A career as a massage therapist can be very rewarding, both financially and psychologically. Practitioners of the art experience many benefits that they might not otherwise have if they were to choose a different path within the healthcare industry.
First, there is the obvious satisfaction that comes with helping people. Many tout the amazing benefits of massage therapy in treating a person’s physical ailments, and the number of satisfied clients grows every day. Alleviating another person’s pain can be a very fulfilling experience for a massage therapist, and at the end of the day, this is what matters most to some people.
Massage therapy can also be a lucrative business, if it is managed properly and if the technician has the necessary skills to achieve good results. If the client is well-satisfied with the quality of care he or she has received, word-of-mouth advertising becomes the number one method of increasing the number of clients, which in turn increases earnings potential. Highly successful massage therapists generate a high level of demand, and can thus charge very high fees for their services. Although generally not the norm, many factors can contribute to a potential salary in the six figures.
The work of a massage therapist can be performed in a variety of settings, from a person’s own home to a private office. There are even practitioners who work in shopping mall aisles or busy airports. For this reason, the flexibility of the job location is an added benefit since one can choose to work where one is most comfortable.
Unlike many other career choices, a massage therapist has the option of being his or her own boss. If a person chooses not to work for someone else, then the practice can be set up in any conceivable way. The location of the business, the number of hours worked, the choice of clientele are all factors that will be under the control of the massage therapist, and are thus as flexible as he or she would like them to be.
Within states that require licensing in order to perform massage therapy, there are minimum training and educational requirements one must achieve before receiving a license to practice. This is a benefit in some cases, because it reduces the amount of competition in the industry. However, if you do not want to invest the maximum amount of time and money into training, you may want to practice in an area that does not require licensing. In such a case, your business can be up and running in a matter of days or weeks.
Even in states that govern the licensing requirements for a massage therapist, however, the training is not that long or costly compared to other careers within the healthcare industry. Even the most intense and comprehensive training programs should not take much longer than a year or so. After completing this training, you will have gained a broad-based knowledge of anatomy which will help you to perform more successful therapy sessions, which in turn will help increase your business.
Look to becoming a massage therapist today by talking to your local massage and physical therapy aide program in your area today.