hi, im new here and i am thinking of starting a beauty therapy course-nvq level 2 (unless i can do a higher level without any beauty experiance, i think this is the highest level i could start off on?) however i am currently a newly qualified stafff nurse but have developed an intrest in beauty therapy this past year or two. i enjoy doing my own nails and waxing/pampering etc and think i would enjoy the career.

i still want to carry on with my nursing full time, i currently work in neurosurgery but would like to go into either midwifery,family planning or sexual health in the future.
i am thinking of doing the part time course (its over 2 evenings a week for 36 weeks) and once qualified i thought i might do treatments for freinds/family and friends of friends and maybe advertise myself to the public in my free time.
ive also briefly thought of complimentary therpies and thought this could maybe link in with my nursing.

so really just looking for peoples opinons on this, do you think it is 'doable' how hard is the course? anyone been in a simlar situation? any tips/ideas? thanks! x

Hi and welcome to the site.

Yes of course it's doable if you want to do it! As you've got a nursing qualification you should breeze through the a&p theory as well. Bear in mind though that you will need time to practice your treatments in between work and college so you may find yourself very tight for time while you're doing the course. But you sound pretty motivated to me, so go for it.

having the nursing behand you will be a huge advantage for the anatomy and physiology part of the course, and generally once you are interested in something you will take to the learning and work easier so i would say definately go for it and good luck

hi, thankyou for your replys, i have emailed the college to find out about the star date and cost, hopefully it wont be too much! cant wait!

Hi and welcome to the site
I want you to bear in mind that with your qualifications in nursing, you are already qualified to do the high end of the beauty industries treatments, such as botox, collegian etc, its just a case of you transferring your existing skills to the new industry.
Also with your knowledge of anatomy and physiology you should find your self exempt from those aspects of the course.
Certainly when my husband was doing his computer engineering degree, because he already had qualifications in related industries he found that he was exempt from the first year of the course, just had to take one of the exams.
So don't be shy about singing your own praises and see where you can same your self time and money to progress in your new choices.
By the by one of the ladies on here is a forensic scientist then discovered she really didn't like working with dead bodies

hmmm thats good to know, i wonder where il stand for which course to take then, i think id have to take the level 2 nvq first to get the basics for waxing,nails facials etc then maybe do a seperate course for the other stuff or go on and do the level 3, i think id like an all rounder as in training in different treatments- manis, pedis, facials, waxing probably to start with and maybe go into the other higher end stuff too, and im thinking of maybe massage/holistic too at some point maybe if time, funds and brain power allow!

ive noticed there are some courses that do the massage route? im not sure if my local college does this or not though. think i maybe need to go to the college and discuss my ideas with them and see what they can offer me.

Good idea speaking to the college!

I would say that you'd be better off doing Level 2 Beauty as it provides the foundations (mani, pedi, waxing etc) and then progress to Level 3 if you want.

I'm currently working full time 9-5 and doing 2 nights a week at college doing level 2 Beauty (as well as an Open University degree). It's hard going and requires a fair bit of organisation, practicing in your own time, doing assignments at home, revision for the (millions of) exams etc. The fact you've got the nursing stuff down will really help you with the anatomy stuff as said earlier, that's the bit I find the biggest ballache really. The theory on the practical stuff is fine, the practical is fine but the anatomy theory makes me die a bit inside!

A woman I'm at college with is a nurse and she loves the course, finds it really interesting and is considering moving into beauty when she's finished.

I'd say go for it! I'm currently working in an office, doing 2 days a week at college doing Beauty Therapy level 2 and 2 evenings doing hairdressing level 2. I must admit it has been a strain doing so much, I had to reduce my hours at work 'cos it was too much, but as already has been said, you will breeze through the a&p which is a big part of the theory sorted already!

One thing I will say is APPLY NOW! If it's anything like my college, you have to apply asap as interviews will be starting soon. I nearly didn't get in last year as I applied so late, I applied in February for the September start!!

Good luck hun and welcome

alot of your local college's will most likely offer evening courses and i know some of their part time courses are just 1,2,3 days a week chocolate training academy in Morley, Leeds is great you can do it evening, weekends or 2/3days during the week for couple of weeks and then go in salon for ur assesments etc. its fab i train there

my local college, well one of them does it on mon and wens nights 6-9 just not sure of the start date, i think it will be sometime in september but site just says to be confirmed. i just need to make sure i will be able to just work early shifts on those days or an 9-5 or 8-4 or something. i should be ok when doing nights they start at 9.20 so should be able to get changed and make it in to work on time.

but im not planning to be where i am for a great deal longer anyway a few more months to compleate my perceptorship and game at least 6 months ward experiance then im goin to start looking into working in another field, if it community or some sort of clinic based job then it will probably be 9-5 anyway. unless i get on the midwifery course, uni days wont be a problem but im not sure how placements would take to me only been able to work the early shift mondays and wednesdays. (and that actually depends what placement id be on for eg community would be 9-5 anyway)

but is that a reason not to apply as i dont even know if the midwifery course is been run yet or not, ive emailed the uni but no reply as of yet! nevermind getting on it! having said that i might not get on the beauty therapy course either!

seems like lots of people manage with a full time job and the part time course, hopefully i will manage it too!

I would apply, if it turns out that you can't do it, the collage will contact someone who couldn't be on the course and let them know that there is a place after all. But if you don't apply then you don't get the opportunity at all.

i went to the college today to find out some info but iwas too late it shut at 4 cause of half term but i got an application form and was told to fill it im and get it back as soon as and there will be a special day where i can go and find out about the course and i think have an interview.
the only thing is when i got in aand read my reply to an email i sent to the college regarding prices they said its around £1,500 odd and is expected to rise for this september! there is no way i can afford that we are currently saving a deposit for a mortgage and this takes priority at the moment and even when we have a house i wont be able to pay this much for a cpurse especially when its only going to be a hobbie/part time/when i can thing, even though i would really like to do it :-(

im wondering if i could get funding but i very much doubt it, i was expecting it to be more like a couple of hundred pound not thousands! seems very expensive! then i bet id have to get my uniform and kit ontop of that! im sure i saw a simlar course may have been level 1 or another part of beauty that said it cost 200 odd pound for the course.

dont know what im going to do now think i might fill the application in and go an have a chat woth them and see what they say, but if its that much theres no chance.

Ouch! That's a lot of money! I suppose your best bet is to find out as much information as possible, go to the open day and see what they say. Once you have all the info you need, you can make an informed decision what to do.

I've just looked at the price of the NVQ level 2 beauty therapy course at my local college and it's £525. I think - I hope - they may have given you the wrong price.

There may be a way of getting funding, I would search Google, there's also a site called studentfinance.gov.uk or something along those lines, my friend told me about it last year. Might be worth a look?