7 Reasons to Become a Massage Therapist

#1 A Career in Care-Giving
Just like those who are drawn to become a doctor, a charity or social worker, many are inspired to learn massage therapy due to an inherent nature in wanting to care for others.  This desire to help may be towards a particular person (a friend or family member) or towards the general public.  Many of our past students have cited a lack of personal fulfilment in corporate-oriented jobs or a feeling of ‘enjoying work but not really making a difference’, as reasons to seek a career change to becoming a massage therapist or wellness practitioner.  Becoming a professional massage therapist is both personally and professionally rewarding in more ways than you might imagine.  When your clients appreciate your work, you feel it, you know it, and they will tell you about it.

#2 Pay Scale!
Money isn’t everything but it helps.  Money is more about value, how you value your work, and how someone else values your work.  Becoming a massage therapist, like most ventures into a new career path requires a significant investment of both time and resources into education, does it pay off?
Yes… it really does. 
According to the American Massage Therapist Association, the average rate for a massage therapist is $65/hour.  Past students from Esalen® Massage and Touching Essence trainings who have become certified therapists offer sessions at no less than $65/hour with many charging upwards of $100/hour across various locations worldwide.  In some combinations of qualification, experience, location and clientele, we’ve known sessions going for as high as $500/hour.
Well educated independent massage therapists are able to earn well above average salary, whilst working half the time of a standard 40-Hour work week.

#3 Work Environment
Being a massage therapist is the opposite of a daily grind.  Each day is unique, different faces, different bodies, different conditions to address.  The usual office woes are uncommon to say the least, the gossip, the drama, the power struggles, the politics, the routine, someone else taking credit for your work, someone eating your sandwich that you’d been waiting for at lunch… gone!   Your work is between you and your client, these are the only people you have to answer to.  Your work environment is healthy, you are exercising as you work.  If you’ve made the right environment for your clients, it is beautifully decorated, comfortable, it smells fresh, it’s the kind of place you would want to spend your time.

#4 A Flexible Schedule
As an independent practitioner you have full control over your time.  Need Tuesday next week off? Don’t book any appointments for Tuesday next week!  There are plenty of great online scheduling systems available now, and you can keep your own calendar, block your own time slots. 
If you’re in high demand, you hold the choice, make many time slots available next week and less the week after.  If you work 4x 90 minute sessions in a day, you’ve got 10 waking hours left.  Add 3 hours a day for the other tasks to support your practice and you’re still left with time on your side.

#5 Demand
Massage therapy is far from an over-saturated industry.  Take a look online or in your local newspaper and see how many massage therapists you can find.  You’ll soon see you don’t have a lot of competition.  Where there is competition, there is only one solution.  Receive high quality training and education and continue expanding your skill set and knowledge.  Your career as a massage therapist is built on reputation, and when you’re good at what you do as a healing arts professional, you are always in demand.

The demand for massage therapy is growing too.  Stress on body and mind in the office environments are growing.  People are hunched over computers all day filled with heavy demands.  Nutritional content of the food and drink consumed have decreased.  Many countries are reporting a decline in general health and well-being attributed to such elements of our modern way of life.  In short, more and more people need the health benefits of massage both mentally and physically.