Waxing, Facials, Body Scrubs. It’s amazing when people take time out of their schedules to treat themselves well. It has always been a crazy dream to one day open up my own eco-sustainable, organic spa. So I have been researching, that’s right…beauty school! An Esthetician program, to be exact. Cheaper than hair-cosmetology school, and even more marketable. It looks like we’re headed for a recession and it feels like we’re already there. I’m not sure I’m going to do it, but school is the right place for the under-employed when times are tough.

It started because as you may have read in my last post, I decided I needed a job to supplement my Life Coaching practice. Where I could always get a great paying job in less than two days whenever I wanted one; for some reason, it was a little harder during the holidays and in an economic slump.

The truth is that I am overqualified for the work I used to do. Plus, people have cut down their spending so that my usual Household Manager/Nanny Extraordinaire and Personal Assistant jobs are going for about three dollars less per hour than I am used to. (I wish I could remember the French phrase here for “how depressing!”. ) So, instead of settling for less than I am worth and feeling like a sucker to the world of finances, I began contemplating going back to school, of all types.- and this way I am hopefully more or differently skilled when the economy gets on it’s feet again.

Sure, I could get my Masters in Mental Health or Child and Family = $52,000 in 2.5 years.

But I am just not sure I want to create that much debt. Couldn’t I do that later in life more slowly, when I can pay out of pocket? And truthfully, the clinical jobs to get after leaving that program pay very little and building a therapy practice that brings in the dough takes years.

Or I could do the Esthetician program around the corner from my house = $8,000 in 6 months.

Sell my car. And get out of the program quickly with “mad skills” which I can cross-over with my Life-Coaching practice! Graduates of programs which involve contact “vocational skills” are easily placed into jobs- jobs I see advertisements for all the time, including some 100 percent commission at smaller spas, and otherwise at least $20/hr. I have even calculated this to mean that I could make more money full-time as a beginning facialist than I would as a beginning therapist.

The point is- if you are financially down and out during a recession- There is Beauty in School-(or in my case, Beauty School). A recession is also a great time to take out student loans, since interest rates drop to very low levels as the government attempts to stimulate the economy. (There are non-FAFSA federal programs for adults getting certifications, just talk to your institution’s counselor). There is no shame in living off of loans for a short while if you are bettering yourself for future gainful employment.