Barbers
Provide barbering services, such as cutting, trimming, shampooing, and styling hair; trimming beards; or giving shaves.
What it pays
Barbers earn a median of $18.37/hr — about $38,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $13.75/hr; the top 10% earn $36.76/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Barbers earn a median of $18.37/hr — about $38,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $13.75/hr; the top 10% earn $36.76/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Clean and sterilize scissors, combs, clippers, and other instruments.
- Drape and pin protective cloths around customers' shoulders.
- Cut and trim hair according to clients' instructions or current hairstyles, using clippers, combs, hand-held blow driers, and scissors.
- Question patrons regarding desired services and haircut styles.
- Clean work stations and sweep floors.
- Apply lather and shave beards or neck and temple hair contours, using razors.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: Post-secondary certificate. Overall preparation: medium preparation (Job Zone 3 of 5).
The feel of the work
The work is mostly indoors; you're around people constantly; it rewards working independently. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 75.6% of barbers are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are hands-on, organized and detail-focused and take-charge.
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Quick questions
- How much does a barber make?
- The median pay is $18.37 per hour — roughly $38,000 a year, with the real range running from about $13.75/hr (10th percentile) to $36.76/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a barber?
- The typical entry-level education is: Post-secondary certificate. Overall preparation level: medium preparation (Job Zone 3 of 5).
- What does a barber actually do all day?
- Clean and sterilize scissors, combs, clippers, and other instruments. Drape and pin protective cloths around customers' shoulders. Cut and trim hair according to clients' instructions or current hairstyles, using clippers, combs, hand-held blow driers, and scissors.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.