← Hospitality and personal services

ANZSCO 3911Skill level 3Hospitality and personal services

Hairdresser

Cut, colour and style hair in salons, mobile services and freelance settings.

Salary

Cited figures from Job Outlook and QILT. ExamExplained does not publish predictive earnings or projections.

FigureAUDSource
Full-time weekly earnings$1150Job Outlook (2025-06-01)

How far does this stretch in each city?

What a hairdresser actually does

Hairdressers work in suburban salons, inner-city studios, chain franchises, barber shops, mobile services and increasingly as chair-renters running their own client list inside a shared salon. A typical day is appointment driven, with cuts booked in 30-45 minute blocks and colour services in 90 minutes to three hours depending on the work. Between clients you sweep the floor, wash and dry tools, mix colour, sterilise combs and clips, prepare the next client's gown and book in their next visit. Saturdays are the busiest day of the week, and most salons also run a late-night Thursday. Pay sits under the Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2020 with weekend penalty rates, and many salons add a commission on retail product and service sales on top. Most salaried hairdressers work 35-40 hours a week. Chair-renters and mobile hairdressers set their own hours but carry their own bookings, marketing, insurance and stock. The work is physical: on your feet through the day, repeated shoulder, wrist and back use, constant exposure to colour and bleach fumes. Long-term, contact dermatitis and shoulder injuries are common, and serious operators wear gloves through every chemical service.

Typical tasks

  • Consult on style and chemical services.
  • Cut and colour to client brief.
  • Maintain salon hygiene and chemical-safety procedures.

Skills you'll use

  • Consultation and reading a client's hair type and lifestyle
  • Cutting (scissor, razor, clipper) for women, men and kids
  • Colour theory and chemistry (highlights, balayage, toning, colour correction)
  • Chemical safety with bleach, peroxide and ammonia products
  • Blow-drying, hot tools, upstyling and basic event hair
  • Retail product knowledge and add-on selling
  • Calm, listening client conversation across long appointments
  • Time management across two or three clients at once

How to become one

  1. 1Finish Year 10 at minimum; Year 12 is helpful if you eventually want to own a salon
  2. 2Start a 3-year hairdressing apprenticeship under a host salon and complete a Certificate III in Hairdressing at TAFE
  3. 3Build up to working a full chair (3-4 clients at once) by the end of your apprenticeship
  4. 4Consider a Certificate IV in Hairdressing if you want to step into salon management or training
  5. 5Build a colour and styling portfolio on social media to grow a personal client list
  6. 6Decide whether you want to stay employed, rent a chair, go mobile or open your own salon (most senior hairdressers do one of the last two)

Where you can work

  • Independent suburban salons
  • High-end inner-city studios
  • Chain franchise salons
  • Barber shops with men's grooming focus
  • Hotel and event-styling salons
  • Mobile services visiting clients at home
  • Chair-rental in a shared salon as a sole trader
  • Bridal and editorial freelance work

Career progression

Typical stages and salary bands. Salary figures are sourced from Job Outlook, QILT or industry bodies; brackets are 25th-75th percentile not absolute floors or ceilings.

  1. Apprentice
    0-3 years
    Typical roles: First-year apprentice, Junior hairdresser, Salon assistant
    Salary band: $32,000 - $50,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  2. Qualified stylist
    3-7 years
    Typical roles: Hairdresser, Senior stylist, Colour specialist
    Salary band: $55,000 - $75,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  3. Senior stylist or salon owner
    7+ years
    Typical roles: Senior stylist, Creative director, Chair-renter or salon owner
    Salary band: $70,000 - $110,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)

Is this for you?

You might love this if

  • You enjoy creative work with your hands and have a good eye for shape and colour
  • You can hold a friendly conversation with strangers for eight hours a day
  • You're patient enough to do the apprenticeship for the trade-qualified rate
  • You can manage your own client list and bookings if you want to go solo later
  • You're physically fit enough for a full day on your feet

This might not suit you if

  • You want to sit at a desk for most of your work day
  • You're allergic to or irritated by hair-colour chemicals or salon dust
  • You want every Saturday off (Saturday is the busiest day of the week)
  • You hate small talk with clients and selling retail product

Three ways in

Uni, TAFE and trade routes for hairdresser. Not every career has all three; we only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.

University

Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.

No direct undergraduate pathway. Consider postgraduate study after a related bachelor degree.

TAFE / VET

Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.

Apprenticeship trade

Earn while you learn through an Australian Apprenticeship.

Sources

ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Job Outlook directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.