CAREER

Age: 22
Title: Senior Stylist/Educator
Company’s Name: AXIS Hair Salon
Hours each week:
It depends; between 40-50; 5-6 days.
Salary: $30K per year.
Years of Position:
2 years
Best Part of your Career:
I get to meet lots of different kinds of people; each with various backgrounds and experiences, all from whom I can learn.
Inspiration
I was deterred by my parents earlier in my life because they were worried about me financially. I moved out at a young age and traveled in Europe. When I was in England, I met a lot of new people; one of them was a hairstylist from Vancouver. The fact that she had a job that was transferable, regardless of where you are, inspired me to pursue this career. I registered in the John Casablancas Hair Art Design program right after I came back to Vancouver.
Challenges
Mainly physical challenges, such as standing for most of the day and maintaining proper body posture. When I first started, the hardest part was getting to know different personality types and how to interact with them.
Differences:
I juggled 2 jobs before and during my training to become a hairdresser: serving on the Starlight Dinner Train, and as a medical office assistant in a busy Medical Office/Family Practice. Apart from the obvious differences between these and my current job, the main difference was that clients weren’t there to see me; they were there for their dinner or doctor.  Now I have deeper relationships with the people I interact with on a daily basis.

EDUCATION
School & Degree(s):
John Casablancas Hair Art Design (6 months) Diploma. I got my license from the B.C Cosmotology Industry after graduation.
Advice: Being open to further learning and continuously honing your skills are very important.
No matter how many years you are in the business, there’s always something new to learn. Do your best to attend upcoming seminars and courses based on the hairstyling industry.
I’ve done lots of extra training, such as specialized technique courses in New York, with Nick Arrojo, and I try to attend as many seminars as I can. Also, get yourself involved in other things related to the field, like doing styling for fashion shows or independent local films. Personality and attitude are also very important. Always maintain a positive, upbeat attitude; what you put out there will always come back to you.
Program Benefits:
The program gave me a strong foundation in the basics of classical haircutting and styling. Education and Career-wise, I believe you need to build the box before you can think outside of ;
for example, working at a coffee shop. Personally, now I get to teach and help people to grow and learn.

LIFESTYLE
Favorite activity: Singing Karaoke
Upcoming Vacation plans: Weekend at my family cabin
In five years, I see myself:
I would like to continue to be happy and do what I am doing by working hard. I feel it is important to have big goals, but most importantly to have smaller goals and reach them.