Norvelt PA employers will not hire recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or may look more favorably upon those with accredited training.

Does the School have an Excellent Reputation? Every beauty college that you are seriously evaluating should have a good to exceptional reputation within the industry. Being accredited is an excellent starting point. Next, ask the schools for endorsements from their network of employers where they have placed their students. Confirm that the schools have high job placement rates, attesting that their students are highly regarded. Visit rating companies for reviews as well as the school’s accrediting organizations. If you have any relationships with Norvelt PA salon owners or managers, or any person working in the field, ask them if they are familiar with the schools you are looking at. They may even be able to recommend others that you had not thought of. And last, contact the Pennsylvania school licensing authority to see if there have been any grievances submitted or if the schools are in full compliance.

What’s the School’s Focus? Some beauty schools offer programs that are broad in nature, concentrating on all areas of cosmetology. Others are more focused, providing training in a specific specialty, such as hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs commonly broaden into a management and marketing curriculum. So it’s important that you enroll in a school that specializes in your area of interest. If your intention is to be trained as an esthetician, make certain that the school you enroll in is accredited and well regarded for that program. If your vision is to open a hair salon in Norvelt PA, then you want to enroll in a degree program that will instruct you how to be an owner/operator. Selecting a highly regarded school with a weak program in the specialty you are seeking will not provide the training you require.

Is Plenty of Hands-On Training Provided? Studying and refining cosmetology skills and techniques requires lots of practice on volunteers. Find out how much live, hands-on training is provided in the beauty lessons you will be attending. Some schools have salons on site that enable students to practice their growing talents on real people. If a beauty school provides little or no scheduled live training, but instead relies predominantly on utilizing mannequins, it might not be the best alternative for cultivating your skills. So search for alternate schools that provide this kind of training.

Does the School have a Job Placement Program? Once a student graduates from a cosmetology school, it’s essential that he or she gets assistance in securing that initial job. Job placement programs are an integral part of that process. Schools that offer help maintain relationships with Norvelt PA businesses that are seeking qualified graduates available for hiring. Check that the programs you are contemplating have job placement programs and ask which salons and organizations they refer students to. In addition, 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 Assistance Available? Many cosmetology schools offer financial aid or student loan assistance for their students. Ask if the schools you are reviewing have a financial aid department. Speak with a counselor and learn what student loans or grants you might get approved for. If the school is a member of the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS), it will have scholarships available to students as well. If a school satisfies each of your other qualifications with the exception of cost, do not eliminate it as an alternative before you find out what financial aid may be provided.

Enrolled in Cosmetology School near Norvelt PA?

If you have decided to attend Beauty School in the greater Norvelt PA area, following is some interesting and perhaps useful information about the location of your new school campus.

Norvelt, Pennsylvania

Norvelt is a census-designated place in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community was part of the Calumet-Norvelt CDP for the 2000 census, but was split into the two separate communities of Calumet and Norvelt for the 2010 census. Calumet was a typical company town, locally referred to as a "patch" or "patch town", built by a single company to house coal miners as cheaply as possible. On the other hand, Norvelt was created during the depression by the federal government of the United States as a model community, intended to increase the standard of living of laid-off coal miners. Award winning writer Jack Gantos was born in the village and wrote a book about it [2]

As part of the sweeping National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA), Congress allocated $25 million for the creation of "subsistence homesteads" for dislocated industrial workers. Over the course of the program's eleven-year history, the federal government seeded nearly 100 planned, cooperative communities. Norvelt, in southwestern Pennsylvania, was the fourth. The idea for the program was a throwback to the Jeffersonian ideal of a back-to-the-land movement, popularized by Americans who promoted small-scale subsistence farming as an antidote to economic exploitation and the alienation of modern life.[3] The idea gained strength in the 1920s among a wide variety of progressive organizations, including church-related groups such as the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) which was the social services arm of the Quakers.[2] During the 1920s, the AFSC had become deeply concerned with the violence that resulted from labor strife, particularly in the bituminous coal fields of Appalachia. So AFSC volunteers traveled to the bituminous-coal regions in West Virginia and Pennsylvania to help the families of striking and unemployed coal miners. The AFSC also believed in the necessity of economic and social justice as a means of insuring lasting peace in this section of the United States. To that end, it clothed and fed the families of unemployed miners during strikes, and later launched subsistence gardening and vocational retraining programs. After the onset of the Great Depression, these experiences placed the AFSC in the forefront of the movement for cooperative communities, so much so that the United States Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes recruited AFSC staff to guide its subsistence homesteads program.[4]

The Great Depression was an opportunity to put these ideals into action. Supporters lobbied for the creation of a government-sponsored resettlement program that would place unemployed industrial workers in farmstead communities. Promoted as a relief measure, it quickly became weighted with the much more ambitious goal of cooperative living.[2] In 1934, Interior Secretary Ickes named Milburn Wilson to head the newly created "Division of Subsistence Homesteads". Wilson, in turn, selected the AFSC's Clarence Pickett to help administer the program. As the AFSC's executive secretary, Pickett already had overseen vocational reeducation and cooperative farm programs for unemployed coal miners in West Virginia. The AFSC's work supplied the prototype for the federal program. In the years that followed, AFSC lent its support to the federal program and later sponsored its own cooperative community, Penn-Craft in Fayette County.

Find the Right Beauty Training Program near Norvelt PA

Norvelt PA barber blow drying client's hair Locating and enrolling in the ideal cosmetologist program is essential to get the proper training to become a licensed cosmetology professional. Make sure to ask all the questions that you need to in order to feel positive about your decision. Make certain to organize all of the information you get from the cosmetology school admissions departments, prioritize what matters the most to you, and then use that information to contrast schools. A good beginning in your due diligence process is to make sure that the institution and program you pick are accredited and have exceptional reputations within the profession. If you begin with that base, and answer the additional questions supplied in this post, you will be able to narrow down your list of schools so that you can make the ideal selection. Once you graduate and pass your licensing exam, you will be confident that you are ready to begin your career as a professional cosmetologist in Norvelt PA.