Cosmetology at Brittany Beauty Academy

Brittany Beauty Academy's cosmetology program produces earnings that land squarely in the middle of national performance but rank in the 60th percentile within New York—a noteworthy distinction in a state where the median graduate earns just $17,026. While that income level still hovers near poverty wages, it means more than half of New York's cosmetology programs deliver even less. The $9,167 debt load is manageable relative to first-year income, and graduates show 15% earnings growth by year four, reaching nearly $20,000 annually.

The real challenge here isn't the program's relative performance—it's the economics of the beauty industry itself. Even top New York programs like Aesthetic Science Institute, where graduates earn $22,638, keep workers firmly in low-wage territory. Your child would be entering a field where national benchmarks hover around $17,000 regardless of which school they attend. The 47% Pell grant rate suggests many students here are banking on cosmetology as an accessible path to self-employment or entrepreneurship, where these employment data won't capture tips, retail commissions, or eventual salon ownership.

If your child has a clear vision for building a clientele and eventually working for themselves, this program offers decent training without crushing debt. But if they're expecting employee wages to provide financial stability, these numbers show that's unlikely anywhere in the field.