11 Advantages of Becoming a Massage Therapist
Here area 11 advantages of becoming a massage therapist. Massage has been around for millennia and is still popular today for a very good reason. Massage can provide relief from stress, aches and pains. In addition, massage is becoming another alternative to modern medicine.
In today’s modern life, most people are complaining about some stress-related problem that is causing anatomical pain. Tense muscles can be very painful and the conventional pain killers purchased over the counter only mask the pain for a short time.
There are many different types of massage one can opt for, there are massages using rubbing techniques and massages using pressure. Some massages consist of firm chopping, however, you can find massages to suit your personal preferences and your condition.
Professional sportsmen have long known the exceptional value of a skilled licensed massage therapist. A skilled therapist will often give a customized massage session after following an intake form. In addition, factors such as age, underlying medical conditions, and pain areas will determine the given technique, skillset, and session.
Why become a massage therapist?
Being a massage therapist offers many benefits to the person who has undergone the training. The concept of massage has been elevated over the past few decades and is now considered an alternative medical therapy.
Many Physicians will refer patients to licensed massage therapists; this provides benefits of working as a licensed massage therapist. You will be recognized in the community as part of the alternative medical support network.
You won’t be working with just sports injuries but will have multiple opportunities to put other somatic skills to the test. Your session may find yourself massaging pregnant moms or the grandmother from the nursing home. In addition, your skills will be utilized to heal or provide relief to patient’s muscular skeletal frame.
What are the prerequisites needed to become a massage therapist?
Most states require a high school diploma or GED to accept enrollment on to a licensed massage therapists training course. The course normally lasts for one year; you will be required to attend all the theoretic classes. These classes will include learning human anatomy, understanding medical nomenclature (terminology used in the medical profession).
Most courses offer hands-on training that will pay you dividends when you are licensed and on your own. Many licensed therapist move on from working in clinics and become self-employed entrepreneurs. And likewise, should take courses to understand the requirements and procedures of running a massage business.
1. You are recognized in your community as a health provider
Most noteworthy, you will be recognized along with the medical community and will receive referrals from health centers and medical practitioners. Being a licensed professional will allow you to work in other parts of the country (check state requirements) and other parts of the world.
Your professional qualifications will be in demand wherever you go. You will find that there is an almost never-ending area of massage you can specialize in.
Sports massage is a very specific and demanding area of expertise for the massage therapist. You may want to keep your skills up to date and learn new techniques.
Above all, typically massage therapists who have a large number of areas of specialty, command the highest salaries. Even more, you may be responsible for getting the team’s star player back into action as quickly as possible!
2. Growing a customer base through knowledge
Now you have gained your certification and are using your skills in the community, you are picking up valuable experience. You may decide to make your skills even more in demand by specializing in a particular area of massage.
In other words, the modalities of massage vary from school to school. For instance, you should learn what massage services are in demand, it may be lymphatic drainage or myofascial release. These skills will make your massage services more attractive to the medical profession.
Don’t worry if more medical based massage is not your thing, the common and tried and tested techniques will continue to be in demand. You may want to learn shiatsu or Korean hot stone therapy.
To be honest, the list is endless and opportunities for growth are exponential. Gaining more qualifications will allow you to offer more services to your clientele which will boost your income potential and keep you competitive.
3. Immediate employment prospects
Once licensed, you will find the industry is full of job openings with potential employers waiting to entice you to work within their business. Massage therapy employers are seeking you out trying to entice you into making profits for their business.
Being a professional licensed therapist, the opportunities to earn an above average salary are many. Make sure if you opt to work for someone else, the conditions meet your expectations.
A professional massage therapist can earn 65+ dollars per hour so make sure the offers you receive from employers is in line with rates for the industry. Possible employment avenues could be spas, health centers, franchised massage faculties and many other options.
4. Self-employment
The advantages of being self-employed are many, and with a little resourcefulness and marketing your earning potential could skyrocket. Who knows, in a short space of time you could be recruiting massage therapists yourself!
You literally have the world at your fingertips when you become a licensed massage therapist. The truth is, out of all the medical professions being a massage therapist offers the lowest costs to enter into self-employment.
A self-employed massage therapist requires the basic equipment and expenses to run and manage their business. Comfortable unrestrictive clothing (scrubs are ideal to save your own clothes from oil marks) is the typical uniform. Oils, lotions, towels, a phone, and dependable transportation is about all it takes after getting you certification.
5. No more 9 to 5 rush hour traffic
One great thing about being a licensed massage therapist is you can often select your own working hours to suit your schedule. You can avoid peak travel times and let the morning traffic subside before venturing out to your first massage of the day.
If you are ambitious, flexible working hours has many benefits for the massage therapist. You may wish to attend part-time courses to enhance your skills; you could select courses like aromatherapy that fit hand in glove with the massage experience.
If you decide, you may want to maximize your earning potential and see as many clients as possible every day.
6. Become stress-free
For most, being a licensed massage therapist is the perfect stress free job. Hence, when you are with your client, the atmosphere is normally chatty or totally silent other than for the therapist movements. The whole environment of massage is stress relieving for both the client and the massage therapist.
Take advantage of knowing other massage therapists for your colleagues will be only too pleased to massage you and offer stress relief on an exchange basis. Likewise, this will give you time to catch up and share your experiences.
7. Make friends for life
When training with classmates you experience the same emotions of anxiety and trepidation of what to expect in the industry. Similarly, psychologists recognize these emotions as a particular bonding moment between colleagues of all ages.
It’s a little known fact that massage school graduates who become friends during their education stay friends throughout their lives.
Together with friends from college, you will find that regular clients become friends and the community befriends the massage therapist. The medical profession is unique in that clients hold the people who offer them pain relief in the highest regard.
8. Ditch the expensive gym membership
The advantage of being a licensed massage therapist should be music to your ears! Massage therapists burn the same amount of calories as if they had worked out in the gym for hours. Massage is a physically demanding profession at the best of times with the average massage lasting for one hour.
Consequently, a therapist has elevated knowledge of body mechanics and through their movements, receive a meaningful workout while being paid. The benefits of keeping fit through work are two-fold, first, is a sustained workout across many hours of the day. Second, a fit massage therapist can perform their massage in a more precise way which provides client satisfaction.
9. Be professional for the best results and keep a good name
Being a professional massage therapist comes with certain responsibilities that the client expects and so does the industry. Although most clients are happy to chat and pass the time of the day, they are with you for a limited amount of time and expect results.
Being professional does not exclude you from the conversation, but keep in mind first-time clients may feel vulnerable as they are covered by a towel. If you remain professional and friendly your client is likely to recommend your services to their friends. Be mindful of where your work comes from and make the experience of massage rewarding for the client and yourself.
10. Job satisfaction becoming a massage therapist
One of the most important aspects of any work scenario is job satisfaction. The person looking for job satisfaction will certainly find being a massage therapist rewarding and satisfying. A large percentage of your clients suffer discomfort or pain, therefore it is the massage therapist’s role to offer relief.
Seeing a client feeling pain-free after a session offers the greatest sense of satisfaction to be found in any profession. The great thing about being a massage therapist is that you will receive feedback from your client immediately. Most noteworthy, unlike other professions, massage offers immediate relief from symptoms.
In addition, if you specialize in sports massage, you could be responsible for the athlete’s success for their team. Emotional rewards and sense of achievements being a massage therapist often out-weigh the financial rewards and can be deeply felt.
The truth is 90% of people who change their professions do so for not experiencing job satisfaction. In contrast, financial reward is a secondary consideration.
11. Find work in exotic places
Being part of a medical profession offers unique opportunities to work in exotic locations and explore different cultures. Hence, in many countries, massage is a way of life with clinics open 24 hours every day.
Hotel chains are having to constantly seek experienced therapists and due to liability cannot hire unlicensed help. This causes mainstream hotel chains a major dilemma. The opportunities to take advantage of travel and subsidized accommodation are available to licensed massage therapists.
While working in an exotic country, your massage table could be set undercover on a beautiful beach. Hotels pay a premium for professionals; you can enjoy meeting new people from around the world while soaking up the culture of living in a different country.
Have you ever considered working on a cruise ship? Massage therapists are in high demand, and the pay is good. You will bond with crew members from all over the world and have an experience that only others can dream.
Furthermore, is the effort to train to become a massage therapist worth it?
The final question is always the question we ask ourselves after studying and training for a year or more. Was the experience worth it? The answer to this question must be yes. If you decide to work as a massage practitioner, you will have expendable income and job freedom.
If you decide to go it alone a start your own business your earnings potential is exponential. In conclusion, the main advantage to becoming a massage therapist is a skill you will never lose regardless of your age.