I just released my first book last month on amazon.com! A Career in Massage – Is it for you? It is something I have been working on for over 10 years really. It actually started as my first Ebook which I sold on one of my first websites created using Site Build it! I started selling ebooks a few months after starting the website and now it is a paperback book (kindle and nook coming soon!)
It has felt like basically my life’s work to complete this book. It is everything that I wish someone had told me about becoming a massage therapist.
No one ever told me it was going to be this hard!
No one ever told me that it was about building a business!
No one told me that I would get burned out helping and that helping was a sign of something that is going wrong!
What I did want was a more rewarding career- one where I could be making more of a difference and one where I had more freedom. I got all that but I never thought having freedom would also mean having no money! I of course lived simply (and still do – living in a mother-in-law house on a 5 acre ‘mini’ farm with horses, chickens that I take care of when my landlords are away where I also have a very large garden.) I could set my own schedule, sleep in, take long lunches which in the early days included a ferry ride to a neighboring island for lunch and I could just get by without many cares.
Then my 40′s hit and the realization that retirement would be impossible at the rate I was going. I also had some major health issues starting in 1998 which is one of the reasons why I did start this website. (I had severe, debilitating vertigo for about 10 years – gone now -knock, knock, knock.) Back then it was just more something to do when I was stuck at home feeling sick. I started writing and putting notes together on everything I wished I had more help with or had known about becoming a massage therapist. It turned into this website that is basically my massage school notes.
Today it seems even more competitive with the increasing number of massage schools up until about 2007 when the number of schools started leveling out due to the economy. There are many news sources like US News and World Report saying things like massage is an upcoming career for 2011. The problem is that most statistics are really inaccurate because of things like most massage therapists are self employed so income and other stats do not count those massage therapists. Schools take news reports like that and run with it continuing to tell potential massage students that they can make tons of money while having their own schedule and flexible hours. Well you can get some of that but you won’t have enough money to retire on.
There are so many other things that massage schools are telling potential students that is just inaccurate so that they can make a career in massage sound more appealing:
- You can make $60 an hour
- Health insurance is covering massage
- You will find a high paying job really easily
- You can work on a cruise ship and travel the world having fun
- You will be working in this soothing, relaxing environment like all the nice pictures they show at spas and health resorts
- People love massage and will soon be flocking to your door if you just set up shop
- You will be helping people
What they don’t tell you is that you will have to touch people! Imagine that! Yes some massage students don’t realize that. Touching has a much deeper meaning than most can imagine. You can find out more in my book of course!
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I totally agree with your comments that there are a lot of very important decisions that need to be made before jumping into becoming a massage therapist. Massage schools can really train anyone to do massage….but its the people who are MEANT to be doing this work that will make a difference for the clients that they work with.
No matter what career path someone chooses…it it very important that they do their research before jumping in!
Great post, I look forward to reading your book!