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A good school is a place where the instructors care about their students, are not only capable of teaching and preparing them with the necessary skills to work and succeed behind-the-scenes but desire to do so. The flip side of that scenario ladies and gentlemen is that you have to take advantage of resources that the school has to offer. Too often, students complain that the school didn't prepare them, when in fact, beyond the time spent in class, they have done little outside of class--we call it practice--to perfect their skills. Even more important is the process of taking an ACTION (making phone calls, meeting people, practicing, volunteering, researching the names of people you would like to assist, etc.) EVERY single DAY to make something happen.
This section of the site has a list of schools in all areas of freelance makeup, hair and fashion styling. It's up to you to investigate, collect brochures, ask lots of questions and take as many field trips to the schools as you can. A more detailed examination of schools exists in "The Hair, Makeup & Styling Career Guide, and, rest assured that we DO NOT allow schools whose reputation is in question to advertise in this guide or on this site. One or two complaints could be a couple of students having a bad day--three or four is a major concern and five--that's the boot!
The Right Questions: Information creates options that will assist you and sharpen your decision-making skills.
10 STEPS FOR CHOOSING A GOOD SCHOOL.
1. Create a questionnaire for asking questions and compiling the information.
2. Ask everyone the same questions. It will help you to compare apples to apples.
3. Approach finding a school the same way you would, attending a four-year university.
4. Gather and browse through several brochures. This will help you to compare the classes offered, prices, facilities, faculty makeup (no pun intended), and financial aid packages of one school to another.
5. Decide which what aspects of the industry you want pursue: Print, video, commercials, film, television or even theatre perhaps. Knowing this ahead of time will help you to make an informed decision.
6. Be prepared. Don't make an emotional decision or one that is based on a hard sell that you get from the school admissions personnel on the day you stop by to "check it out".
7. Ask for references. If you were applying to Harvard, you would be inundated with the names of their most established, famous and successful graduates in an effort to get you to attend.
8. Think of yourself as the first round draft pick being courted by five top schools. You are evaluating the schools to determine which one will best fit your future plans to become a top film, TV or print artist. They must meet certain requirements to get you to Sign On the Dotted Line.
9. If it's a school, and not a workshop or seminar, find out if they are they licensed by the state in which they operate.
10. Who is REALLY teaching the course? Find out specifics about the schools' instructors and what they specialize in.
Only practice makes perfect. The school will give you the basics. However, your success will depend on how much you study, practice, network and perfect your craft!
The questions we've assembled here when asked boldly and compared properly
should help you make better decisions about your career.
QUESTIONS & CONSIDERATIONS
1. Is the school licensed by the state in which it operates?
A licensed school is held to much more rigorous standards than one which is left to its own devices in regards to what it offers, how the facilities are maintained, the length of its classes and the qualifications of its educators. When found out by the state, unlicensed schools are closed immediately and the students presently enrolled are just out of luck. They lose everything.
2. Who are the instructors?
How much real world experience do they have as educators? What do they specialize in, as an artist and instructor? No question is more important than the quality of instructors. Being outstanding in a field doesn't mean that the teacher will be able to educate others.
3. What is the schools reputation (TODAY!) within the industry it professes to train students for?
Can the school provide names of graduates, students, and employers who have used past students?
How great a school was ten years ago has nothing to do with the quality of education and/or students it is turning out today. Be careful of schools that can't give you a list of two or three students who have graduated within the last three years and are successful and working in the industry.
4. How many students are in each class? What is a reasonable amount of students per instructor in a class?
If there are 20 students and one instructor, will you get the kind of personal attention you feel like you need and deserve to be successful? If the course is advertised as hands-on, a student should expect to be watched, coached and critiqued.
5. What does completion of the course or program provide? Certification? Diploma? License?
Certain fields will respond to different credentials. If you choose to focus on print, video and television commercials, it is highly unlikely that anyone will ever ask what school you went to, or to see a diploma. However, if on the other hand you want to do extensive makeup FX work that requires meticulous attention to detail and experience with chemicals and other substances that must be applied to the skin, someone just may want to confirm that you know the difference between acid and foam. In this situation a certificate or license from a reputable school can be a big +.
6. How much time is spent in practical, hand-on applications? What percentage of that time is sent working on models and how much of the time will you spend sitting for another student?
"Intensive lectures and demonstrations are an extremely important part of every course," says Donna Mee, "but they will never substitute for working with your hands." "Make sure that a high percentage of the course you take includes hands-on work and thus your opportunity to apply what you've learned" says Stephen McCallum of Make-Up Designory.
7. What is the cost per hour or credit breakdown for each course? What kind of training do you receive for the cost?
Cost per hour breakdown will allow you to compare apples with apples. If school "A" provides 40 hours for a course at $1,500 and school "B" provides 60 hours for a similar course (assuming you have compared what is offered) at $1,500. Then you should have questions about why the hours are so vastly different if you are considering the 40 hour course. I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't take the course with fewer hours. More is not always better. I'm suggesting that you get answers. If the school does not list the number of hours for each course, then call and ask them.
8. What kind of information, training or business development is available to help you manage yourself as a freelance artist in a professional environment?
It helps to know the difference between a W-9 and a W-4 form when you get your first paying job. Calculating overtime and filling out a time card can be pretty important as well.
9. Does the school offer job placement assistance? Do they guarantee you work at the end of the class? Do they have an apprenticeship program? If so, how does it work?
Beware of schools that promise you work. Unless you can get it in writing, don't count on it. And think twice about a school that would make such a promise. Schools are there to train, educate and inspire. You will usually have to get the work on your own. Even students who graduate from Harvard still have to prepare résumé's and look for jobs. You will too!
Job placement assistance is quite another story and a welcome addition to any educational facility. A school with a good job placement assistance center usually means it's well connected and can provide you with leads for everything from non-paying student films to low-budget projects and modestly budgeted assignments.
10. Am I required to purchase my supplies from the school?
"Some schools require the students to purchase their makeup line or prepackaged makeup kits. The danger exists once you get into the real world only to find out that you have missed the opportunity to work with various lines and thus finishes, coverages, consistencies and more," says Donna. Aspiring artists should discover and decide what works best with their own techniques.
11. Do you offer night classes?
Find out if the night class hours and day class hours are the same. You don't want to get short-changed because you can't attend in the daytime. If you choose a night class, lighting, class hours and building security is important. Make sure that the building and parking are secure.
Ask yourself what type of makeup artistry interests you before enrolling in a program. Beauty, fashion, bridal or special FX. You might end up spending a month and a lot of money learning to make zombies and oozing flesh wounds when your really just interested in making women beautiful.
If you are moving from another state and need housing, remember to calculate how far away your new home will be from the school and consider how you are going to get there everyday.
When considering taking a private course from an individual, all these questions and more become important. If the makeup professional whose name is on the door interviews you and signs you up, don't assume all of your classes are going to be taught by that individual. Ask! If the answer is yes, and particularly if the person is a successful working artist, get something in writing. You don't want to get the old switch-a-roni and end up taking lessons from the assistant if the makeup artist gets booked on a job. Request a class schedule complete with days, times and what you are supposed to cover on each day. If you're paying $6,000 for a week of makeup lessons and flying in to New York from Arizona, the last thing you want are class times being changed at the last minute and teachers being switched so your star instructor can run off and make $2,000 working on a celebrity when he or she is supposed to be instructing you [personally] from 9-5 on how to do the perfect eyebrow.
Make sure that your $100 per hour makeup instructor instructor isn't running down the clock with several field trips that include you carrying their bags and watching them apply makeup on someone else for eight hours on a photo shoot.
Good Luck
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