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Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Is anyone a massage therapist? How do you like it?
Hey all... I am in a search for a new job/career. I have been thinking of looking into massage therapy. I have spoken with a few who seem to love their jobs. I think this could be something I may enjoy. I was curious, how do you like it? How did you get into this and school... How long did you go to school for, training, and how much was it.? I have looked online, but wanted to get a real person feel and opinion. I know things are different in each state, I am in California, and also, what is the difference in getting a massage therapy diploma from a certificate?? I would love to hear what you think of what you do. Thanks all! Hope ya all have a good one!!!
Re: Is anyone a massage therapist? How do you like it?
I've been an lmt for about 7 years or so. Like any job it has its goods and bads, and those depend on you and where you work and how good you are at taking care of yourself, etc.
Each state has its own laws for licensing. Some still don't really have any at all.
You'll need you look at your states laws to see what's required. Either way in states that require licensing you still have to acquire your own liability insurance and you have to take a certain number of continuing education credits every year or two to keep your license.
My particular school was small so I got a lot of hands on attention and it had a strong basis in anatomy and physiology, which I loved. The hardest part was learning to put the clinical info together with a professional compassionate demeanor. Clients come in wanting different things. Sometimes its purely clinical, sometimes its more light relaxing stuff. Also keeping your personal like and stress out of the massage room takes practice. If you have a bad day, you tend to babble a little more to your clients, and you have to catch yourself. Just things like that that come with practice.
My school was 350 hours with a 50 hour internship. I went every other day for a full day (8-5ish) and it took me I think something like 6 months maybe? some people go nights or weekends only and that takes longer. Also, since i went to school my state (texas) has upped the hours required to 500. If you ever plan to work in another state, you will have to re-test for that states requirements. I want to say my school plus my table and books and testing were probably something like 2 or 3k? I don't really remember. I pay 200 dollars a year to keep my insurance, and about 100 every 2 years to update my license, plus 100-400 a year taking classes. So keep that in mind, this is a job where you WILL have to pay to keep your license.
I got into it because I worked a desk job for a big computer company in my little cubicle and I detested it. All the sitting at a desk screwed my shoulders up, and all the catty snarky cubicle politics... ugh. i'm just not made for that kind of work. I was miserable and gained a lot of weight and hated every minute of it. Once I quit, I swore i'd never have a desk job again, and I haven't since. I went to a job fair to get ideas, and there was a massage school there taking sign ups. I'd fiddled with the idea before, but like you, I didnt know where to start. So I signed up.
I dont know what the difference between cert and license is in your state, but here its a license. After you finish school you have to take your state test. some states require a practical, and some don't (practical being you have to show your massage skills before a panel or a judge to prove you're competent).
You'll want to look and see what therapists are paid in your state. Depending where you live and the cost of living, it may not be the best way to go unless you are proficient at running your own business. schools will tell you you can make x amount a year, but generally thats only if you work for yourself and keep a low overhead and keep your profits to yourself. Working for a company obviously you will make less in comparison. Also look into whether you will be working as an employee or as contract, because that effects how you do your taxes.
You will also have to figure out what you are physically able to do (how many massages a day) as you go, and choose your specialities according to this. Work smart, not hard! This profession has a high turnover rate because of injuries. If you aren't smart about your body mechanics and you over work yourself, you'll slip a disc, or dislocate a thumb, or just get repetitive stress injuries or tendinitis, then you'll have to take time off and be all poor for a while. If you enter into this career smartly and pay attention to your body and don't ignore it when it hurts, and take care of it, you can have a long career.
If you work a franchise (massage envy,etc) you will be paid less but you will have more regulars and more return clientele, and you will not have to deal with any front desk stuff. If you work a fancier spa, you will most likely do lighter spa stuff. Both have ups and downs. Its easy to overwork yourself in a franchise because there's no price difference between swedish and deep, so you can be stuck doing a lot of one or the other. At a spa, you could be bored to tears and not grow as a therapist because people very rarely want anything clinical at a spa, its all pampering. Working for yourself, you have to have a good head for business and learn to manage one. School very lightly touches on business, you will have to do your own research afterwards on that if you want a comprehensive idea of it. ABMP (the best insurance company for us) has great resources for this.
All that said, I ADORE my work. The places i've worked have varied between good and mildly annoying, depending on management. This job has a very low stress rate in general, which is fantastic. On slow days, I can go nap on my table. I can take time to work on my coworkers (or have them work on me). In general I get to just take clients back to my room and do my job, no one micromanages me. There's a low amount of drama and the work has a high level of immediate gratification. You get to help others, and feel appreciated for that help. You get to giggle and gossip and laugh with clients, or help people in serious pain, or just relax while they snore. For clients who like to sleep, I listen to books on tape on my ipod i keep in my pocket. I'm constantly learning and experimenting on new techniques and modalities.
Its a fun job, but it is hard work and not for everyone.If you find a niche you feel good about in it, it's very fulfilling. Most people are either very hippy/energy meridians/chi type practitioners, or they're all cinical, stretches, miofascial release stuff. Most don't do both. I'm on the clinical side.
Wow, thats a friggin novel I just wrote there!