Working as an MUA?

[pinkvanilla]

I was going to post this in the Industry Discussion forum, but I thought it best to put it here because at the moment I'd rather Australia specific discussion.

I am planning on doing my course hopefully in August, I think I will be doing the Cert IV. I heard this is the minimum qualification you need to work in TV etc? I dont want to learn SPFX at the moment, so I thought the cert IV would be best atm. OR I was thinking of doing the Cert II at a school or TAFE, then after I get some experience in bridal and photography, do my Cert IV after a couple of years?

After I finish my course, I was thinking of going into Freelance straight away. Is this a viable option? Or should I at least look for part time work somewhere while building my freelance work?

Of course, money doesn't really matter too much as I will be just excited to do something I love, but I'd still like to know what the money is like? On average, how much would an MUA earn doing freelance work?

I'd just really like any info or advice MUAs could give me

Thanks muchly!

 

[rockin26]

Excellent Thread Pink! I was wondering this myself and wanted an Aussie POV on it. I'd love to hear Lara's take on it all?? I'm in the same boat as you Pink, I'm doing my Cert II now and then will go out and get some experience and then next year hopefully do my Cert IV. Was even thinking about doing an airbrush course this year but don't know if there is enough demand for it?

 

[pinkvanilla]

Yeah it would be good to hear Lara's thoughts!

I think there is definitely a demand for airbrush. I had my wedding last year and the MUA I used specialised in airbrush, and I know alot of other brides are considering it for their day

How much longer do you have of your Cert II left? What are you going to do when you finish?

 

[rockin26]

I finish at the end of next month and it's really great and I'm learning lots of great techniques etc.

I'll do freelance on the side, allot of TFP where ever I can to get up a portfolio and pick up whatever is on offer, the more experience I get the better. Once I've really found my feet and when the econmy picks up (which could be a while from now) I'll go full time. I'm not getting my expectations up with the work I'll get, I'm aware how competitive this industry is so I'm just going to do my best, get whatever jobs I can and work on my craft

How about you? Any ideas where you want to go with makeup?

 

[lara]

Do you want a supportive answer or do you want hard honesty?

 

[rockin26]

I know now prob isn't the best time to get into makeup but I'm already in the course so I may as well get what I can and keep it on the side. It's still a creative outlet from my very boring desk job, so its nice to be passionate about something again which I haven't been for a while, even if it doesn't give me much (or any) income.

Would love you're honest input Lara

 

[pinkvanilla]

Yeah I agree, would love an honest imput Lara

 

[lara]

Practical answer: work at a make-up counter for at least eight months and then decide whether or not to commit to training after that. Brush-to-face experience is invaluable and you quickly develop a very good list of contacts if you work for a good company. There's also the benefit of customers frequently hiring you on a private basis for wedding and party work.
There's a vast chasm between 'I want to be a MUA' and 'I am a successful MUA'. Get some experience before you commit to the time and expense of a course, if only to save money for your kit and/or realise whether you have a talent for make-up at all.

As for the money, the price structure has fallen apart due to so many people competing for the same jobs and undercutting each other price-wise. The last few weddings I've seen priced were something ridiculous like $55 for the bride and $45 for the wedding party, or cheap package deals like $200 for hair and make-up for the entire wedding part. Wedding artists used to make really good money but you can't make a living out of it any more.
Professional rates have also dropped considerably. I have a narrow specialisation that few people do and my rates reflect that, but the heydays of having $900-1700 day rates for non-agency work are gone forever. I recently lowered my rates considerably to land a good job (I took $250 off my day rate, quite a big reduction) and was still undercut by someone who said they'd do the entire thing for $500 and product. There's no way I can compete against that kind of whoring, not without damaging my rate structure irrevocably.

I'm not being negative, just realistic. The success rate in this industry (by success I'm using a measure of 'regularly gets paid jobs', be that local weddings or large scale professional work) is approximately 1%. There are an awful lot of people out there with expensive diplomas and certificates that have only translated into them being able to do their own make-up better, and a large amount of people who undersell themselves and do nothing but free work in the hope that it will get them somewhere.

Anyway. Realistically if I was starting out as a make-up artist now I would crash and burn; I was lucky to catch the last big wave before the industry started to crumple. I love being a make-up artist but I hate the abysmal state of affairs in Australia.

 

[rockin26]

Thanks Lara!

I'd always appreciate an honest opinion rather than a sunshine and cup cakes one.

Thankfully I'm not doing a massive course and am realistic that being a full time successful MUA is many years away but is a goal I aim for in the long run.

For me it's more about being able to do something outside what I do now that's fun, creative and challenging.

May I ask what is you specialise in? It sounds very cool and intriguing... It is so sad the way the whole world economy is heading isn't it. No matter where you are or work it's hitting us all in one way or another

 

[pinkvanilla]

Thanks for the insight Lara

Definitely puts things into perspective!

 

[simplyenchantin]

I have a question for you lara. You suggest that someone who aspires to eventually be an MUA should work at a make up counter before investing in a course, however doesn't one need to have qualifications before being able to work at a make up counter and actually apply make up on customers?

I'm just a little confused! Do you suggest to do the minimum (education-wise), so that you qualify for a job, see if you like it (for at least 8 months as you said), and then invest in a more expensive course?

 

[pinkvanilla]

^^ oh, good point

I tried to get a job with Myer at a cosmetics counter, but they didn't take me as I didn't have a qualification.

 

[lara]

Quote:

Originally Posted by simplyenchantin I have a question for you lara. You suggest that someone who aspires to eventually be an MUA should work at a make up counter before investing in a course, however doesn't one need to have qualifications before being able to work at a make up counter and actually apply make up on customers?

Not all counters require trade certification. Some do, but most don't.

 

[simplyenchantin]

Could you by any chance name some that don't? Personally I'd love a part time job at a make up counter somewhere, but I am not looking for a career in that field, I just think it would be a fun part time job!

 

[I <3 MakeUp]

I finished my Cert IV in December and need to get off my butt and get more experience and work.

I applied for Myer, David Jones and MAC, yet didn't even get an interview :-(

 

[simplyenchantin]

Aww I'm sorry to hear that

My housemate completed the Napoleon course a few years ago and works as a pharmacy cosmetician, however she can't get a job at a proper make up counter coz they don't take fulltimers except as managers. It's certainly a very tough industry!

 

[I <3 MakeUp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by simplyenchantin Aww I'm sorry to hear that My housemate completed the Napoleon course a few years ago and works as a pharmacy cosmetician, however she can't get a job at a proper make up counter coz they don't take fulltimers except as managers. It's certainly a very tough industry!

hehe, thanks.

well, i only applied online for all of them and i'm not tooo upset cos i doubt they even read all the applications.

yeah, i was wondering if they ever employ full-timers, cos all the ads I've ever seen for brands under the Estee Lauder banner have been casual or part-time except for management roles.

the one thing i'm finding hard is working full time in a normal mon-fri job and fitting in makeup stuff.

i'm going to try and do some bridal stuff, i think.

 

[simplyenchantin]

Yeah that's the thing.. I used to push my housemate to apply for those kinds of jobs coz it's what she wants to do, and so she applied for heaps and discovered that a full time job is one in a million unless you're a manager.. and apparently they let people go often if they don't hit sales targets and stuff. She can't afford not to work full time so she can't leave her current job, its pretty sucky.

Goodluck with your bridal stuff!

 

[DaisyPie]

I was convinced I wanted to be a MUA, and so I studied with a makeup college and did workshops etc, but honestly I found it a lot different to what I expected.
I'd happily done my friend's and family's makeup for years, but actually working on customers was a whole different ball game. They aren't all nice and as forgiving as people you know. They can be rude and some expect miracles even from a student MUA.
I only had a tiny taste of what working with customers would be like, and while some were lovely, I found it too hard dealing with the negative ones. It could just be me personally, but I found it very stressful.

 

[CatsMeow]

Thanks for this interesting thread discussion.

I am going to do a Cert II in July this year with the intention of doing bridal/occasion makeup work on a part time basis afterwards (in addition to my fulltime job). I've never considered being a MUA fulltime - competition is high in creative industries, so one needs to be realistic I guess. Positive and optimistic, but realistic as well!

The problem is, how does someone know whether they have talent if they don't invest in some training to reach their potential??? It's a catch-22.
Lara you raised a very important point - some people spend big on training and then come out of it realising that they don't have the natural ability to do it well, and the only benefit of the course is that they can do their own makeup well. Then there's the X-Factor - a MUA has to have confidence in their ability and be able to listen to what their client wants, or else it'll just end in tears and/or tantrums.

Hmm... definitely food for thought. Worse case scenario - I have an expensive hobby. heheh. Oh wait, I have that already!