College & Schooling: Take Your Money & Run With it
I think naturally, most people think they need to go to school. It's been embedded in our brains at an early age and all through high school that if you do not go to school or college - you will be flipping burgers. The truth is that you will not be standing on the side of the freeway holding a sign if you avoid long term schooling.
In my life - I was told and naturally accepted that I needed to attend school for my endeavors. I originally wanted to be in the music industry as a musician or even a representative at a record company. At the time I had been working with bands and clubs doing sound and also tried to start a recording studio. I decided to go to College for business management - although I absolutely hated all schooling in the past. The business management was a good thing to have and I still use some of the skills I learned there. I did the smart thing and went to a community college instead of attending an expensive $20,000 a year (not include board) music school. I absolutely hated College because you still have to take the basic classes that have nothing to do with your profession.
I then decided to attend Cosmetology School after working as a make-up artist in club and music events.
To this day it is still one of my biggest regrets. The school loans and the thousands of dollars I spent to be there were definitely not worth it. I found myself struggling to pay bills and support myself while going to school full time and trying to pay school loans etc. I went to school full time and also worked a job on nights and weekends. I also struggled to find money to start my full make-up artist business upon graduating. My parents could not offer all of the financial support I needed and all of the things I wanted to do involved me shelling out hundreds and thousands of dollars. I racked up debt with a school loan (that I paid on time) but also hurt my credit report due to the balance. I also jacked up all of my credit cards and needed some sort of a new car to get around in so that I could do the Makeup Jobs. It was a very stressful experience.
I also have never agreed with High School. During high school you are trying to figure yourself out, invent a career to shoot towards, and also go through all the adolescent phases. I never cared for how the schools always pushed you into a direction and almost demanded that you decide what you want to be at age 16!
They act like if you do not do community service or join 50 after school clubs - you will never succeed.
It's funny now that I look at things. My brother has always been the one to do the straight and narrow. He has successfully graduated his 2 year college and now is on to a medical profession. He went to a community college - that many of the kids call the 13th grade because you do not go away for school and you live at home. It's hilarious because most of his friends that received scholarships or had parents sending them to overpriced schools - are now at home, have their girlfriends pregnant, are going to said community college or dropped out all together! I am very proud of my brother Chris.
From my experience - unless you are going to be a Doctor, Lawyer, or in a profession that requires a license or some sort of crazy technical degree - you do not need most schools. Many people have no idea what they want to do with their lives so they get funneled into colleges and trade schools right away and then drop out or don't want to do their professional afterall. I think that, if you are a person who doesn't know what to do with your life - you should not just jump into any profession. Take the 2 years and do some soul searching. Find out what you love to do and do it. Take a trip - explore yourself and the world before commiting. You won't be losing any time - since a lot of people end up going back to school for some thing completely different.
In addition, when it comes to being a Make-up Artist - save your money and work your ass off!
Establishing yourself as a Make-up Artist isn't the most difficult thing in the world but it does take some money, time, and dedication. I wish I knew that I wanted to be a make-up artist back in high school- who knows what I would be doing at this moment! But the biggest thing - is that- I wish I had avoided the trade school I went to. Infact, while I was there I frequently had to take time off of school to do TV and appointments for some sort of money to survive on. I missed out on opportunities and jobs because I was in school. I wish I had saved all of that money and just invested in my career by buying supplies, doing photo shoots, and more.
If I had to predict the next market to crash - it will be the student loan market. These colleges and schools charge insane amounts of money and the students don't always get into their fields. Some of these loans are absolutely insane - and the jobs the students will get afterwards are going to take 30 years to pay off the loans. Another thing I think is CRAZY - is people going to school for ART. Some of these NYC art schools charge $50,000 - $100,000 a year to attend. Most of my friends that went to these schools - dropped out and stopped answering their phones because the bill collectors were calling them non-stop. They could not afford to live or pay their bills at all and some of them ended up getting into modeling or don't even do art any more!
So in conclusion, save your money and run with it...
Or get a 2 year degree at an affordable community college for business.
