Massage Therapy Careers

How much can you make as a massage therapist is one of the first questions people ask when considering a career choice. Most massage therapists actually start their own business so most salary statistics are inaccurate.

Massage jobs are usually low paying starting at $15 an hour. While that may seem more than a minimum wage job you have to consider that you are only usually able to work about 25 hours doing massage because of the physical demands of the profession. Also in a massage job you usually only get paid your regular wage when you have a massage client. When you don't have an appointment you are often paid only minimum wage or even less.

When you start your own massage business, while there are costs involved and you need to be able to get a steady flow of clients coming in the door, you can make quite a bit more for the time you put in. The average fee for a massage is $60.00 an hour with more affluent areas charging well over $100 an hour or more. You do have to take into consideration that you will have to pay rent, overhead expenses, website fees and marketing fees as well as self-employment taxes. You will have to pay for your own sick time, vacation days and save for retirement.

Either way it is a difficult path to take.

You can learn more in my Ebook "The Massage Therapy Career Guide - The truth about becoming a massage therapist"

Massage Licensing is a very confusing topic for people considering a career in massage. Most states in the US require that you go to massage school and graduate as well as take one of two exams - the MBLex which is a newer test offered by the Federation of Massage State Boards or the National Certification Exam which is offered by the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.

Each state has different educational and other requirements which makes this more confusing. Just because you take one of the above exams does not mean you can work in another state that offers the same exam. Even thought the number of hours of education may be the same the classes that make up that 500 hours may also vary by state. Some states require more training in pathology or in massage theory for example.

So in order to obtain a professional massage license you will need to contact each State Board of Massage or massage licensing division to see what the massage requirements are in that state. To read more on massage licensing you can visit my site www.massage-career-guides.com or visit my other lens where I will be making a full list of massage licensing by state.

Professional Massage licensing is different from business licensing. When you do obtain your professional massage license you will then need to get a local and or state business license if you are planning on opening up a massage business (which is what most massage therapists do.)

Just about anywhere you can think of or envision can be created when you are self-employed as a massage therapist. There are now massage places in airports, truck stops, dentist offices, hospitals, with sports teams, with zoos and veterinarians and of course as spas and medical offices.

There are also cruise ships. resorts, vacation spots, ski lodges, medical spas, hair salons and many other locations for starting a business or getting a job in massage.

You can learn more in my Ebook "The Massage Therapy Career Guide - The truth about becoming a massage therapist"

Massage School Classes will vary by state and by school. Most schools start with teaching basic Swedish Massage which is a type of massage that is easy to learn and apply. Advanced techniques will include Deep Tissue Massage, Injury Massage, Pregnancy Massage and many of the more than 200 different types of massage.

A basic massage school class outline looks like this - Anatomy and Physiology, Massage Theory, Pathology, Assessment, Business and Marketing. You can see a full massage school class outline on my website at www.thebodyworker.com along with notes from each class that I have collected and put online.

How to choose a massage school is all about finding out what massage school will be best for you. What is best for others may not be best for you. It depends on your learning style and how much of a self-learner you are.

You will also have to look at things like how much you can afford to pay, how much time you want to spend in class and if you have time to travel to a school that is far away or do you need one that is close to home.

Most massage schools will have open houses and introductory one day workshops that you can attend to see if you like the school and more importantly if you like touching people.

You can find out more about how to research and choose the best massage school for you in my Massage Therapy Career Guide -The Truth about becoming a massage therapist.

Most important when you are deciding on choosing a career is to choose something that you really love doing. While it is hard to tell if you would love doing massage you have to start with do you love getting massage? You will learn much more about doing massage by getting regular massage sessions.