Massage Therapy Schooling Question?!


Question: I am looking into starting school for Massage Therapy, I think it would be a very satisfying job helping others. I know how good it feels to get a massage because I have recieved numerous massages and love them! My questions are what is the average income of a Massage Therapist? How many hours are worked in a week? If you are a current MT do you love your job and are happy you went the route you did? Is it as rewarding as is sounds?What is the best and worst parts of the job? What place would you recommend working at spas, chiropratic offices, hospitals etc.? Any comments or anything would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!


Answers: I am looking into starting school for Massage Therapy, I think it would be a very satisfying job helping others. I know how good it feels to get a massage because I have recieved numerous massages and love them! My questions are what is the average income of a Massage Therapist? How many hours are worked in a week? If you are a current MT do you love your job and are happy you went the route you did? Is it as rewarding as is sounds?What is the best and worst parts of the job? What place would you recommend working at spas, chiropratic offices, hospitals etc.? Any comments or anything would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!

When I started MT schooling, class size was about 30. Graduating class was about 7. Out of the 7 that graduated, I am one of 3 that is employed in the field (last I checked). I have been graduated 16 months now. Some of my classmates went on to become a Medical Assistant.

I was hired at the day spa where I worked my internship - before I graduated. At the spa, I am considered "self-employed" and I pay 30% room rent out of whatever the salon charges for the different types of massage. Right now, an hour massage is $66. The spa schedules my clients, provides bottled water for after the massage, the table, a CD player and all the abmience of a salon/spa setting. I provide my own massage oil, sheets, candles and music. Last summer, I began to rent my own room from a different shop closer to home with the same percentage. I love this shop better than the spa because I am more of my own boss in this setting. I also started my own Mobile Massage Business last fall and so far, I have 3 clients that see me monthly for the Mobile Massage. I started my own website also.

I love my job and am glad I made the career change at 40 years old. However, the others that I know are not happy with the slow building of clientele. You will hear of some instant success stories. For the rest of us, it takes some time to build clientele because it is based upon the general public trusting you and your reputation. If you want to go the route of a hospital, then it would be a good idea to get a Pt. Asst for job marketability and stability. If your own chiropractor does not have a MT, then by all means, ask her to hire you or at least do your internship there. I did not want to work for others, being told how to do what I know I want to do, work under a time constraint (hurry up because the client has a facial at 2). I am also trained in Reiki, Reflexology and CranioSacral Therapy, all of which is not necessary for giving a good massage, but it sure does help to know this stuff!!! I have also studied Aromatherapy and Herbology. Your clients will want stress-relief for the most part, but at the same time, will be pleasantly surprised if you can actually "fix" their stiff shoulder or get rid of their sciatica. In the spa setting, that is when they tip extremely well, but that won't happen in a medical setting. Last week, I made the same wages after one day of massages, including tips and after room rent, as two weeks working at Walmart. I am beginning to get more and more of those types of days! ;-) Right now, I have had clients come to see me in Michigan as far away as Colorado, Louisiana, Chicago (most of my clients!), the East Coast, and South Africa. My reputation is building.

And yes, it does seem that some massage therapists can be pretty nasty to Newbies. I've been on the receiving end of the nastiness!!! To help build your credibility, always be willing and able to refer to someone else if you cannot help your client. You may not be right for them, but you may be just right for their friends!

At some schools you can get a massage therapy degree in one year and a physical therapy assistant degree the next year. If you have a physical therapy assistant degree, you can get reinbursed through insurance and hospitals are more willing to hire you. You can work full time as a Physical therapy assistant learning physical therapy techniques of massage for disorders, while building up your clients until you have enough to go full time or for your private massage business. In physical therapy, massage therapy is called Manual therapy.

My hands are not very strong so I don't like giving a lot of massages. My favorite therapy is pool therapy, which can include massage in the pool. Giving massages is not relaxing for me but pool therapy is.

The massage therapist I know don't do it full time. Many get a massage degree and then go to nursing school.

If your looking for pay, hours, and good places to work you need to do informational interviews at the places near you

Oh my. Although I love the choice I made with massage and have had an awesome time doing so one of the MAJOR MAJOR downfalls is the vast amount of students going through school right now. That being said there is an extremely high attrition rate and many otherwise good therapists don't succeed because they don't find immediate success. I've been at it for three+ years now and after a failed business partnership ran me dry, I took some time off, now I'm heading back in.

Be forewarned...it's awesome work. The pay will be what you make of it, and it's EXTREMELY competitive. Everyone wants a massage and everyone wants to become a massage therapist because the numbers just look so good.

Also, we're one of the absolute few industries where we tend to eat our young. By that I mean you truly, truly have to have a solid aptitude for business if you want to make good money otherwise consider working for someone else.

Good luck. It's awesome just a lot a lot of work and very competitive. If you're curious as to your competition will be just google your town's name + massage....

Helping others usually brings up many unconscious programs. While it may seem noble to want to help others, helping for the most part really hurts others. The best way to get through that is learning to be of service which is very different from helping. Becoming a massage therapists is more about learning to help yourself and discovering your own needs. You can't be present for others when you are needing them to fulfill your own needs for acceptance, nurturing and love.

The latest statistics for salaries in the massage profession are really low. Most massage therapists do only work part time and supplement their income with other jobs mainly because they have not been taught to do things like charge what they need to make and charge for no shows and set a strong framework for their business. Most massage therapists start their own business which does not get incorporated into job statistics.

It isn't always as rewarding as it sounds or looks. You have to deal with people who are injured, very stressed, don't take care of themselves etc. That being said there are ways to deal with these difficult situations and get support for dealing with such conditions. You don't have to be one of the struggling massage therapists if you take the steps to look at the reasons why you want to help and work through those.

Some also say "It isn't about the money" but frankly a career/making a living is about that. Yes, you need to be happy but that includes being able to pay the bills, save for retirement and take nice vacations. You need to make money to do that and stay in business so you can work with others. It is about the money and if you are saying it isn't there are most likely some unconscious money patterns showing themselves.

Average massage-related income for massage therapists in 2005 was $18,950, with a median income of $14,500 (2005 ABMP Member Survey). from ABMP's website www.massagetherapy.com

I am not a massage therapist, but I have employed massage therapists. One of the previous posters said that 'LMT's eat their young'-and it's very true. You need a solid business plan, and if you can get into a chiropractor's office it would be great. Even if you rent some space (usually pretty cheap), you will have a built-in clientele. The hardest part will be finding the clients, so your marketing has to be stong as well.

Concerning salary: Don't look up the salaries; most LMT's (and chiropractors) work in more than one place. Thus, making X amount of dollars in two different job settings. The numbers will always be skewed. As opposed to a PT, who more traditionally works in a single-office or hospital setting. The more people you find who need and desire your service, the more money you will make.

My best advice: Do an internship with a chiropractor, and when you graduate, get your license as soon as possible and hit the ground running - don't wait around like most students who end up waiting tables.
Best of luck to you.

Hi,
In Oregon, the average income for LMTs is about $50,000 a yr according to the Oregon Employment Dept (link below for info) http://www.qualityinfo.org/olmisj/OIC?ar...





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