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Curricula vary like night and day. “Caveat
emptor” is Latin for “Let the buyer beware.”
That adage applies to the broad variety of
educational opportunities in grooming.
Remember, grooming is a profession
without vocational licensing in any U.S.
state. Without adopted standards of education
a great deal of latitude is given to
school owners. Expect significant differences
in the education you will receive when comparing schools. We cannot emphasize this
fact enough. All too often groomers with a
few years experience come to realize just
how little, or how much, they learned in the
schools they attended. "I thought all the
schools were the same." How many times have
we heard that? State
licensing of a grooming school is not governmental
approval of programs. State licensing implies reasonable assurance
that the school should provide an adequate
education to new career seekers. Accreditation is not the same as state
licensing. Accreditation status is
voluntary, and usually required if a school
is to offer financial aid backed by the
government. The effort to acquire
accreditation is significant, and as a
result few grooming schools acquire it.
Schools apply for accreditation with a 3rd
party organization, not state government. At
this point, remember that state licensing
and accreditation are not the same and that
far accreditation is major task to achieve.
Most
grooming schools are reputable. It's their
programs that vary most as well as the
amount and quality of the hands-on training.
These are the factors that should guide your
choice. The most common
mistake made by career seekers choosing a
school is to simply make their choices
based on proximity to homes.
Based on our experience, location is the number
one factor when career seekers choose a
school, and then cost.
The odds that the best curriculum to meet
their
educational goals just happens to be their neighborhood
wouldn’t get anyone far gambling in Las Vegas.
 We've heard every excuse why students cannot
travel outside of their area to attend school
for several weeks. Some of them are very good excuses. It is
their choice. We can only provide our best
advice. Fight the
limitations preventing you from getting the
best education to meet your career goals.
Realize that we also hear buyer’s remorse from
students that wished they had traveled to
their first choice school. So there you have
it. The decision rests with you. Let’s move
on.
The
PetGroomer.com Buyer's Guide
has a Grooming School section listing schools
around the world. We do not give our
endorsement to any one school and instead
provide you with our school directory for
informational purposes and convenience. Some school owners ask
us not to list them because our huge
popularity overwhelms them with interest and
they can only accept a few students each year.
Your next step is to contact schools that
interest you and request their brochure
(sometimes called a “catalog”). Once you’ve
reviewed their materials try to narrow your
candidates to two or three schools. Call
them and schedule an interview and tour of
their facilities. If you need housing ask
for their assistance. Some have housing
onsite and others have leads to reasonable
or shared housing alternatives. |
