Hopefully you have read through most of the information on this website and done futher research into careers in massage to help you determine if a career in massage is for YOU?
One of the first things people want to know is will you be able to make a decent living as a massage therapist to be able to support yourself and your family or have it as a second income source. Massage salary statistics vary greatly. The truth is you can make as much or as little as you want. It depends on YOU – Your ability to negotiate job pay and benefits, your ability to build a massage business and your ability to connect with clients in a way that will help you be successful.
Will you be able to get through massage school and classes like anatomy, physiology and kinesiology? (No Math!) There are so many study resources these days and it is usually just a matter of repetition in the beginning to get through massage school and the massage licensing process. People of any age attend massage school. The average age of most massage therapists is around 45. Many attend right out of high school or after a career in other fields.
Will you have the freedom that many massage schools advertise? Not really…but somewhat. If you start a business, you need to think of it as a business and have set hours and policies. If you get a job in massage, you may be able to pick your hours but you still need to show up and be professional. Massage therapists have a tendency to not take those things seriously.
Do you have what it takes?
- A desire and willingness to help others and care for others and set boundaries in doing to to keep yourself healthy and safe? (You will be taught about boundaries in basic massage school and it will also be a career long learning process.)
- You will be touching people of all types, ages, sizes with various health conditions and yes body smells, skin conditions, scars and hair in a dark/dimly lit room in a state of undress (but under sheets for privacy). This often brings up other challenges.
- You will be challenged by clients/patients who ask for “happy endings”. You will learn how to deal with this in massage school. Make sure you know how and get all the information you can in school and when you work in the profession.
- Self care is essential in this profession. Be strong, healthy and have a good work ethic.
- Understanding your rights and things like job classifications will help you in negotiating your job pay and benefits. Many massage therapists are misclassified as independent contractors. Be sure to know the difference.
- While you think you might want to get paid ‘what you are worth’ or work on only clients ‘who value you’, that will never happen. Just get over yourself. People will never really pay you what you are worth. Money has little to do with worth.
- Most massage therapists start their own business either right out of massage school or at some time in their career. You will be working harder than ever. You will need to show up whether you have a client or not if you are serious about starting a business. People who find massage therapy as a second career do well in business.