Personal Services & Skilled Trades

Barbers cut, trim, and style hair, primarily for male clients, though many serve all genders. The work involves consulting with clients about desired styles, cutting hair with scissors, clippers, and razors, trimming and shaping beards, performing facial shaves with straight razors, recommending hair care products, and maintaining a clean, welcoming shop environment. Beyond technical cutting skills, successful barbers build relationships with clients who return regularly—often the same time each week or month for years. The barbershop tradition includes conversation, community connection, and an atmosphere distinct from generic hair salons. Modern barbers may specialize in particular styles—fades, textured cuts, beard sculpting—or serve specific communities. The profession requires licensure involving training in sanitation, skin conditions, and cutting techniques.

Cosmetologists provide hair care services including cutting, coloring, styling, and chemical treatments, along with related services like manicures, facials, and makeup application. The work involves consulting with clients about desired looks, analyzing hair type and condition, performing cuts and styles, applying color and highlights, giving permanents and straightening treatments, and recommending products for home care. Successful cosmetologists build lasting relationships with clients who trust their judgment about styles, colors, and treatments. The profession requires understanding color theory, chemical processes, and how different hair types respond to various treatments. Work environments include salons, spas, entertainment industry settings, and private client services. Many cosmetologists specialize in particular services—colorists, stylists for curly or textured hair, wedding specialists—building expertise that commands premium pricing.

Funeral directors manage funeral home operations and guide families through end-of-life arrangements. The work involves meeting with bereaved families to plan services, coordinating logistics for viewings, funerals, and burials, preparing bodies for viewing or cremation, managing business operations, ensuring regulatory compliance, and providing emotional support during difficult transitions. Directors work closely with families to personalize services—selecting caskets, arranging flowers, choosing music, coordinating with clergy, and handling countless details during families' most vulnerable moments. The role combines business management, regulatory compliance, and profound emotional labor. Many funeral directors work in family-owned businesses spanning generations. The profession requires licensure involving mortuary science education, practical training, and state examination.

Locksmiths install, repair, and open locks, and work with security systems for residential, commercial, and automotive customers. The work involves responding to lockout calls, rekeying locks when tenants change, installing new lock systems, repairing damaged locks, programming electronic access systems, opening safes, and duplicating keys. Modern locksmithing increasingly involves electronic security—key card systems, smart locks, and access control integration. Emergency lockout services require arriving quickly and solving problems under pressure while customers wait. Commercial work involves assessing security needs and recommending appropriate systems. Automotive locksmithing includes programming transponder keys and opening sophisticated vehicle locks. The profession requires understanding mechanical lock mechanisms, electronic systems, and maintaining the professional ethics essential when working with security systems.

Pet groomers bathe, brush, clip, and style dogs and other animals, maintaining their appearance and hygiene. The work involves consulting with pet owners about desired styles, bathing and drying animals, brushing and detangling coats, clipping and scissoring according to breed standards or owner preferences, trimming nails, cleaning ears, and checking for skin conditions or parasites. Groomers must handle animals of varying temperaments—from calm lap dogs to anxious rescues—using techniques to keep animals comfortable and safe. Different breeds require different approaches; poodle clips differ from terrier hand-stripping which differs from double-coat breeds requiring undercoat removal. The work involves physical demands from lifting animals, standing for extended periods, and managing occasionally difficult animals. Many groomers develop specializations in particular breeds or styles.