Massage therapy as a career - for me??

[dirty ethel rackham]

Is anyone here a clinical massage therapist?  Can I pick your brain?

 

I'm looking at my future and need to find my Act III.  I'll have 2 in college next year and dd may go to high school part time.  I have a BS in Math (but don't remember much) and was a computer analyst (but haven't done that in 17 years.)  So, I know that I will need to go back to school to do something other than a minimum wage job.  I would love to do Physical Therapy, but I am reluctant to take on that much schooling (second bachelors, masters/ doctorate provided that I can even get into a program) and that much debt when it will take me the rest of my working life to pay that off. 

 

I always thought of massage therapy as a "spa - wellness" kind of thing, but my recent injuries have shown me that there is a more clinical side to that.  I find that aspect fascinating.  There is a massage therapist at the sports medicine guy's office who actively consults with the doc and is very specific about what she is doing.  I thought to myself "I would love this job." 

 

I have been looking at MT schools that are more clinically focused and there are two highly regarded ones in my area (one is much closer, but the other one has a higher reputation.) 

 

If any of you are massage therapists, what do you think about your profession?  One concern I have is longevity - it doesn't seem like people stay in the field very long, but, then again, most MTs I know are focused on the spa-relaxation side not on the clinical side.  How hard is it on your body?  What is the market for clinical MTs (as opposed to the spa field)?

 

[LucyStoner]

in the spa relaxation side I know several people who cycled out or went back to school for physical therapy or something related because of uncomfortable working environments including sexual overtures and harassment from clients.

 

I see a massage person who focuses on pain and structural intergration. he has done cadaver labs, has a degree in biology and really knows his stuff. The massages themselves do not feel great but he has helped me expand range of motion so I can work on increasing flexibility. He is great.

 

I would see if you could buy cups of coffee for people doing the work you want and pick their brains about schools, ups and downs of the local market etc. I am planning a new career (not massage) and have been doing informational interviews like that and it is really helpful.

[Anne in CA]

I was a MT for two years before I got married. When you move to a different state you may not be able to get a new licence with the schooling you have. That happened to me. Also, it is hard physical work. Just as hard as waiting tables when you are busy. I used to work a big clinic in Scottsdale AZ and I WORKED twelve hour days during golf season. I made a lot of money, but then made no money at all in the off season. You really need to know what the market is in your area. There may be a saturation if you live near two schools.

[texasmama]

I like this for you.  :)

 

No BTDT experience, but I will say that I saw an MT every few weeks when I was pg with baby #3 because I had horrible sciatica pain.  She kept me in line.  Now she did beat the hell out of me during the session, but I was pain free for weeks afterward, which was amazing.  I did a 30 minute session every 3 weeks.

 

I wish you the very best with Act 3, Dirty Ethel.  You have a lot to offer.  :)

[hillfarm]

I was a clinical massage therapist for 7 or 8 years prior to the birth of my dd.

 

At that time and place, and I still think it is similar now, a student took the basic course work at a massage school or community college program. Then you developed your specialties through extra training gained through seminars. So for example, I got my basic training in Esalen style relaxation massage. Then I began to add more clinical specialties to that. I got certified in neuromuscular therapy (a deep tissue work style), I added post partum and infant massage to my repertoire. I added manual lymphatic drainage and some therapeutic stretching from Dr. Chaitow. In that state, mt's had to get a certain number of CEU's per year to keep our licenses valid.

 

Due to the direction of my particular interests and specialization, I started out doing basic relaxation work but soon began  a job at a couple of chiropractic offices doing deep tissue work. From there, I got a job at a sports med/muscle rehab clinic. Then I also began to work at a large local teaching hospital doing post partum and infant massage. At the end, I had my own practice doing injury rehab and also worked a few hours per week at the hospital. I did a little sports med massage on the side, as the event/case interested me. I did only a couple of months of "spa" type massage at the beginning, and went on to 100% clinical practice.

 

Regarding the wear and tear on your body, that will vary with the style of massage you practice. One of the main things they taught us in school was how to position our bodies to let gravity do the majority of the work to save extra work for our hands and arms. To be completely honest, the deep tissue work did take a toll. The lymphatic drainage work requires very little pressure, as did the infant massage, so both were very easy on my body.

 

Unfortunately, there can be problems with transferring a massage license from one state to another. Although my basic training included more hours than my new state required, they were in a very condensed program and didn't span the required amount of time. So I would have had to go back to school, pay thousands of dollars and start over again. I couldn't justify doing that ( I had been TEACHING massage CEU's for nurses in the state where I was living previously!). My dd was young and we were working hard to rehab and Appalachian hill farm, so I let all my certifications lapse. However, I do use my massage fairly often. I work on family and a few friends and also do a lot of injury rehab with the guys at our martial arts dojo. (They have nicknamed me "Thumbs of Steel":))

 

Please feel free to pm me if you have any other questions you think I might be able to answer. Good luck.

[goldberry]

I worked as a massage therapist for about 5 years in my 20s. I did alot of deep tissue work, and even with proper body mechanics it is hard on your body.  If you pursue it, you should be aware that you have to take care of yourself.  You should have time to exercise, stretch, and yes, get massages yourself.  If you don't have the time to take care of yourself, and as other mentioned learn different techniques and body mechanics to spare you, you can end up hurting much of the time. 

 

 

ETA, I consider it an amazing line of work though, and very satisfying emotionally and spiritually.

[Jackie]

I became an MT last year. It is my Act II. I was previously a social work-type, became burnt out on that, and needed something I enjoyed and that would be flexible enough for me to homeschool my daughter. I work in a massage therapy practice that is best known for therapeutic and deep tissue work, but also does relaxation massage.

 

Many people don't stay in the field long. There are several reasons for this. It doesn't pay as well as many people think, the majority of MTs are in business for themselves but have extremely little business knowledge, and it is physically demanding. On the other hand, the owner of the practice that I work in has been doing this for 14 years. My coworkers have anywhere from 3-8 years experience. I'm the least experienced of the group and have benefitted greatly from working in this setting because they're all awesome about sharing what they know with me - it is a very supportive workplace.

 

I work part time by choice. For me, this means no more than 4 massages per day, three days per week. I sometimes do 1-2 more on a fourth day of the week. At that level, it is not especially taxing on my body. If all four of my massages in one day are deep/therapeutic, then I definitely feel it at the end of the day and I better not have planned anything too demanding for after work. But if some were relaxation massages or I actually remembered to schedule myself a substantial lunch break, then I am fine. I work Tu/Th/Sa, so even my full workdays are followed by a non-work day. At least two of my coworkers do 18-25 massages per week, which is certainly a full time load for an MT.

 

As for market, you'll have to look around your area and talk to established massage therapists. I was lucky to have connections at a place with a stellar reputation and therefore able to get my license, do an interview massage, and start working. I had been a long-term regular client of the owner and had talked to her about the career change, and had the conditional job offer even before I went to school. After my interview massage, she was able to put me on with clients for "lighter work" (more relaxation type) for a couple months while I got some further practice with my co-workers, then I stepped up to doing therapeutic work. I fully agreed with her assessment - I had done an intensive program and just needed more hands-on time before I was comfortable with the therapeutic work.

 

Something experienced MTs in your area may be able to tell you is if there are particular niches that remain unfilled. There is one MT in my area who does almost only treatment of repetitive stress injuries. He is excellent at it and able to keep his calendar full with this specialty. I went to him years ago and his soonest opening was a month out. I'm likely to get certified in prenatal massage this summer. I love my therapeutic work, but mixing it in with a lighter modality will ease strain on my body. And somehow I live in a crunchy town where there are doulas everywhere you turn, but only ONE massage therapist with advanced training in prenatal work. Her calendar is so full with this type of work that there is certainly overflow to be picked up by a second person with certification. Currently, usually 9+ of my 12 weekly slots are filled, but I live in a college town and the clientele severely drops off in summer; prenatal work is an area that stays more steady year-round.

[LarlaB]

I am 10 weeks away from finishing my massage therapy training… It all in all it will have only taken me 8 1/2 months.

 

Obviously I have not yet worked full-time in the profession, but Arity have a little bit of insight… The biggest downside is that your body is your tool… And so an injury can be a fairly significant deal. I am finding this out firsthand, as I've had a major knee issue for the past eight weeks…

 

That being said, I am still tremendously excited for what the future holds… Lots of flexibility, opportunity to affect change in peoples lives, meaningful interactions...all was still keeping a somewhat flexible schedule and working on my own terms. I'm going to have a space at a chiropractor's office, but may also branch out into a day spa atmosphere is well… I'll see. I am interested in the more clinical side, but I court I'm really drawn to the mental health benefits the massage can bring as well.

 

Cost of education wise it was around $13,000 :)

[hillfarm]

For those of you starting at a chiro's office, be careful as to how you are labeled and treated. If you want the chiro's staff to handle your billings, appointment bookings, etc., and the chiro wants to tell you how to work,what hours you must be there, etc. then you are probably legally classified as an employee, not as work for hire. So the chiro will need to make whatever payments into social security, etc. for you. If (as was the case in most chiro offices when I was working) the chiro wants a work for hire relationship, then you get to set your own hours and determine your treatment plams yourself. And you should do your own billings, collect your own money, or hire the chiro's staff to do it for a certain fee. This can be a very tricky arrangement and when I worked for the chiro's, it was tough to convince them that they couldn't have it both ways - tell me when and what to do but still not have to pay to have me as an employee.

 

For anyone looking for a low physical stress form of clinical massage, I strongly recommend manual lymphatic drainage. There is definitely a need for it (plenty of clients), most doctors will refer for it, it is extremely effective, and it requires pressure between the weight of a nickel and a quarter - very minimal!