How Tennessee schools are helping aspiring barbers with high debt kickstart their careers – Commercial Appeal

High costs, low wages: Solutions for barbers trying to avoid student loan debt

Laura Faith Kebede| MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

For years, barbers and cosmetologists have not only created a safe place for Black people to gather, but used the profession to forge a path to entrepreneurship and financial independence.

Tennessee regulations require 1,500 hours of training. That, coupled with high tuition at local barber and cosmetology schools along with inadequate public funding and financial aid, has turned that career path into a high-debt obstacle course that too often ends in financial ruin.

The majority of students attending for-profit barber and cosmetology schools often their only choice because of a long waiting list at theonly public program in Memphis end up borrowing from the federal government to pay tuition.

A disproportionate share of those borrowers struggles to pay back their loans. In fact, for-profit barber and cosmetology schools make up eight of the 10 schools nationwide with the highest student loan default rates, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Even among this troubled group, Memphis stands out. One school, Vibe Barber College, ranks fifth-worst in the nation with 61% of students defaulting within three years of leaving school.

Defaulting on a federal student loandefined as failing to make a payment in nine months is financially ruinous. Borrowers are hounded by collectors, who can worsen the debt load by adding fees. Collectors can garnish wages and withhold tax refunds. Default ruins a borrowers credit score, making it difficult or expensive to get future home or car loans.

Of course, solving the shortage of affordable and effective career training will take a long time and a huge investment. But as the economy emerges from the pandemic shutdown, and President Joe Bidens administration attempts to address the issue of oppressive student debt, there are growing efforts to help Memphians achieve their dream of becoming a barber or cosmetologist without burdening them with unaffordable debts.

Barbers University School in Memphis purposefully offers cheaper training and does not accept federal loans so students can avoid debt traps. One of the instructors, Courtney Triggs, said having about $10,000 in student loan debt when he got his barbers license caused him and his wife to cut back on expenses and has kept him from pursuing a business loan to open up his own shop.

Its all about the loans, he said. The loans are what are holding a lot of barbers back from being able to own their own shops and see the money thats available to us to support our family comfortably.

Soon after Emancipation, hair care became a source of financial independence for Black people.

Self-sufficiency has been a key component of the meanings of Black freedom since slavery, writes Quincy T. Mills, an associate professor of history at the University of Maryland, in his 2013 book Cutting Along the Color Line: Black Barbers and Barber Shops in America. Barbershops have historically been one of the most accessible paths to business ownership and economic independence.

For example, Madam C.J. Walker famously made hair products and became the nations first woman millionaire while employing an army of saleswomen. Alonzo Herndon became Atlantas first Black millionaire through a chain of barbershops.

Today, Black people are overrepresented in the barbering field. Though Black people make up about 12% of the U.S. population, the profession is about 25% Black.

And local demand for trained hair stylists is above the national average. The U.S. Department of Labor expects a 7% increase in barber and cosmetologist jobs in the state by 2028, compared to a 2% decrease nationwide.

The average barber in the U.S. makes just over $38,000 per year, or roughly $18 per hour full time, which is similar to Tennessees average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but that doesnt include cash tips.

To become a barber in Tennessee, students must complete 1,500 hours of training, which can take anywhere from 14 to 24 months. By comparison, police officers typically receive just under 500 hours of training, which in Tennessee is completed in about three months.

For barbers, a long training period means higher costs. The for-profit schools in Memphis charge up to $18,000 for tuition.

At Memphis only public program, Tennessee College of Applied Technology, or TCAT, the annual price for tuition, fees and books is about $5,400.

But the state only provided enough funding to allow TCAT to serve 40 aspiring barbers per year. There are 80 people on the waiting list, a TCAT counselor said, which means students may have to delay their education for at least two years.

As a result, eager students have little choice but to enroll in expensive for-profit schools, which have plenty of room, explained Bob Obrohta, who leads the Tennessee College Access and Success Network in Nashville.

The student is sitting here saying, I dont want to wait for another year or two years trying to get into this TCAT program, I want to go to work now in this profession that I want to do, Obrohta said.

Most these students have to take out federal loans to pay the bulk of their tuition. These students are more likely to be people of color with low incomes. Three-quarters of for-profit college students take out loans, compared to one-fifth of community college students and just under half of students at four-year public colleges.

Aspiring barbers and cosmetologists are at a high risk of not being able to pay back those loans, which come due six months after leaving school. The U.S. Department of Education estimated the average 2019 graduate from Memphis barber and cosmetology schools that accept federal loans, pay between $80 and $170 per month on a standard repayment plan.

But it typically takes several years for barbers or cosmetologists to build up a profitable business or clientele. In the first two years after graduation, the typical graduate of a Memphis barber or cosmetology program makes about $16,000 a year, according to federal data on five area schools. (This likely doesnt include unreported cash tips.) That translates to about $7.70 per hour working full time or $10.25 an hour working 30 hours per week.

Whatever the actual earnings, its clear that for many students, they simply arent enough to cover the student loan payments.

Its sort of a perverse outcome that federal financial aid, including loans, is supposed to help provide access to education to help increase their economic mobility, said Amy Laitinen, the director of higher education for the liberal think tank New America. And sometimes those loans end up doing the exact opposite.

You combine abysmal earnings with really high debt loads and you have a recipe for disaster, said Laitinen.

To prevent the problem from getting worse, local, state, and national leaders are working on student loan debt forgiveness, lower training costs and income-based loan repayment programs.

All federal student loan borrowers can apply for an income-driven repayment plan that adjusts monthly payments to typically around 10% of a borrowers discretionary income income above a basic living budget. Borrowers who sign up for these plans and make payments on time usually can have the remainder of their debt forgiven after 20 years.

But the program is notoriously difficult to navigate. Borrowers must reapply every year or get dropped. And the federal governments bureaucracy has been slow to approve forgiveness applications.

As a part of its pandemic response, the federal government suspended loan payments for all federal student and parent loans at least through Sept. 30. And Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has hinted that the pause may be extended further.

Long-term relief may be on the horizon if Biden makes good on his campaign promise to back federal student loan forgiveness of $10,000.

While he has yet to act on that promise, many advocates and elected officials are continuing to push for forgiveness. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, recently stalled confirmation of Bidens nominees for the U.S. Department of Education until his administration implements some student loan reform.

Judith Scott-Clayton, a Columbia University associate professor, says forgiving a little would go a long way because the majority of people who fall behind on their loan payments owe less than $10,000.

Its not necessarily about the amount thats being borrowed, said Scott-Clayton. Its about whether you have the capacity to repay even a small amount of debt.

Another popular option to reduce student debt has been the free community college program, Tennessee Promise.

In 2015, Tennessee became the first state in the nation to pay tuition costs for thousands of students headed to community college and public technical schools. After students exhausted other forms of scholarships and grants, the state kicks in the rest, or about $2,000 for the average student. Recent research shows the program has dramatically reduced student debt.

Since the state launched Tennessee Promise, the number of students taking out loans at community colleges decreased by about 40%. The average students debt load also decreased by about 32%, according to a study the Journal of Higher Education published in April.

But the rising affordability of public schools has attracted more applicants, leading to capacity issues and waitlists for job certification programs at the states technical schools, said Emily House, the executive director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

The capacity constraints are real in TCAT, House explained. A lot of that has to do with equipment. You cant learn how to do automotive technology if you dont have a car to work on.

So, Tennessee plans to spend $80 million on equipment and building renovations for technical schools across the state to accommodate more students. The effect wont be immediate as projects start in phases, but the hope is to significantly increase the number of students attending publicly funded trade schools.

Entrepreneurs are also trying to fill the vacuum. Jwan Buck Buckhalter founded Barbers University School in Memphis in 2017 so he could continue the tradition and train future business leaders.

I wanted people to understand it could be done. You can run a business. You can earn a living, he said. Lets keep the barbering industry as strong as we possibly can.

Buckhalter has the cheapest regular tuition for barber training in Memphis, at $4,800, payable in monthly installments. (Bluff City Barber College recently halved their tuition to $3,000 to attract more students during the pandemic but will eventually raise the price again.) Students typically attend morning or evening classes as they work other jobs.

Buckhalter, who has been a barber for 20 years, purposefully decided not to participate in federal student aid programs because he didnt want to encourage students to borrow. He saw the toll debt took on his colleagues. Buckhalter attended a school that offered low-cost tuition in New Orleans and wanted to offer the same opportunity in Memphis.

One student, Jerry Johnson, enrolled last year to fulfill the dream hes had since he was 15 years old when he picked up his first set of clippers in high school cosmetology class. He says he lives for the moment his clients smile as they turn to the mirror and see their finished haircut. He even started a TikTok account to promote his work.

Johnson, 22, was previously a certified nurse assistant at an urgent care clinic but craved a career change as the pandemic began to take its toll on medical workers. If national salary averages hold true for him, hell make more money as a barber. He researched and called several area barber schools and started applying for scholarships. Taking out a loan was a possibility, but he hoped to avoid it. The decision was easy after he called Buckhalter during his work break and heard the cost.

Compared to other area barber schools he researched, were learning the same material at a lower cost, Johnson said. And for him, that leaves more money for helping take care of his girlfriend and her child as well as investing in his own career.

I expect to make a good living once I receive my license. Thats the whole purpose of school: to better your future, he said.

Part of what has made the school affordable is its small size, Buckhalter said. The school currently has three instructors and 12 students. Another 12 have graduated and most of them passed their license exam.

Buckhalter hopes to expand, but he worries that he wont be able to without participating in federal student aid programs. He loses dozens of potential students every year who call and ask if the school accepts federal loans. But with federal loans come federal rules, including one that prohibits operation of a barbershop and a barber school in the same building, as Buckhalter does now. Getting a separate building would force him to raise tuition.

So now you ask yourself: Do I go for the money? he said. Or do I go for the cause and what Im trying to accomplish?

The cost of attending Memphis barber schools. Price includes tuition, supplies and books.

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How Tennessee schools are helping aspiring barbers with high debt kickstart their careers - Commercial Appeal