Shannyn, I totally agree with the MAC artists. You will waste your money going to a makeup school and waste even more money going to a cosmetology school. Not to mention it's a waste of time. The biggest way to "break into the industry" is by simply jumping in. I've been doing makeup professionally for about 6 years now. I do about two weddings per weekend, photoshoots, movies, tv shows, runway shows, and I got to where I am at today because I built up a really strong portfolio and networked. I've known so many girls who are trying to be makeup artists full time that went to school specifically for makeup and they are no better off now than they were before they started the school. I also don't think that they come out being good makeup artists, their work is still sloppy. Jump into doing photoshoots left and right to get images for your port. Don't waste your time on sh**ty photographers just because they'll do it for free. You'll wind up not using their photos for your portfolio. Find some good photographers that are willing to do trade shoots with you for free and just do them nonstop. For right now, do as many things as you can for free. Runway shows, promo girls, all kinds of events are looking for makeup artists but don't have the budget for it. Don't focus on getting paid right now. Focus on building your resume and your portfolio and networking. Also, try to work for MAC. MAC will send you on a week long training that will blow you away. That's frankly all the training you'll need. But they'll keep sending you to update training every 3 months to keep updated on current trends. You should really really pursue working for MAC, even if it's part time. Not freelancing, they don't train their freelancers, and freelancers don't get a 60% discount.
I hope I helped some!