Massage Therapy Careers

The demand for massage therapists is increasing and massage therapy careers are made out to be a promising future.

The reality is that most massage therapists start their own businesses.  While there are more jobs out there now in spas, franchises, cruise ships and medical offices most only pay about $15-$25 an hour and that is only when you are doing a massage.  If you don't have a client, you are usually paid minimum wage and have other duties such as cleaning and organizing to do.

The average age of a massage therapist is 45.  Massage school is geared toward teaching adults.  High School Graduates are better off going to college for business and marketing and learning how to run a massage business. There are some 2 year massage programs that would be better suited to a high school student as it allows time to mature.

Massage schools are in the business of getting massage students to come to their school.  They are often making sales pitches to you so you have to go into it knowing what it is that you want.

You will be learning things like anatomy, physiology, pathology, massage techniques and business skills.  There are no prerequisites except to graduate from high school but since the average age of massage therapists is 45, massage is best as a second or third career.

It takes some level of business, customer service skills and professionalism.  Massage has a way of bringing up deep emotional trauma in people and can cause them to feel repressed feelings such as anger, rage and grief.  Knowing how to handle these instances requires being mature enough and self aware enough to stay focused and maintain your boundaries in instances like this.  It doesn't always happen, but it is very possible.

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