How To Become A Nail Artist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a nail artist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted Expert

Rev.Henry Parker

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a nail artist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $20.85 an hour? That's $43,369 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 22% and produce 36,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Nail Artist?

Rev.Henry Parker

Fine Arts, Arkansas Baptist College

Professionalism is paramount in today's marketplace. You must be able to perform your craft at a level of excellence, be well acquainted with trends and future technological propensities, and have a digital presence that is attractive to industry gatekeepers.

ScoreNail ArtistUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $43,369

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

1.7

Growth Rate 22%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.30%

Asian 52.10%

Black or African American 2.41%

Hispanic or Latino 12.65%

Unknown 2.00%

White 30.53%

Gender

female 85.00%

male 15.00%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress Level

1.7

Stress level is low

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

3.0

Complexity Level is basic

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

10.0

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a nail artist

Explore nail artist education requirements

Most common nail artist degrees

Bachelor's

38.1 %

Associate

35.7 %

High School Diploma

16.7 %

Start to develop specific nail artist skills

Skills	Percentages
Beauty Services	66.03%
Customer Service	15.17%
Nail Art	6.48%
Nail Services	6.32%
Nail Care	3.43%

Complete relevant nail artist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New nail artists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a nail artist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real nail artist resumes.

Research nail artist duties and responsibilities

Achieve all sales goals through close client contact and upselling techniques.
Conceptualize and develop terrain models using Maya and partner with director and animators to correspond and produce effective shots.
Freelance artist for Dior cosmetics, left to obtain more work elsewhere
Work directly for Christian Dior to locally work spa days and events.

Prepare your nail artist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your nail artist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a nail artist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Nail Artist Resume templates

Build a professional Nail Artist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Nail Artist resume.

Apply for nail artist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a nail artist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do nail artists rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Nail Artist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2022

Cons

It’s hard work, it feels like you will not make it and you’re jumping from job to job sometimes every now and then but the goal is to not give up, everyone is more than capable of achieving the things they put their minds too. :)