Career Paths for Estheticians in Tampa Bay: Dermatology & Salary Insights

Question
I was hoping you could help and offer me some advise. I live in the Tampa Bay area and am currently go to school to become a full specialist (skin and nail care). I would like to focus more on the skin care and would like to get a job at a dermatology office instead of a day spa but while applying for jobs I'm noticing they want a massage therapist/esthetician. How should I go about finding a job with just an esthetician license and roughly what would my average yearly salary be? Thank you for your help and input!
-Tiffany

Answer
It's hard to pin down an average salary for esthetician, as we can make more in places where we get tips and commissions off selling products, but the average I've noticed in my area seems to be around 25-27k, outside of tips, for a newer esthetician. If I were you and finding a lot of offices that wanted a combo of massage and esthetics I would write a strong cover letter for my resume explaining my passion for skin care and wish to work with a derm  to make a difference in peoples skin, hopefully pointing out to the office how a passionate esthetician might could benefit them more than a massage/esthetician.
I struggled to find a job in a clinic, I had to take a job in a day spa until what I wanted opened up and called me. A lot of my day spa clients were patients at the clinic I wanted to work at, I did my best possible job on every client I had and eventually my name got around to the clinic. Also I knew they were the best in town so I sent clients there for treatments I couldn't offer at the spa. When the doctor that ran that clinic came to my spa for a botox party I volunteered to stay and help with the party after hours and made sure the doctor and nurse knew who I was and was super helpful. Sometimes you just have to wait and build your experience.
Hope this helps
Griffin