Restoring My Complexion

How To Get (And Keep) Your Esthetician License In Florida

23 February 2015 by Dylan Owens

Are you considering a career as a licensed esthetician in Florida? It is a booming career field. The beauty industry is huge, with people from all walks of life wanting all the latest treatments to make them look younger, fresher, and more attractive. In order to become an esthetician in Florida, you must have a license. This is true in any state, but each state has their own licensing requirements. There is also usually some kind of continuing education for estheticians that states require periodically for you to maintain your license.

If you're looking to start your career as an esthetician in Florida, here's what you need to know about licensing and education requirements in the Sunshine State.

1. You Must Attend and Graduate a Licensed Cosmetology School

Florida requires attendance at a licensed cosmetology school and graduation from that school to qualify for an esthetician license. There are a number of specialties within cosmetology, and being an esthetician is one of these. Each specialty has a certain number of training hours required of it in order to graduate from cosmetology school in Florida.

For those pursuing the esthetician specialty, Florida requires 260 training hours while in cosmetology school. According to BeautySchoolsDirectory.com, these training hours may not be done as an on-the-job apprenticeship, as some other states allow. In Florida, the training hours must all be completed on campus at the cosmetology school you are attending.

2. Pass Your Board Exams

Before graduating from cosmetology school and getting your license, you must take and pass the board exams in the esthetician specialty. These are exams that are created and given by the state, and passing them ensures you have the knowledge the state requires for you to perform your job. Once you pass the state esthetician board exams, you will get your license, and can begin to work as an esthetician in the state of Florida.

Be aware that Florida does not have a reprocity agreement with other stats regarding esthetician licenses. If you have graduated from a cosmetology school in another state and have your license there, you may not automatically be able to transfer your license to Florida.

This will only be possible if your original state has licensing requirements similar to or identical to Florida's. Otherwise, you will have to study and take Florida's esthetician board exams before being granted a Florida license.

3. Get In Your Required Continuing Education Hours Every Other Year

Esthetician licenses are required to be renewed every other year in Florida. In order to get your license renewed, you must complete 16 hours of continuing education during the two years your current license is active. That's only eight hours a year, though you can get in your required hours however you want to do them.

You may go back to your original cosmetology school or any other licensed cosmetology school  to get your continuing education hours to renew your license. You can also attend state-sponsored seminars and other state-approved educational activities to get the continuing education you need to renew your license and keep practicing as an esthetician in Florida.

Conclusion

Becoming an esthetician can be a rewarding career  if you enjoy working with people and making them feel good about themselves. You will earn a good living from it, too. The average salary for an esthetician in Florida is $37,000 a year, though it can be more or less, depending on your experience and size of your client base.

The area in which you work also makes a difference, with more affluent areas commanding higher salaries. The important thing to remember is to get your license according to Florida laws, complete your bi-annual continuing education requirements, and you can start enjoying the benefits of a career as an esthetician in Florida.

You can click here to learn about education requirements for estheticians in other states. 

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