Manicurists and Pedicurists
Clean and shape customers' fingernails and toenails. May polish or decorate nails.
What it pays
Manicurists and Pedicurists earn a median of $17.19/hr — about $36,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $13.90/hr; the top 10% earn $24.10/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Manicurists and Pedicurists earn a median of $17.19/hr — about $36,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $13.90/hr; the top 10% earn $24.10/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Clean and sanitize tools and work environment.
- Apply undercoat and clear or colored polish onto nails with brush.
- Maintain supply inventories and records of client services.
- Shape and smooth ends of nails, using scissors, files, or emery boards.
- Prepare nail cuticles with water and oil, using cuticle knives to push back cuticles and scissors or nippers to trim cuticles.
- Prepare customers' nails in soapy water, using swabs, files, and orange sticks.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: Post-secondary certificate. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
The feel of the work
The work is mostly indoors. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 28% of manicurists and pedicurists are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are hands-on and organized and detail-focused.
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Quick questions
- How much does a manicurists and pedicurist make?
- The median pay is $17.19 per hour — roughly $36,000 a year, with the real range running from about $13.90/hr (10th percentile) to $24.10/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a manicurists and pedicurist?
- The typical entry-level education is: Post-secondary certificate. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
- What does a manicurists and pedicurist actually do all day?
- Clean and sanitize tools and work environment. Apply undercoat and clear or colored polish onto nails with brush. Maintain supply inventories and records of client services.
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.