Cosmetology at Hair Professionals Career College

Starting at $11,529 yearly—less than minimum wage on a full-time schedule—this program ranks in the bottom 10% of Illinois cosmetology schools. Even after four years in the field, when earnings reach $22,012, graduates still trail the typical first-year earnings at stronger Illinois programs like University of Aesthetics ($24,468) or Illinois Eastern Community Colleges ($24,120). For context, the median Illinois cosmetology graduate earns $17,832 right out of school, putting Hair Professionals' outcomes nearly $6,300 behind from day one.

The $10,104 debt load is manageable in absolute terms, but it's still nearly a full year's starting salary—a burden that becomes problematic when you're earning substantially below market rate. Half the students here receive Pell grants, suggesting many families are banking on this credential as an economic ladder. The 91% earnings growth sounds impressive until you realize it's mostly catching up to where other programs start.

With only a small sample of recent graduates reporting data, there's a chance these numbers don't tell the full story. But the pattern is troubling enough that Illinois families should seriously consider the dozen+ cosmetology programs in-state where graduates consistently earn $20,000-plus in their first year. That $8,000-$13,000 annual difference compounds quickly over a career.