Job Realities after Massage Therapy School

massage career and massage jobs
By Lana J. Russell

Typically, new Massage Therapy graduations think that after school, they’ll land a dream job and start a massage career making $60 an hour and start paying off those massage school loans. Reality often teaches us otherwise and after Massage School you become a sub-contractor, a percentage-based employee and clientele can be irregular. This might mean that you have to take on part-time jobs or bounce around hectically between different locations.

Its a good idea to prepare yourself to work that part-time job when fresh out of Massage Therapy School. This can actually be quite helpful for the new massage therapist, allowing for breaks between clients and not putting in long stretches of massage work. If you do land a full time massage job fresh out of school, your body and hands may not be ready for long days filled with client after client. There is also the risk of injuring yourself early on in your career from the physical demands, which can have long term effects.

There are several ways to balance massage jobs with part-time jobs by getting creative with your scheduling. This may entail doing massage work for half-days, every other day or only on the weekends. Starting out in your massage therapy career, income can be unreliable and unstable. In some ways this never really changes, its just that you build a larger client base and have more job connections with time. For your own piece of mind, don’t rely on massage work to be your main source of income to start.

It’s also important to remember that if you juggle massage jobs at different locations, there are certain contractual considerations. This means that the massage spa you work for on Tuesday may make you sign a contract that doesn’t allow you to practice massage within 25 miles of them. So, its important to make sure that another spa or clinic you are massaging at is not within that distance and not a direct competitor. If you’re going to take the leap and work at different locations, keep in mind the cost and time in travel distance, which in the end may not be worth it.

The very essence of finding balance here and the most important action you can take is to: Get Organized. This is as simple as getting a nice, big planner that can accommodate all your appointments and keep you on track. This goes without saying for some people and it may be an organizational skill you picked up while in school, but it must be emphasized. Get a planner, whether physical book or electronic device and make it your best friend.