Hi. I'm Christy, and I've finally done it. I've made a commitment to start a career in the beauty industry! I'm 35 and a stay-at-home mom, my son will be 13 in a couple of months. So I’ve decided it’s definitely time to get out there and get back into life. My school is the Casal Aveda Institute in Youngstown, Ohio. I decided on Casal because it has a great reputation and every time I talked to someone at the school they were always upbeat and professional...no bad attitudes here. Casal has a good atmosphere, and it's important to me that I'm at a school that sets high standards for professionalism and customer service. After all, the beauty industry's about people! Maybe that’s why I decided to get involved, the whole point of a salon is to make people feel good about themselves. What could be more rewarding? I love the sights, sounds, and even the smells of the salon. Some of my best memories take place there. That’s where prom, homecoming, first dates, and many other big events really began for me. The pre-event trip to get dolled up was as exciting as the event itself — sometimes it even turned out to be more fun.

My program is a 300-hour Managing Manicurist course that takes 10 weeks to finish. I'll be learning a full range of nail services using products like OPI, Backscratchers, LCN, and Zoya. Part of my course includes creating a portfolio of my work, and learning Aveda specifics like Plant Aromaology. My hours are Monday through Saturday 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. The week is a little shorter than a regular work week but it'll be a good place to start after so many years of being out of the loop. The tuition for the nail program doesn't qualify for most types of student aid because it's only 300 hours. But I can use my G.I. Bill to pay about half of the tuition, in the end I'll have to pay $1,500 in addition to the application and registration fees. I've set up a payment schedule with the school that has to be paid before my hours will be released to state board to get my license. Paying that in two months will be a challenge, but it’s do-able.

For anyone thinking about going to nail school don't be afraid to shop around, ask questions, and even visit the school a couple of times. I called about 4-5 different schools and visited 3 before I enrolled at Casal. Just in N.E Ohio alone there's a wide variety of schools that each do things differently. So I looked around until I found one that's a good fit for me. The NAILS article "What to Look for in a Beauty School Nail Program" was a lot of help.

As far as where I'm headed after I get my license, I'm still working out a plan. I need to get a better grasp on the types of pay scales, and check out my health insurance options (important stuff for parents). I do know that I want to start out somewhere that has a good training available and I'd like to be around some business veterans who can show me the ropes. For now I'll focus on good customer service, and technique while keeping my eyes open for continuing education opportunities.

— Christy