I am an Esthetics Instructor at Miller-Motte College in Wilmington NC.
When I hit my 40’s I finally went back to School and completed two separate programs, the Esthetics and the Esthetics Instructor Programs. I was able to complete both ahead of time and immediately started teaching at the same School that gave me my education. We have one of the best Esthetics programs in the state including a huge clinic floor with individual stations, and I am only one of about 50 Licensed Esthetics Instructor’s in our state.

How I Got There: One day, after making a deposit at a bank, I looked over to my left and saw a spa. I had never had a professional massage or facial before, and since I was feeling a little down, I decided to finally treat myself to one. Oh man did I love it. Later, after spending a whopping $200.00 on products and services, I was driving home thinking how nice it would be to be licensed in that field… and be able to get free facials and massages all the time! So a year later when I finally made the decision to go back to school, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to take the Esthetics program or the Massage Therapy program. I chose Esthetics and I’m so glad I did!

What I Love About Teaching: My favorite thing is the students. I really love watching these girls grow thru out the months. They walk in the door scared and confused but develop confidence thru out the course, and most graduate well prepared. Of course there are a few students that I could easily wring their necks at times, but the ones that are there for the right reasons will graduate and the ones that are not won’t. I try to create a professional yet personal relationship with each individual student because I feel that the better I know each one, the better I can figure out how to get thru to them.

The Pros: Well, I get paid well. I never work over 32 hours a week so I’m considered part-time, which means I’m paid hourly. They would like for me to go full-time, but I refuse to work salary. This means I don’t receive any benefits, but this also means they can’t work me to death either. Last semester I only worked the clinic floor one day a week on Saturdays while Scott and I flipped a house. This semester, I agreed to also teach the Monday night State Board Prep class, but since we are still flipping, I didn’t take on any more hours than that. The other pro to working there is the free facials and hair removal! And I also get discounted massages and body wraps from the massage department, and discounted hair and nail services from the Cosmetologist department. Other benefits from working at a School are things like our taxes done free by the accounting department, etc.

The Cons: Dealing with the bosses. But who doesn't complain about that?