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Di is the manager and hairstylist of a thriving salon,
located in a metropolitan shopping mall. The salon offers services to both men and women and can accommodate
more than ten hairstylists. Di's experience is unique in that she has both
a cosmetology license and a barber's license, besides the fact that she was
promoted to manager early in her career.
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What made you decide on a career in
hairstyling/barbering? |
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| Becoming a hairstylist had been a
childhood dream since I was the age of five. I don't know what
first got me interested, but it was definitely a life goal. |
| What were you doing before you entered the
American College of Hairstyling? |
| Before I started studying hairstyling, I
went to college for a year at Northwest Missouri State
University. My parents had urged me to attend the university for
at least a year before following my dream of pursuing
hairstyling. I kind of took an unusual path towards my goal,
though.
I actually have a cosmetology license and a barber's
license. I'm proud of the barber's license. I had gone
through cosmetology school in Missouri and earned my diploma before
returning home to Iowa. However, the laws in Iowa required more
hours of study than Missouri and I felt that I only had enough
experience to "get by", but not enough to really cut
hair. I wanted to be proficient. So, I enrolled at the
American College of Hairstyling, where I knew they start you right off
cutting hair.
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| Where did you work after graduation? |
| Great Clips on East Euclid Avenue, in
Des Moines. I was there for one year, then transferred to the
shop in Ames. After a year in Ames, I went to my current salon, where I
could do everything (haircuts, perms, nails, colors). |
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How many hours a week do you work now? |
| I work forty to forty-five hours a
week.
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| What kind of car do you drive? |
| 1998 Pontiac Sunfire
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| What advice would you give new students
to the American College of Hairstyling? |
| What you do today does not only affect
today, but it affects tomorrow, a month from now and a year from
now. You must set goals for yourself, so that the things you do
today can help you reach the goals you set for tomorrow. I
wouldn't be where I'm at without them. Also, check out every
school and find out which one is right for you. |
| What would you tell other people who are
considering a barber's license? |
| At least one out of every ten
women in a salon has a barber's license. I learned a lot more
about cutting hair. Everything that I learned in Missouri, over
a year at cosmetology school, I learned in six months at barber
school: cut, style, rat, tease, foil, perm, color, shave and clipper
cuts, you name it. And, knowing how to do clipper cuts saved
my business because a majority of my clients are men. You'd be
surprised. |
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