It’s always a fear. What if you pick the wrong career path? It is possible to study for two or four years, come out with a degree, and start working in a field that doesn’t excite you or even have anything to do with what you want to do. So then what do you do?

It’s important to look at what you feel a passion for. If it’s cooking, you may become a chef; if it’s beauty products, you may become an esthetician; and if it’s helping others you may pick any of the beauty fields because they all contribute to making individuals feel genuinely good about themselves.

This kind of thing happens all the time. One instance: Andrea Hirsekorn. Starting out with a typical job in marketing, Hirsekorn quickly became restless with the stress and long hours. It is a job with nightclubs and bars in Sydney, Australia, that would help her along her path to massage and wellness school. Read her story here.

Others may have the passion, but they don’t exactly get into their beauty career right away. Joey Noufal earned his degree in graphic arts before he fully pursued his true passion of hair color. Today he owns his own salon in Tysons Corner, VA. See how he went from painter to big time hair colorist here.

A career in beauty doesn’t necessarily follow a traditional route of study. Some beauticians may start out in one place that will lead them into another. But it’s the true passion that really comes through in the end and helps these individuals be successful in a beauty career.

-Amanda Fornecker