Ask Fashion Girl

Dear Vanessa:

It's great to hear that you have high career aspirations in the beauty industry! Even if -- or especially if -- you hope to work in the corporate division of a major beauty company such as Lancome or Clinique, your beauty career path will definitely entail a retail background at the store level. You need to understand the complexities of the retail environment in order to market a beauty product effectively. So getting a job at a beauty counter is Step One to having a future in the beauty industry.

FIDM's Beauty Industry Merchandising&Marketing degree is certainly not just equipping you for a career in retail. The major allows students to delve into the complexities of each of the components of the beauty industry, including color, fragrance, skin, nail, hair, and body care. You develop a keen understanding of support departments' roles and functions as they relate to marketing a beauty product. Departments include package development and design, operations, manufacturing, financial, creative services, and research. All these opportunities exist with companies such as Lancome and Clinique, and you would work your way up within a company. Most of the large beauty companies are based in New York , so eventually you would need to pursue your career there. FIDM's pro-active Career Development&Placement Center can help you find a job at a department store while you're in school, so that you'll be ready with the right experience to seize an opportunity at the home office when it arises.

If you can see yourself as a high-powered beauty exec, FIDM's educational resources paired with the"foot in the door"that a beauty counter job provides you are a great way to jump-start a beauty career. So keep your fingers in the makeup, and get ready to open the books!

Sincerely, Fashion Girl