Find Top Barber Schools near Chester IL 62233

How to Choose a Barber College near Chester Illinois

Chester IL barber blow drying hair Once you have decided to attend a barber school near Chester IL, the task begins to find and enroll in the ideal school. It’s imperative that the school you choose not only furnishes the appropriate education for the specialty you have chosen, but also preps you for passing the licensing exam. When you begin your initial search, you may be somewhat confused about the distinction between beauty schools and cosmetology schools, which both may offer barbering programs. Well don’t be, because the titles are essentially interchangeable and both pertain to the same kind of school. We’ll discuss a bit more about that in the upcoming segment. If you anticipate commuting to classes you will want to choose a school that is within driving distance of your Chester residence. Tuition will also be a critical factor when reviewing potential barber schools. Just keep in mind that because a school is the nearest or the least expensive it’s not necessarily the right option. There are various other factors that you should weigh when comparing schools, for instance their reputation and accreditation. We will go over what questions you should ask about the barber colleges you are thinking about later within this article. Before we do, let’s discuss a bit about what cosmetology is, and what kinds of courses are offered.

Definition of Cosmetology

Chester IL barber razor cutting hair Cosmetology is a profession that is all about making the human body look more beautiful through the use of cosmetics. So naturally it makes sense that numerous cosmetology schools are described as beauty schools. Most of us think of makeup when we hear the term cosmetics, but basically a cosmetic can be anything that improves the appearance of a person’s skin, hair or nails. In order to work as a barber and a cosmetologist, most states mandate that you take some kind of specialized training and then become licensed. Once licensed, the work settings include not only Chester IL beauty salons and barber shops, but also such venues as spas, hotels and resorts. Many cosmetologists, once they have acquired experience and a clientele, establish their own shops or salons. Others will begin servicing customers either in their own homes or will go to the client’s house, or both. Cosmetology college graduates are known by many names and are employed in a wide range of specialties including:

• Hairstylists
• Beauticians
• Barbers
• Manicurists
• Nail Technicians
• Makeup Artists
• Hair Coloring Specialists
• Estheticians
• Electrolysis Technicians

As previously mentioned, in most states practicing cosmetologists have to be licensed. In a few states there is an exemption. Only those performing more skilled services, such as barbers or hairstylists, are required to be licensed. Others employed in cosmetology and less skilled, which include shampooers, are not required to be licensed in those states.

Online Barber Schools

Online barber colleges are convenient for students who are employed full-time and have family responsibilities that make it difficult to attend a more traditional school. There are a large number of online barbering programs offered that can be accessed through a personal computer or laptop at the student’s convenience. More traditional barber schools are often fast paced since many courses are as short as six or eight months. This means that a substantial amount of time is spent in the classroom. With online programs, you are covering the same volume of material, but you are not devoting many hours away from your Chester IL home or travelling back and forth from classes. On the other hand, it’s vital that the school you choose can provide internship training in nearby Chester IL shops or salons to ensure that you also get the hands-on training necessary for a comprehensive education. Without the internship portion of the training, it’s difficult to acquire the skills needed to work in any facet of the cosmetology field. So be sure if you choose to enroll in an online barber program to confirm that internship training is available in your area.

Questions to Ask Barbering Schools

Chester IL barber trimming beard Following is a series of questions that you need to investigate for any barber college you are considering. As we have previously discussed, the location of the school in relation to your Chester IL residence, as well as the price of tuition, will probably be your first qualifiers. Whether you want to earn a certificate, diploma or a degree will probably be next on your list. But once you have reduced your school choices based on those preliminary qualifications, there are even more factors that you need to research and consider before enrolling in a barber school. Following we have put together several of those additional questions that you should ask each school before making a final selection.

Is the Barber College Accredited? It’s necessary to make sure that the barber training program you pick is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged local or national agency, such as the National Accrediting Commission for Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS). Programs accredited by the NACCAS must comply with their high standards ensuring a superior curriculum and education. Accreditation can also be important for getting student loans or financial aid, which often are not available in Chester IL for non- accredited schools. It’s also a prerequisite for licensing in several states that the training be accredited. And as a concluding benefit, a number of businesses will not hire recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or may look more positively upon individuals with accredited training.

Does the School have a Good Reputation? Each barber school that you are seriously evaluating should have a good to outstanding reputation within the profession. Being accredited is a good starting point. Next, ask the schools for endorsements from their network of businesses where they have referred their students. Verify that the schools have high job placement rates, indicating that their students are highly regarded. Visit rating companies for reviews in addition to the school’s accrediting agencies. If you have any relationships with Chester IL barber shop owners or managers, or any person working in the field, ask them if they are acquainted with the schools you are reviewing. They might even be able to recommend others that you had not thought of. And finally, consult the Illinois school licensing authority to find out if there have been any complaints filed or if the schools are in full compliance.

What’s the School’s Focus? A number of cosmetology schools offer programs that are broad in nature, concentrating on all areas of cosmetology. Others are more focused, providing training in a specific specialty, for example barbering. Schools that offer degree programs often broaden into a management and marketing curriculum. So it’s important that you choose a school that focuses on your area of interest. Since your ambition is to be trained as a barber, make sure that the school you enroll in is accredited and well regarded for that program. If your dream is to open a barber shop in Chester IL, then you need to enroll in a degree program that will teach you how to be an owner/operator. Selecting a highly ranked school with a poor program in barbering will not deliver the training you require.

Is Plenty of Hands-On Training Provided? Studying and refining barbering skills and techniques requires lots of practice on people. Ask how much live, hands-on training is included in the barber classes you will be attending. Some schools have shops on site that allow students to practice their developing talents on volunteers. If a Chester IL barber college provides limited or no scheduled live training, but rather relies predominantly on using mannequins, it may not be the most effective alternative for developing your skills. So look for other schools that provide this kind of training.

Does the School have a Job Placement Program? When a student graduates from a barber college, it’s imperative that she or he gets help in finding that very first job. Job placement programs are an important part of that process. Schools that furnish help maintain relationships with local employers that are searching for skilled graduates available for hiring. Verify that the programs you are contemplating have job placement programs and ask which Chester IL area shops and businesses they refer students to. Also, find out what their job placement rates are. High rates not only affirm that they have wide networks of employers, but that their programs are highly respected as well.

Is Financial Aid Available? Many barber schools offer financial aid or student loan assistance for their students. Check if the schools you are looking at have a financial aid office. Consult with a counselor and learn what student loans or grants you may get approved for. If the school belongs to the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS), it will have scholarships accessible to students too. If a school satisfies all of your other qualifications with the exception of expense, do not eliminate it as an option before you find out what financial aid may be available in Chester IL.

Considering Barber School near Chester IL?

Chester, Illinois

Chester is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, Illinois, United States,[3] on a bluff above the Mississippi River. The population was 8,586 at the 2010 census.[4] It lies 61 miles (98 km) south of St. Louis, Missouri.

Samuel Smith built the first home in Chester, established a ferry system, and began the construction of a mill in 1829. He is said to be the town's founder. It was his wife Jane Smith, a native of Chester, England, who gave Chester its name as a tribute to her home town.[5] The first business in Chester was a general store that opened in 1830 along with a castor oil press established by R. B. Servant, who furnished farmers with seed and growing methods to later buy the beans they produced for oil extraction. This was a flourishing business until the petroleum industry made it obsolete. The first wedding in the town of Chester was held on February 4, 1834. Content Walker, the bride and Amzi Andrews, the groom held their wedding in a 16 feet square log cabin.[6]

The H.C. Cole Milling Company was founded by Nathan Cole in 1839. It started out as a small sawmill with a corn-grinding attachment which encouraged the townspeople to plant grains, and in a short time the first Cole flour mill was built. The mill still exists in Chester but it is now operated by Ardent Mills. Nathan Cole also brought the first electric generator to Chester and used the surplus of power from the mill to operate street lights. This was a modern convenience that was not even available in Chicago at that point. The generator is now on display at the Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.[7]

In 1916, Messrs. Bronson, Albert Gilster, Frank Wolff and John Herschbach developed the site for the International Shoe Company in the center of town where the Gilster Mary Lee Corp. is today. In 1922, a second building was built, and the company had more than 1000 employees and was producing thousands of pairs of children's shoes. << During World War Two, the factory operated primarily by women produced military/combat boots for the troops in service. Lenora Mae Tilton Hathaway was a shop foreman during this time. Anecdotal account directly from Lenora Mae Tilton Hathaway to her son Vaughn Edward Hathaway, Jr.. Mrs Hathaway worked at the factory until her death in 1947. >> In 1953, payroll reached over $2,000,000. The factory was closed by the company in the early 1960s after 45 years of operation.[7]

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Enroll in the Right Barber College near Chester IL

Selecting and enrolling in the right barber school is important to get the proper training to become a licensed technician. Make sure to ask all the questions that you need to in order to feel confident about your decision. Be sure to consolidate all of the responses you get from the barber school admissions departments, prioritize what matters the most to you, and then utilize that information to compare schools. A reasonable start in your due diligence process is to make sure that the institution and program you choose are accredited and have exceptional reputations within the field. If you begin with that base, and address the additional questions presented in this post, you will be able to reduce your list of schools so that you can make the proper choice. And when you graduate and pass your licensing test, you will be self-assured that you are ready to launch your career as a professional barber in Chester IL.