Make-Up Artist
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OverviewSalary and DebtCareersSchoolsRelated ProgramsGenderRace/Origin
Overview
Make-up artist is a program that prepares individuals to professionally apply cosmetic makeup preparations and perform complete and specialized appearance makeovers including hairdressing, wig work, masking, temporary prosthesis applications, cosmetic applications, and related costuming for leisure or for professional stage, camera, clinical, or security purposes. includes instruction in period and contemporary hairstyling and costuming; wig work and hairpiece application; synthetic hair and masks; cosmetic preparations and treatments; makeup artistry; attachment, removal, and camouflaging of prostheses; health and safety; client consultation and care; pre- and post-production operations; set and crew conduct and relations; script, instruction, and prescription interpretation; labor relations; and business practices.
Highlights
School with the highest reported median starting salary ($37K) with a Certificate: Lia Schorr Institute of Cosmetic Skin Care Training
Career with the highest median salary ($107K) associated with this program: Specialized Personal Appearance Workers
Careers for program graduates
Following are recommended careers for people who earn make-up artist degrees, with color indicating the most common education attained by other workers.
Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and CosmetologistsMakeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance
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Current completions
What level of degree do most graduates achieve, and do they match what your goals?
05001K2K0-1 Year Certificate1-2 Year CertificateAssociate's Degree
SOURCES:
Completions over time
Have completions for this program changed over time? Increasing completions may mean you'll likely have an easier time finding a school that offers this degree, with the opposite being true as well.
Show percentages
Number of graduates
05001,0001,5002,000200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
Postbaccalaureate Cert
Associate's Degree
1-2 Year Certificate
0-1 Year Certificate
Salary and Debt
How are students who recently completed a degree in make-up artist doing?
Below is the distribution of starting salaries along with accumulated federal and private education loans across schools that offer a degree in the field cosmetology and related personal grooming services, which includes make-up artist.
Median starting salaries
$17K$18K$0$10K$20K$30KAssociate'sCertificate
Median cumulative loan amount
$10K$0$5K$10K$15KCertificate
Careers
Recommended careers for those with a degree in this program
Following are the jobs recommended for those who study this degree. These are listed in order of highest nationwide employment.
  1. Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists
  2. Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance
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Recommended Careers for this program majors
Is this degree preparing you for a career with a salary you want? Are there lots of openings in the near future? The Department of Education suggests these careers as a starting list, and Ididio hopes that if the career you're most interested in doesn't appear here, you will head over to our Career Explorer and learn more about paths to your best career.
Salary Spread
Salary distribution for people in this occupation
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
How much school?
Education level of people in this occupation
No college
Some College
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Doctorate/Professional
Employed
The number of people employed in this occupation
Growth Rate
The projected percentage growth in employment for this occupation in 10 years
Annual Job Openings
The projected average number of job openings per year
Where can I complete this degree
Explore schools that offer make-up artist degrees and certificates
You can use this table to find schools that offer this program based on location and program level offered. Each entry goes to a school page similar to this one with all our information about that school.
Understanding the columns

The school list includes a few facts about each school that give you an idea of the educational quality each school might offer:

  • Student-Faculty Ratio: A small number of students per full-time instructor suggests individual attention for each student and an up-to-date curriculum.

  • Satisfaction Rate: A high percentage of returning first-year students should correlate with satisfaction (schools call this their retention rate).

  • Repayment Rate: A high repayment rate means most alumni earn enough to make progress repaying loans within 7 years of leaving.

We also show the total enrollment for the school as measured by full-time-equivalent (FTE) students enrolled annually.

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Offering this program at this level
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Related Programs
Fewer details
Careers for this program majors
this program is part of a larger collection of programs: Personal Services. Is there a different program that's close to this program that might be a better match for your interests? You can use this table to see a little about the programs that fall under this umbrella. If you click on any of the table headers, that will sort the table by that column, or click on a row and see Ididio's profile for that program.
Gender
Gender of recent graduates
Of all people with any degree in make-up artist earned in the last academic year, 94% were women.
Gender
Men
Women
SOURCES:
Fewer details
Completions over time
Have completions by gender changed over time, or at specific levels of education?
Award level
All levels
05001K2K2KNumber of graduates200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
Women
Men
Context: Percentage women
This major has a higher percentage of women than 96% other programs.
Race/Origin
Race/Origin of recent graduates
Here is an overview of race/origin for all make-up artist graduates from this last academic year. We found a lower percentage of international graduates than in 55% of other programs.
Race/Origin
White
Black
Pacific Islander
Hispanic
Asian
American Indian
Multiracial
Not Reported
International
SOURCES:
Fewer details
Completions over time
Have completions by race/origin changed over time, or at specific levels of education?
Award level
All levels
05001K2K2KNumber of graduates200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
International
Not Reported
Multiracial
American Indian
Asian
Hispanic
Pacific Islander
Black
White
Context: Percentage of Minority Graduates
Minority students comprise a higher percentage of graduates than in 76% of other programs.