If you can get them funded for you, do as much through your local college as you can. That way they aren't brand specific and will be recognised qualifications. So if you do manicure, pedicure, gel polish, acrylic through college you won't be tied to one brand. It's worth trying out a few brands and having a generic qualification is always good. You can then do conversion courses if you want to find out more about using a specific brand. These are cheaper than the initial training. If you attend a gel polish course the assumption is you have basic manicure skills its often a requirement so you understand nail structure and what would prevent you perform manicure (contra indications) I.e fungus etc. The gel polish course will just show how to apply their products which is why you need the manicure/pedicure certificate to gain insurance to show understanding of the theory behind it. Also you cant do pedicure without a pedicure certificate as there are more contra indications which you will need to understand. Also cnd gel polish is shellac which is a hybrid, I personally prefer pure gel polish xx