COLLEGE question?

First of all, there’s no way to know how much you would make. Your best bet on that is to find someone that manages or owns a business similar to what you’re looking forward to doing, and ask them how they got there, and *maybe* ask if they live comfortably. (It’s sorta rude to ask someone how much they make, but there are ways around it. You could ask, “How much do you think I could make if I started my own business in _____? “or “What do you think is the average salary for owners of stores like this?”)

Also, no way to tell you how much the classes cost. The cheapest route would be getting an Associates degree (that’s a 2-year degree from a community college) in business, take photography classes as some of your electives, and to also go to cosmetology school.

I don’t know of anywhere that offers all of the classes you’re looking for, usually cosmetology schools stick to what they’re good at–hair, makeup, etc.

Also, if you want to go to a 4 year college, and get better preparation in business you could major in business, and minor in art, and support yourself by working as a hair stylist/nail tech/etc.

Check out this website http://www.ed.gov/students/prep/college/thinkcollege/early/students/edlite-college-costs.html

it’s a little outdated, but it will give you an idea of how much a 4-year public, private, and 2 year college cost.

You seem pretty worried about the cost, when you shouldn’t be TOO worried. What I mean is, you’ll probably be able to go whether you have the cash or not….it’s just LATER when you have to pay back all those loans that you’ll be hurtin. If your family is broke, you’ll probably qualify for financial aid. Especially if you focus on school now and do well, you could even qualify for scholarships and things like that.

You have big dreams. People have big dreams like this and they usually change their mind or somehow things do not work out. First of all, with all this school in mind, look for websites of the college you plan to attend to check the class prices.

Business – you would probably need to get a bachelors or above (anything else will be risky and you won’t have enough education behind you to be considered serious).

Photography & Cosmetology can just be 2 year degrees.

So when you open your business, are you going to be the manager or the hairstylists or the photographer? You will not have enough arms or time to be all three. Your job as the business owner would be to hire people to work for you in your salon section and photography section.

To make sure you have enough money, get the BEST grades in school, basically become a nerd, which is cool, and you should get scholarships (being first generation college student you will have more opportunity for a scholarship IF you make good grades, keep your GPA above 3.0 in highschool).

Cosmetology will depend on the state you live in with regards to how many hours you need and training. The costs can vary. You are so young so the costs will undoubtedly go up. I would estimate $10,000, possibly more.

Photography: it can vary greatly depending on if you go to a state or private college.

I would recommend a photography major and a business minor, 4 years of college. You will never regret pursuing a higher education. Of course, you get in what you put in. If you slack off then you will not get that much out of it. I’m working on an MBA now. It’s hard work but I’m enjoying it. I’ll be glad when I’m done or at least for the short-term. Education makes you stronger.

Wait till you’re a senior before you make pat plans.

If you want a business of your own you don’t need a college education, however you would need some training the SBA (Small Business Administration) would offer you. They are in the white pages under federal government.

If you plan a cosmetology type business in your home your residence would have to be located in a commercial area (so says the law, plus you’d need permission to open a shop from the Department of Business and Professional Regulations at your state level, plus if you do the work you’d need your managing cosmetologist license, and, your state may require that you work under a senior cosmetologist for one year before you start your own business, you’ll have to ask when you reach that point). Land usually is not both in residence and commercial areas. To start any business you’d need to do the “5-year business plan” located on sba.gov and it will take you about 3 months of heavy duty research to do that plan. When you do the plan you’ll be able to figure out how much that will cost you to open. Each person decides exactly what they want in their shop, etc. so it’s difficult for anyone to tell you a start-up cost or continuing monthly budgeting. Then you’d need to get a loan. You’d have to be 18 to do that with good credit, etc. I never heard of a “degree” in cosmetology unless you wanted to be a teacher then you’d go thru the teaching career and specialize in cosmetology by graduating from a cosmetology school. You ask how much you would earn…well if you start your own business you’d be working 80 hours a week for 5 years before you began to make a profit…and a profit only comes from lots of advertising and therefore lots of customers. I once did 10 haircuts in a day, however if you have a bleach or did nails that would take up time so you’d have to figure it out from how many customers you have and how you manage your own time as to how much profit you’d make.

Any profit you make must be turned right back into your business to keep it going.

I suggest that you either go to cosmetology school (a year or two) and get your certificate and take your test to be able to work at it and then get a job. OR take two years at your community college in business with computers as electives and get your AA degree.