11 Careers in Esthetics to Match Your Passion

careers in esthetics

When you’re looking at potential career possibilities in the beauty industry, it can be tough to find your footing! It’s a huge decision for anyone to choose careers in esthetics or a cosmetology license.

But luckily, if you’re looking for careers in esthetics, there are ample career opportunities available. These include work as a skin care specialist, medical esthetician, and more.

If you have just passed your esthetics exam, or are thinking about becoming an esthetician, we hope one or more of these professions will appeal to you!

What Do Estheticians Do?

Estheticians provide skincare services. With an esthetician’s license, you can:

  • Examine clients’ skin
  • Recommend procedures and skincare products
  • Provide hair removal services
  • Apply makeup and skincare products
  • Give massages
  • And much more!

You can also work in various places, such as:

  • Spas
  • Hotels
  • Resorts
  • Salons
  • Health centers and clinics
  • Hospitals

Estheticians can work in other facilities as well, or even on the go.

If you’ve obtained your esthetician’s license, there are so many career possibilities open for you!

#1: Skincare Specialist

Careers in esthetics
Careers in esthetics – Skin care specialist

As a skincare specialist, you will probably work in a spa or salon offering services that help the health and appearance of your client’s skin.

These services may include facials, massages, and hair removal. You will also advise clients on how to take care of their skin and which products are best suited to them.

Skincare specialists could be full-time employees or even self-employed.

The average salary for skincare specialists is $44,725.

#2: Medical Esthetician

Careers in esthetics
Careers in esthetics – Medical esthetician

Medical estheticians provide skincare in medical settings such as clinics, hospitals, or medical spas. Often the doctors you work with as a medical esthetician are dermatologists or plastic surgeons.

Your responsibilities may include appointments and consults. You may meet with patients before and after surgery to examine their skin or to provide services such as helping their scars appear less noticeable.

Medical estheticians can work on contract, be self-employed, or be employed in a single facility.

Their average salary is $52,017.

#3: Salon or Spa Manager

Careers in esthetics
Careers in esthetics – Salon or Spa Manager

As an esthetician, you can work your way up to a management position at your workplace. This frequently entails becoming a spa or salon manager.

Managers need plenty of work experience before they can run the show, but by working your way up the ladder, you will earn more income than you did as a regular employee.

However, some drawbacks to management are longer hours and more responsibility. This career is best suited to someone very organized.

The average salary for a salon manager is $44,057.

#4: Make-up Artist

Careers in esthetics
Careers in esthetics – Makeup artist

Makeup artists…apply makeup!

That may sound very broad, and that’s because it is! Makeup artists can do anything from styling someone for a special event to painting faces for Halloween parties, to making an actor look completely different from themselves for a film or television show.

In fact, makeup artistry can be broken down into two branches: cosmetic and fashion, and film and theater.

The average salary for makeup artists is $22,634. 

#5: Salesperson

As an esthetician, you can work as a salesperson to represent a brand or even your own product. This is a perfect career if you are very persuasive, good with people, and have excellent business sense.

Since salespeople often work on commission, their income is less likely to be steady. Therefore, pinning down an average salary amount is difficult and likely to be inaccurate.

Some will make a great living as a salesperson, while others might struggle to sell anything at all!

#6: Beauty Business Owner

Careers in esthetics
Careers in esthetics – Beauty Business Owner

As we just discussed, estheticians can run their own businesses!

Aside from creating a product to sell, you might also consider owning your own salon, spa, or other facility. You might choose to work on contract for various businesses, like the medical estheticians we spoke about above.

The great thing about entrepreneurship is that the possibilities are endless! The more creative you are, the more opportunities you will see.

Like salespeople, business owners’ incomes vary a ton, so we don’t have any accurate salary information.

#7: Beauty Blogger

If you love beauty and writing (like me!), you might consider becoming a beauty blogger.

Beauty bloggers can write about all things beauty—from makeup tutorials, to product reviews, to telling others about all of the exciting career opportunities in the beauty industry!

Your esthetician’s license can help you stand out in this field as someone with the education and experience to write more complex topics. Any past work experience in esthetics will help you even more, as you’ll know the kinds of questions real people are asking.

Beauty bloggers often work from home and can either write their own blogs or work writing blog posts for others.

Though you can find salaried beauty blogger positions, most are self-employed and earn varying incomes.

#8: Beauty Copywriter

Like a beauty blogger, beauty copywriters also write about the beauty industry. But they’re not just writing blog posts!

Beauty copywriters might write product descriptions, ads, or other material for beauty products. They could also write promotional material for salons, spas, or other businesses in the industry.

Copywriters might work in-house for a content or marketing agency, or as freelancers.

The average salary for a beauty copywriter varies.

#9: Beauty Vlogger

Careers in esthetics
Careers in esthetics – Beauty vlogger

Beauty vloggers also do very similar work to beauty bloggers, but instead of writing for a blog, they’re speaking to a camera!

If your personality is too big to contain on paper and you aren’t camera-shy, becoming a beauty vlogger could be right for you.

However, this is another profession where income is quite unpredictable.

#10: Esthetician Instructor

You don’t have to stop at becoming an esthetician—you can also help others do the same.

Instructors teach and train future estheticians to help them pass their own licensing exams and become the best they can be.

If you are interested in pursuing any of those careers – visit Jooble to see fresh vacancies.

#11: Licensing Examiner

If you want to work in education, but perhaps not as an instructor, maybe you could look into becoming a licensing examiner.

Tasks for this career include creating the board exam for their state.

Wrapping Up

Hopefully, this list has been helpful for you, whether you’re a future or current esthetician—or if you’re just considering working in this field!

In the end, it depends on whether or not this career fits you. We hope this post has helped you answer this question for yourself, and we wish you all the best if you decide to pursue amazing careers in esthetics!

If you are interested in taking the esthetician exam, you can try out our free practice test to help you efficiently prepare for the exam.

Related Reads

6 Types Of Esthetician Specialist In The U.S.: A Comprehensive Guide

Top 5 Highest-Paying Esthetician Jobs

How To Become A Paramedical Esthetician

Elevate your professional confidence by securing coverage that understands the ins and outs of the cosmetology world—see what’s available for you.

Take a FREE practice test

Find out if you’re ready, with real questions taken from the state board exam.

Select Your State