Massage Therapist Employment

In most cities, massage therapist employment pretty much means working in a spa, unless you open your own business.

Massage therapy franchises, you know, massage in a box type places, are popping up all over the country now, so this may be an option for you.

In some cities, hospitals hire massage therapists, but these jobs are few and far between.

Chiropractors also hire massage therapists, but usually they need additional training, such as deep tissue, before they are eligible for massage therapist employment by a chiropractor.

One other option may be to get a job with a massage therapy school, either answering phones, being a secretary/assistant, or actually teaching massage classes.

Working at a spa or a massage therapy franchise is a great way for brand new therapists to get a lot of experience while earning a paycheck.

The problem with this type of job is BURNOUT. Spas and franchises care about their paying customers and want to please them at the expense of their "dime a dozen" new employees.

You will earn $8 to $15 an hour and you will work long and hard with very few breaks. You will be overworked and underpaid and you will have to sacrifice time with your children as you will most likely work when they are at home--nights and weekends are when spas and franchises need you the most.

If you need a steady paycheck while building your own massage therapy practice, get a customer service job answering phones for the same amount of money and save your body from overuse, injury, and sheer physical exhaustion. Then, when you are not working, you can start building your own practice, one client at a time.

Your clientele will become your main focus and you will not experience burnout, get unnecessary injuries, or become physically exhausted while earning money for a company who will chew you up and spit you out when you can no longer earn money for them.

The customer service job is just a temporary solution to paying bills while you build a successful business of yoour own. This is truly the best way to go. Customer service jobs are everywhere these days. Some of the calls can get a little rough, but most are just answering routine questions.

If you seek massage therapist employment at a spa or a franchise, by the time you get to go home, you will be exhausted. You will have no energy left over to build a successful practice. Massage therapist employment at these places will become a way of life, one that you will come to dread, even hate, soon.

Quite a few classmates and other massage acquaintances have told me this. They have gone to several area spas and franchises and regret it to this day. They do not stay at these places for very long and regret ever starting their massage therapist employment with them. Some moved on to other places, hoping for something better, but it was the same story. I have not yet heard any of them give me one happy report about working at a spa or a franchise. Don't let this happen to you.

My advice? Don't do it. If you need money, get a customer service phone job and save your energy for building your own practice. Good luck! You can do this. Just believe in yourself and the abilities that God has given you.

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