Career profile for Barber

What does a Barber do?

Barbers provide barbering services, such as cutting, trimming, shampooing, and styling hair; trimming beards; or giving shaves.

What kind of tasks does a Barber perform regularly?

Barbers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Clean and sterilize scissors, combs, clippers, and other instruments.
Drape and pin protective cloths around customers' shoulders.
Cut and trim hair according to clients' instructions or current hairstyles, using clippers, combs, hand-held blow driers, and scissors.
Question patrons regarding desired services and haircut styles.
Clean work stations and sweep floors.
Apply lather and shave beards or neck and temple hair contours, using razors.
Shape and trim beards and moustaches, using scissors.
Record services provided on cashiers' tickets or receive payment from customers.
Perform clerical and administrative duties such as keeping records, paying bills, and hiring and supervising personnel.
Stay informed of the latest styles and hair care techniques.
Suggest treatments to alleviate hair problems.
Order supplies.
Shampoo hair.
Recommend and sell lotions, tonics, or other cosmetic supplies.

The above responsibilities are specific to Barbers. More generally, Barbers are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public		Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Thinking Creatively		Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Performing General Physical Activities		Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships		Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Assisting and Caring for Others		Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

Performing for or Working Directly with the Public

Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

Thinking Creatively

Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

Performing General Physical Activities

Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships

Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

Assisting and Caring for Others

Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

What is a Barber salary?

The median salary for a Barber is $32,470, and the average salary is $38,050. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Barber salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Barbers earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Barbers earn less than $21,810 per year, 25% earn less than $25,480, 75% earn less than $46,400, and 90% earn less than $63,450.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Barbers is expected to change by 17.5%, and there should be roughly 6,400 open positions for Barbers every year.

Median annual salary: $32,470
Typical salary range: $21,810 - $63,450
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 17.5%

What personality traits are common among Barbers?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Barber are usually higher in their Realistic, Enterprising, and Conventional interests.

Barbers typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Also, Barbers typically have moderate Enterprising interests. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Lastly, Barbers typically have moderate Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Barber tend to value Relationships, Achievement, and Working Conditions.

Most importantly, Barbers strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Barbers moderately value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Lastly, Barbers moderately value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Barbers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as cooperation, self-control, and attention to detail.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Barbers, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Concern for Others		Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Concern for Others

Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

What education and training do Barbers need?

Barbers often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Barbers usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Barbers

10.4% did not complete high school or secondary school
48.0% completed high school or secondary school
26.8% completed some college coursework
8.4% earned a Associate's degree
5.5% earned a Bachelor's degree
0.8% earned a Master's degree
0.1% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Barbers

Barbers may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as customer and personal service, administration and management, or economics and accounting knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Barbers might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Economics and Accounting		Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Psychology		Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Mathematics		Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Economics and Accounting

Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

Psychology

Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Mathematics

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Important Abilities needed by Barbers

Barbers must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Barbers need abilities such as arm-hand steadiness, oral comprehension, and near vision in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Barbers, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Arm-Hand Steadiness		The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Manual Dexterity		The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Finger Dexterity		The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

Arm-Hand Steadiness

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Manual Dexterity

The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

Finger Dexterity

The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

Critical Skills needed by Barbers

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Barbers frequently use skills like active listening, speaking, and social perceptiveness to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Barbers, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Social Perceptiveness		Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Service Orientation		Actively looking for ways to help people.
Judgment and Decision Making		Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

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