Education for 24 year old

[jayz]

hi im 24 and a mum of two (3 as of next year).

i have looked at my local college and wanted to do both hairdressing , barbering and beauty.
im also looking at doing a qualifying hair extensions course with a local company.

my question is...
is there funding for level 1 and 2 courses or would i need to pay for this myself. i know i can get funding for upto 4 level 3 courses with the 24+ loan. but not sure how i would fund the level 1 and 2 courses.

my other option is too do single courses one at a time in beauty treatments and then try and fund level 1 and 2 of the hairdressing and then use the 24+ loan for level 3 hairdressing but this wouldn't give me a fully qualifying qualification in beauty or barbering just hairdressing.

my reason for wanting to become fully qualified in all 3 is because i would like to gain the qualifications in all three, my hope is too one day open a salon and having experience and qualifications in all three i think would be more beneficial in the long run regarding employment and self employment opportunities.

i understand to become qualified in all of the above im looking at 10 years of study and this doesn't bother me..

im hoping someone can guide me on what would be the best and most beneficial option.

once qualified in hair or beauty (whichever i qualify in first) i was going to work part time and study part time for the remaining courses. id also like to do some of the more advanced courses my college offers in the future including make-up and the more advanced cut and color courses.

basically my question is should i do individual beauty qualifications and go down the standard route of college for hairdressing or the standard route for all of it

thankyou for your help

 

[leanne7685]

college all the way most colleges have child care and can get funding loan that's only payable when earn over 1500 a month my prospectus for local college come the other day I paid for my courses private kind of wished I'd waited or knew about the funding before x

 

[leanne7685]

I think they do a beauty and hair course together x

 

[jayz]

thankyou. my local one doesnt do the combined course anymore.
my next town do level 1 hair and beauty but then like my local college it is then two seperate courses for level 2 and 3.

 

[leanne7685]

yh most of them do the level 3 separate I only do nails but purchased them privately college so much cheaper in the long run as you learn everything privately you have pay for each individual modual it's just picking one that you want to start with first either the beauty or hair I think barbering a separate course to I did the majority of my level 2 hair and I remember that being either last or a Sep bit but I think you can do barbering privately with likes of ellisons or salon services I think if you wanted to try juggle all 3 x

 

[jayz]

the barbering is mainly so i can do my two sons hair to a good standard although i would quiet happily do gents and boys cuts

 

[jayz]

im thinking of studying hairdressing up-to and completing level 3 and then the advance cut and color course and then doing beauty.
my eldest is 7, current youngest is 2 and baby due to enter the world beginning of next year. if i left college until sept 2018 so i can enjoy my kids a little longer before having the added stresses of studying to my life. i could be fully qualified by the time my youngest is 10 and eldest is 17/18. i understand my eldest would be grown up but im hoping to start work along side the study so complete the hairdressing for example and then do the beauty and barbering part time along side working. i understand my eldest will be 'grown up' by the time ive completed my qualifications and feel it will be too late for him to benefit. having said that he will witness me train for a career i want and see me work hard to get there. surely leaving it late is better than never, ill be around 36 myself is this too old (im 24 now)

 

[jayz]

once ive completed the 3 years hairdressing i can go straight to a level 3 in barbering. so this would take 4 years in total to complete.
3 years studying beauty therapy and possibly an extra 2 years doing make up. so im total im looking at 7-9 years.

my college doesn't currently offer it but i would like to do level 4 in hairdressing also if i can. or an advanced cutting and coloring course.

im very much an all or nothing person. and my aim is to gain the highest qualification and experience as i can.. i love to learn and id like to learn as much as i possibly can

 

[AcidPerm]

What you're suggesting is a Jack of all Trades.
I'm a perpetual student and enjoy learning but I recommend you specialise in one specific area via college and then take the other courses privately with reputable trainers. College teaching is fairly generic and you generally find better quality training privately, but it's not cheap.

If you want to do hairdressing well, focus on that first. Once you've understood the fundamentals of how to cut hair, you can do Barbering as an add on short course. Wahl and others run them and they're very good.

Also, as a mature student, assuming you have a reasonable grasp of basic Maths & written English, you shouldn't need to start with level 1. A few colleges still insist on it, but most will allow you to start with level 2.

It shouldn't take anything like ten years to reach your goals.

 

[leanne7685]

once ive completed the 3 years hairdressing i can go straight to a level 3 in barbering. so this would take 4 years in total to complete.
3 years studying beauty therapy and possibly an extra 2 years doing make up. so im total im looking at 7-9 years.

my college doesn't currently offer it but i would like to do level 4 in hairdressing also if i can. or an advanced cutting and coloring course.

im very much an all or nothing person. and my aim is to gain the highest qualification and experience as i can.. i love to learn and id like to learn as much as i possibly can

well I'm 31 my youngest is turning 1 in sept my other 2 are 5+9 it's hard training I started when I'd just had him wish I had started when I was pregnant so hard trying for things in from when he goes to bed I like to keep learning new things I'm maxing out all the nail things at the minute from diff types nail courses spray tan hoping to do some beauty courses when I get some more free time in as looking at doing beauty at college this September but I just don't think I will be able juggle it with my boys in school my partner works 6 days a week sometimes 7 so I have to be able to pick my boys up which I don't think I will be with college but if you can go college I would say that is the best option I'm not sure about your area and don't quote me on it but I'm sure my college offered an introduction to barbering I think it was an evening class 1 night a week that may be just what you need to get the basics and then practice you can get the heads on eBay quite cheap practice on x

 

[jayz]

yeah i did consider this. i was going to do some beauty treatment courses while the kids are young and then do the hairdressing at college so i could maybe look at going mobile sooner rather than later.
i worry that i would struggle to seek employment and insurances if i was to do the short courses. for example if i wanted to do beauty as well as hairdressing.
i don't know many that are qualified in both it seems to be hair or beauty and there are probably a thousand reasons for this but i will be doing one qualification at a time and completing it before i move on to the next qualification. and work at perfecting my art and skills throughout, you dont finish learning just because you have the qualification.

if i was too do a few short courses who would you suggest i learn with please

 

[jayz]

would i get funding for my first level 1 and 2 course or is it down to the college to if i get funding or not ? thankyou

 

[leanne7685]

I think the funding standard but you have to apply for the college course and then go to the student support and they help you with the loan forms as long as the courses accredited you will be able to gain insurance no matter how short they are they usually say what you will gain in way of qualification for private short courses I would go through likes of ellisons sweet squared salon services they offer an education section where you can pay to do a course and gain qualification that you can be insured with but they can be quite expensive if your hoping to offer a few treatments and it nails x

 

[jayz]

nails is something ive always wanted to do. tanning and waxing are also things that im interested in and massage. i have looked at some of the courses on sweet squared. i think i will look at doing some short courses and then college once things have settled once everything with the baby has settled down. at the moment i have the time of a night to practice once the kids are in bed to perfect the skills i am taught.
im really looking forward to it.
im a real girly girl myself and its something i have always wanted to do but was always put off by family .
i dyed my hair 7 colours (rainbow) not so long ago and the compliments were amazing people coming up to me in the street asking where i got it done saying how amazing and professional it looked even a hairdresser ran out of her salon and complimented my hair. shocked when i said i did it myself. i was quiet proud and it really opened my eyes and i realized if i was given the tools and taught the skills i might actually be able to be good at something other than being a mum

 

[jayz]

thankyou for all your advice its been really helpful

 

[leanne7685]

have a look at Liverpool lashes on YouTube and Facebook she was self taught but then went onto to do progressional her work is amazing she has some really good tutorials and so much advice there the creative academy in Manchester they do some food courses to I think them or sweet squared for private x

 

[AcidPerm]

Re: Private courses for specific beauty services, I'd recommend well known companies such as Sweet Squared, Kim Lawless for waxing etc. Not the short courses offered by the beauty wholesalers. They are fine for top ups to your training but they can be a bit hit and miss depending on the individual trainer employed to teach that day.

Definitely be wary of cheap 1 day wonders offered by local unknowns. 5 star Internet reviews are generally meaningless unless there is at least 100 excellent reviews. A dozen excellent reviews can easily be posted by friends & family!

Also, don't be fooled by the word 'Accredited'.
Accredited just means they have paid money to an Insurance company so that successful students can purchase insurance from that one company. It has NOTHNG to do with ensuring minimum standards are met so an accredited course could be totally shocking in terms of teaching quality and leave you having to pay again to do a similar course elsewhere.

Spend a lot of time researching before diving in.

 

[jayz]

thank you AcidPerm and leanne7685 . i have been very skeptical about courses that aren't done through a local college.
as i said this is something ive always wanted to do but never had the confidence to pursue anything. im going to start looking again at courses on sweet squared and go from there.

 

[jayz]

sorry for all the questions.

is there anywhere in birmingham i could do nails, tanning and waxing like on sweet squared .(obviously sperate courses. these as well as massage and eventually hair extensions are the only beauty side of things im intrested in at the moment)
no worries if not i will just have to sort out about possibly making a 'trip' of it

 

[leanne7685]

I'm not sure I'm from Warrington not clued up on what's available elsewhere but you could put a thread up asking for recommended training for specific things in your area here on salon geek I'm sure lots of lovely geeks will of done training in or near your area to advise where is best to go x