To level 3 or not?

[Sophisticuts]

Hi,
I'm looking for some honest advice.

I worked as a junior from the age of 14, went onto work as a trainee stylist in a salon when i was 16-19. The owner trained me himself and told me I didnt need to go to college,and i stupidly believed him. I worked a full column and I was earning good money so didnt question it.
I went travelling for 2 years and when I came back I trained in nails,tanning, lashes and hair extensions and worked offering those for a couple of years, but always wanted to get back into hair properly. I had a baby and after having her I did my level 2 nvq at college, the training was really bad, I taught the rest of the class more than the tutors did, none of the girls were made to act professionally and some of them said they were only there to keep their benefits, there was fighting, stealing, you name it! I didnt learn nothing atall and only had 2 demos in my demo diary at the end of the year!

So now I have my level 2,and numerous beauty courses and extension courses under my belt. Im self employed and have been for 5 years, I earn good money,and I'm very happy doing what I'm doing but cant help thinking I need to do my level 3. I know I'll never want to work for someone else, but even to open my own salon, it would be better to have level 3 wouldnt it, or maybe even to do more enhanced colour courses etc. I applied for an interview for Nvq level 3 in January,and received a text yesterday to say to go in tomorrow morning and enrol, no letter, no interview, nothing. I really dont know what to do, its £3300, I can afford it, but I dont know if I can face going there again, I hated it so much,and was so frustrated that I was paying to be there. I know I can do private courses, but these will never look as good on my C.V than level 3 NVQ will they.

Whats everyones thoughts? Please be honest, I can take it.

 

[Hayleyhair]

I done exactly the same as you! I trained years ago and then went back 15 years later to do level 2 I paid £3000 and every other person got it for free due to being on benefits and was just there so not to loose them.
As I pretty much knew what I was doing I done the course in 5 months and volunteered in a local salon 2 days a week to help me get my confidence back.
But to be honest most of what I know I researched myself online.
I've taught myself level 3 which is mainly colour correction . Lots of hairdressers I've worked with haven't done level 3.
You sound like you know what your doing £3000 is a lot of money for something which I think you can teach yourself. The salon geeks on here helped me which anything I found a bit tricky.

 

[Sophisticuts]

I done exactly the same as you! I trained years ago and then went back 15 years later to do level 2 I paid £3000 and every other person got it for free due to being on benefits and was just there so not to loose them.
As I pretty much knew what I was doing I done the course in 5 months and volunteered in a local salon 2 days a week to help me get my confidence back.
But to be honest most of what I know I researched myself online.
I've taught myself level 3 which is mainly colour correction . Lots of hairdressers I've worked with haven't done level 3.
You sound like you know what your doing £3000 is a lot of money for something which I think you can teach yourself. The salon geeks on here helped me which anything I found a bit tricky.

Hi,
Thankyou so much for your reply.
I decided not to go, was up most of the night thinking about the pros and cons and couldnt think of one pro, other than having the certificate. I figured if I do ever need it in the future, I can go and do it then.

Thanks again for your reply, I really appreciate it x

 

[Hayleyhair]

I'm happy to help you with any questions you have with colour correction for future [emoji5]️

 

[AcidPerm]

If you can afford £3k+ on training and looking towards running your own salon, I'd strongly urge you to focus on either doing your colour Masters degree or similar course with Wella (or other colour house) rather than level 3. Or consider attending one of the advanced courses run by the Sassoon Academy or similar high end training company.

I think if you'd only just completed level 2 and had very little salon experience, level 3 is a good step as you learn more advanced cutting techniques and the basics of colour correction.

However, as you've have a decent amount of experience on the salon floor, I suspect that you'll find level 3 similar to your level 2 and equally frustrating and spend half your time helping out fellow students (as I did).