This 28-year-old makes over $100K without a bachelor’s degree—here’s how

CLOSING THE GAP

It didn’t take Miracle Workman long to realize that college wasn’t for her. 

By the end of her first semester at Mat-Su College, a small school in Palmer, Alaska, Workman, then 18, decided she couldn’t stomach the time, or loans, it would take to get her associate’s degree. 

So, in December 2013, as she waited for a sign from the universe to help her choose a career, Workman returned to her high school job as a hostess at a local pizzeria in Wasilla, Alaska.

Inspiration struck just a few months later in an unlikely place: a plastic surgeon’s office 3,000 miles from home. Workman and her now-husband Tim were visiting his mom in Scottsdale, and she surprised him with a laser treatment to help with his acne. 

“This esthetician walked into the room, and she was so calm and confident explaining the procedure, and then handling the equipment, I just remember thinking, ‘Whatever this is, I love it, I want to do this,’” Workman, now 28, says. 

Fast-forward almost a decade later, and Workman has spun her interest in skin care into a six-figure career: She owns Studio Sol, a hair salon and esthetic studio in Wasilla, and is on track to earn $180,000 this year from her work as an esthetician. 

The requirements to become an esthetician are rigorous: In Alaska, you have to complete at least 350 hours in a government-approved course of study and pass two exams to obtain an esthetician license. 

Workman graduated from esthetics school in May 2015. Though she eventually wanted to establish her own esthetician business, she prioritized building her clientele and experience first. She worked at a waxing salon, then a med spa — a hybrid of the traditional day spa and a medical clinic — and in 2018 started a job at a day spa.

Then, the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Workman saw the pandemic as an interruption of her career at first, when the day spa she worked at temporarily shut down, then decided it was another sign from the universe.

Workman quit her job at the day spa once it reopened in May 2020 and rented the backroom of a hair salon in Wasilla for $500 per month. 

Within 12 months of opening, Workman earned a net profit of $115,000. Much of her clientele, she says, has come from repeat customers at her old job, who will also recommend her to their friends, walk-ins and social media campaigns. 

2022 was a big year for Workman: In January, she bought Studio Sol and in August, she hired her first employee, another esthetician. Two months later, she went on maternity leave — she and Tim welcomed their first daughter, Navy, in November. 

One of the benefits of working as an esthetician, according to Workman, is the flexible schedule. “Sometimes, I only work three hours a day,” she says.

After opening her business, Workman quickly realized that she could double her income and reduce her workload by offering more specialized, top-shelf skin-care services, like lymphatic facials and scalp treatments. 

Adds Workman: “That’s the beauty of working in this industry. I can make my job whatever it needs to be to fit my lifestyle. It’s given me the freedom and flexibility to run my days exactly how I envision them … it’s been such a blessing.” 

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