Barber college instructors are licensed professionals who train prospective barbers full-time or supplement their income on a part-time basis. They are employed by public technical schools, universities and private beauty and barber colleges, which offer courses in hair-cutting and styling only. Barber instructors have experience as barbers along with a bachelor's or associate's degree.

Hours

Most post-secondary teachers work approximately 13 to 16 hours per week in the classroom. The remainder of their workweek consists of preparation and meetings. Barber college instructors also split time between teaching and working other jobs cutting hair. Weekend work is sometimes required, but many vocational teachers are able to set their own schedules and do not work weekends or holidays in the classroom.

Training

Barber college instructors are required to be licensed barbers and complete training to enable them to teach. Some schools require instructors to complete a specific number of credits, while others monitor the number of hours worked as an instructor. During training, prospective instructors learn how to grade, plan lessons and instruct a group of students in live hair-cutting settings. In most states, instructors are also required to pass a written state board licensing examination.

Industry Pay Scale

There are approximately 121,000 post-secondary vocational teachers working in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Nearly half work in technical and trade schools, including beauty schools and barber colleges. Instructors are paid slightly more than $24 per hour and average salaries of nearly $50,100 per year as of 2010.

Opportune Markets

While postsecondary instructors are employed throughout the country, most find work in California, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas. In those states, teachers earned salaries between nearly $50,000 and $67,300 per year as of 2010, the BLS stated. The top paying metropolitan area was Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where technical school instructors averaged nearly $96,000 per year in 2010. Average salaries also topped $90,000 in Salinas, California.