Barbers
Provide barbering services, such as cutting, trimming, shampooing, and styling hair; trimming beards; or giving shaves.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Reading Comprehension
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Sales and Marketing
- Education and Training
- Public Safety and Security
- Law and Government
- Administration and Management
- Chemistry
What the work involves
- Clean and sterilize scissors, combs, clippers, and other instruments.
- Cut and trim hair according to clients' instructions or current hairstyles, using clippers, combs, hand-held blow driers, and scissors.
- Drape and pin protective cloths around customers' shoulders.
- Question patrons regarding desired services and haircut styles.
- Clean work stations and sweep floors.
- Record services provided on cashiers' tickets or receive payment from customers.
- Order supplies.
- Shape and trim beards and moustaches, using scissors.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (45.5% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- None (54.6%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (39.4%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Barbers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 74% of occupations compared | 79% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very high | Higher on dealing with the public than 80% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 85% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 79% of occupations compared | 67% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 89% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Higher on conflict situations than 55% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 73% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Lower on consequence of error than 55% of occupations compared | 24% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 3.03%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 3.03%
- Contact with others most of the time: 15.15%
- Constant contact with others: 78.79%
n = 33, Occupational Expert 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 12.5%
- Important: 9.38%
- Very important: 25%
- Extremely important: 53.12%
n = 32, Occupational Expert 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 6.25%
- Fairly important: 12.5%
- Important: 25%
- Very important: 18.75%
- Extremely important: 37.5%
n = 32, Occupational Expert 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 6.06%
- Limited freedom: 6.06%
- Some freedom: 21.21%
- A lot of freedom: 66.67%
n = 33, Occupational Expert 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 21.88%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 21.88%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 6.25%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 12.5%
- Every day: 37.5%
n = 32, Occupational Expert 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 43.33%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 33.33%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 13.33%
- Every day: 10%
n = 30, Occupational Expert 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 3.23%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 32.26%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 16.13%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 32.26%
- Every day: 16.13%
n = 31, Occupational Expert 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 21.21%
- Fairly serious: 24.24%
- Serious: 21.21%
- Very serious: 12.12%
- Extremely serious: 21.21%
n = 33, Occupational Expert 08/2026
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O*NET-SOC 39-5011.00 · SOC 39-5011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8