'Ah, Nails, Let's Try It' — The Job Found After Continuously Searching for What I Love

I am a nail technician. My job is to make customers' nails beautiful and cute. I am a full-time employee, and currently, I am the only staff member.

Originally, I was doing a different job, but I thought I wanted to do something I liked when working. That's when nail art came to mind, and I started studying and switched jobs. I had a feeling like, 'Ah, nails, let's try it.' Actually, since I was a middle school student, I always thought, 'Being a nail technician would be nice.' As I worked, I realized I might want to do nails. From there, I studied for qualifications and practiced, obtained them, and switched jobs. I've always liked beauty, and I tried other beauty jobs too, but something felt off. Although I had different jobs, I ended up coming back to this. Initially, I worked as an esthetician, then as a dental clinic receptionist, and now I've been a nail technician for about a year.

Well, at first, I was inexperienced, and I was part of the opening staff, so the shop started from scratch. But I had a strong desire to be the first person at the shop. Although I had some anxiety, after a year, I gained confidence. I used to be bad at expressing myself, but now I feel brighter and more confident. Although I'm inherently negative, now I can directly hear customers say things like, 'Your nail photos are so cute, I've wanted to come for a long time' or 'When you do my nails, I always get compliments from everyone.' That definitely boosts my daily motivation and confidence, and I feel a strong sense of fulfillment every day.

There's the Nail Technician Skill Test and the Gel Nail Test, each with three levels, and I've completed all of them. It was tough. Last October, I took the Nail Technician Test Level 1, and the pass rate is 50%, so half fail, which is quite challenging. But even so, it's like, 'I have this.' Even if it doesn't directly apply to my work, the process of obtaining it or just having it somehow boosts my confidence. Other nail technicians have it too, and if I think, 'I don't have it' or 'I wish I did,' then I just try it. I passed, so I'm glad.

For new customers, I ask about allergies because they can cause trouble. Also, with nails, some people's nails are hard to remove, while others' are easy, so if there's a history of lifting, I add an extra care step or try a different base gel. I also ask them to come in a bit earlier to see if there are any issues during a trouble-free period, and if everything's okay, I suggest, 'Let's try extending it to a month.' Apart from the design of the procedure, we also consider these things and consult with each other.

I believe that since customers have come, spending both money and time, I want to provide them with the best service I can. I love nails myself, and ever since I wanted to become a nail technician, I visited various shops in my area. I think the way services are provided varies from person to person, but I want customers to leave thinking, 'I'm glad I came here,' and that way, I can send them off happily and welcome the next customer cheerfully. So, I always keep in mind that I want a win-win relationship. I pay attention to providing a service that supports them.

A year ago, I had some resistance to the service industry. I was also inexperienced with nails, and I didn't know what kind of customers would come or the location, so I focused on handling things myself. But now, more people come because they like my designs, or they have absolute confidence in my nail designs and leave it to me. A year ago, I was doing things out of anxiety and thinking, 'Can I do this?' But now, I have the conviction that 'I can do this.'

There was a period when I was too focused on numbers. But then the owner told me to stop that and said, 'Now, think about what customers are looking for and count the number of their smiles.' From then on, I just focused on the procedures and only thought about customers' satisfied faces, so now I don't feel mentally tough at all.

There are quite a few ways to learn about nails now. You can go to a nail school and learn directly, or like me, you can learn online where materials are delivered, and you can proceed by watching videos and using teaching materials. However, you won't improve unless you practice yourself, and you need to look at it from various perspectives to improve. If you think, 'This is good enough,' that's the limit of your quality. It's something you can keep pursuing indefinitely. I did that for about two years, took six exams, and my hands became much lighter, which also boosted my confidence.

In distance education, packages arrive, and there are various courses, but you can take courses up to the level you aim for and submit assignments by mail. There's a hand model, like a mannequin hand in a beauty salon, and you do things like 'this on the thumb, this on the index finger' for Level 1 and Level 2, gradually doing exam-oriented art. You send it to a place for correction, get it corrected, and it comes back. You apply for the exam yourself, take it, and if you pass, you submit another assignment for correction for the next exam. You can also reserve direct learning sessions at the school, and both those who learn by themselves and those who attend can do so.

What I think about every day is, I don't think there are many nail technicians like this, but if I ask customers, 'What kind of nails do you want to do next?' and can provide what they want, they will definitely come back, right? For example, even if it's popular nationwide, if there's no demand from the customers who come to my shop, I don't think it's meaningful for me to do it. So, I ask them, 'Then come and I'll practice,' with the mindset of making my current customers happy. When I post it on Instagram, the owner sees it and thinks, 'You did this too,' 'You also tried this,' and it becomes a good cycle. It's not about evaluation, but I think it's good to see customers' smiles.

I love my job, but if I don't have a balance, I end up thinking too much about work and get overwhelmed. So, I make sure to have plenty of hobbies and create time to forget about work in a good way. However, because of this job, I sometimes get reservations or inquiries even on my days off. But I make sure to secure my own time and create time to not think about work to maintain balance.

If I take a long break, my skills get rusty, so I avoid taking long holidays. The longest I take is about 3 days, 2.5 days. If I take a long break, when I remove nails, I have to use a machine to file them down, which can be quite heavy, depending on the product. It can also lead to injuries or problems, so I make sure not to forget the sensation of that weight. If I don't hold a brush, the sensation, if you can call it that, becomes dull. So, I try to do nails every day.

If I were doing it for money, it might be small, but I don't place much importance on that. I'm doing it because I want to, so if I can make a living, that's enough for me. Of course, I'd be happy to earn more, but I also like managing my finances, so I don't really think, 'I wish I had more.' I'm just grateful that I can do nails.

I've pretty much dedicated my life to this job. I think, in my life, nails are probably everything to me now. If I couldn't do this, I might think, 'I don't need to live,' it's that significant to me. I've put my life into nails. Even when I left my family home, I came with the determination that I'd give it my all.

I will continue. Recently, I've been thinking about it, but no matter what happens in the future, I want to be involved in nail-related work in some way. Being a nail technician depends on the age group the shop targets and the designs you're good at, I think. As you get older, more people retire or become managers, so there's a path to graduating from being a player. But for me, I want to continue until I feel I've done my best, and even if I move on, there are other nail-related jobs besides being a nail technician, so I want to keep doing those.

Honestly, I don't think I have anything to say. But for those studying now, you might wonder, 'Am I really suited for this?' I wondered that too, and when you go to a nail school, there are people aiming higher than you, and you might compare yourself to others. But everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, so instead of thinking about whether you can or can't do it, I think it's important to keep practicing steadily. I kept taking exams and thought, 'Don't have a day off.' Even while working a completely different job, I studied, so there were times when I was tired and couldn't do it or didn't want to do it that day. But I decided to do something nail-related every day, like doing just one nail or, 'I'm too sleepy to do anything, but let's just set things up for smooth practice tomorrow.' Even if it's just 5 or 10 minutes, I decided to do something nail-related every day and continued, and I passed all the exams on the first try. It might not directly lead to anything, but I think accumulating those efforts is important.