If you're working a full-time job and trying to figure out how to make beauty school fit your life, the first thing you deserve is a straight answer about what's actually possible — not a marketing pitch that glosses over the schedule.
Here's the honest breakdown of how each Beyond program works for someone with an existing 9-to-5, kids at home, or both.
The short answer
- Esthetician — day or night classes available. The most flexible option for working adults.
- Nail tech (manicuring) — evening classes only, three nights a week plus Saturday. The fastest evening path to a California beauty license.
- Cosmetology — daytime only, full-time or part-time. No evening option, but part-time daytime can work if your job has flexible hours.
If your schedule is locked into typical Monday–Friday 9-to-5 hours, esthetician or nail tech are your two real options at Beyond.
Esthetician: the most flexible program
Our 600-hour esthetician program is the only program at Beyond with both day and evening tracks. That makes it the best fit for working adults who want options:
- Day full-time: Tue–Sat 8:30 AM–3:00 PM. Completes in as few as 5 months.
- Day part-time: Tue–Sat 8:30 AM–12:30 PM. Completes in 7.5 months.
- Evening: Tue, Wed, Thu 6:00–10:00 PM plus Saturday 8:30 AM–5:00 PM. Pace runs longer (7.5 months) than the full-time day track but works around a traditional daytime job.
Total tuition: $11,206.50. We're a Dermalogica partner school, so the curriculum is built on Dermalogica products and protocols — facials, waxing, brow lamination, lash lifts, chemical peels, and more.
If esthetician is your path, read the deep-dive: Esthetician School Evening Classes in LA County.
Nail tech: the fastest evening-only path
Our 400-hour manicuring program runs evenings only. It's the shortest program we offer (about 5 months at the evening pace) and the lowest tuition: $5,595 total.
Class meets Tue, Wed, Thu 6:00–10:00 PM, plus Saturday 8:30 AM–5:00 PM. You graduate with the official Aprés Gel-X certification built in — the same nail technique you see all over Instagram and in high-end LA salons.
If you want to be working in a salon (or running your own booth) within roughly half a year, this is the program. Read the deep-dive: Nail Tech School Evening Classes in LA County.
Cosmetology: daytime, but part-time exists
The cosmetology program at Beyond is daytime only. We don't run evening cosmetology classes, and it's important to say that up front.
That said, the part-time daytime schedule (Tue–Sat 8:30 AM–3:00 PM) works for some working adults — especially if you have flexible employment, gig work, family help with childcare during the day, or you're transitioning out of a current job over time.
If your goal is the broadest license California offers (hair cutting, color, chemical services, skincare basics, and nails — all in one), and you can carve out daytime hours, cosmetology is worth the conversation. Total tuition is $17,560 and the program is 1,000 hours.
How working adults pay for beauty school
Two things matter here:
- Federal financial aid (Pell Grants and federal loans) is available because Beyond is NACCAS-accredited. Our FAFSA school code is 041482. The maximum Pell award for the 2025–26 cycle is $7,395. However, the amounts vary depending on course hours. Learn more about financial aid →
- Tuition payment plans are available for students regardless of the FAFSA situation.
Working adults sometimes qualify for more aid than they expect — your dependency status, household size, and household income all factor in to your results.
The realistic question to ask yourself
Forget which program sounds prettiest. Ask yourself this: which version of "I'm a licensed beauty professional" lets me actually quit my current job?
- If you want to be a skincare specialist or work in a med spa → esthetician.
- If you want fast income and flexibility (nail art is huge in LA right now) → nail tech.
- If you want every option in the salon and a daytime schedule is workable → cosmetology.
Come see the school
The fastest way to know if Beyond fits your life is to walk through the building. We do school tours Tuesday through Saturday — including evenings, so you can see the night classes in session. Call us at (562) 404-6193 or schedule online.
And if you've already decided which program is right for you, both deep-dives walk through everything a working adult needs to know before enrolling:
