What a massage therapist generally does is they see clients who are looking for treatment with muscle pain and stress and they knead, massage, and put pressure on certain nerve points of the body. This job requires much more than just tenderizing someone’s shoulders until they’re happy, it also requires some schooling and licensing! So, what goes into becoming a registered massage therapist? The most common course of pursuing a career in massage therapy is by completing a trade school and earning a certification in the field. Some of the skills you will need include: great people skills (since you will be interacting with many clients throughout the day), have basic medical and anatomical knowledge, and dexterity with your hands and fingers.

What are the perks of the job?

What attracts many people to this job are the flexible hours and soothing work environments, and for people who are looking forward to a career of helping people, this may be the career for them. There is also more of a demand for this job as well, with a project job growth of 19% between 2009 and 2019, according to Ontario Massage Therapy. The job opening average is around 40 openings at any given time. For those with the entrepreneurial spirit, there is a strong potential for self-employment and starting your own salon.

What are some of the setbacks?

The biggest setback of the job would be the below-average salary for the position, which is approximately $42,642 in Canada as of January 2018. The average salary can be kicked up a bit with bonus pay, overtime work, commission, tips, etc. Another setback includes the fact that there aren’t too many ways to be promoted with this career aside from becoming a salon manager or beginning a practise of your own. Finally, finding full-time work in this career can be a challenge as only one in three working massage therapists were actually full-time workers. Once you get into the field, you can expect to be working on a part-time basis for a while.

How can I grow with this career?

Many massage therapists begin their careers as part-time workers in local salons before finding full-time work there. Working a few shift hours a week is common at the outset of the position before being promoted to 15 to 35 hours a week (which is considered full-time). Like mentioned before, an experienced massage therapist can either manage their own salon in a franchise or go on to begin their own business with the help of a business degree.

That’s all great, but could I be hired for other careers?

The registered massage therapist can expect to be hired for other careers in physical therapy if they are looking for a small career change-up. Unfortunately, this career does not prime a massage therapist to climbing into another professional medical career requiring a Ph.D., but it can help someone who is looking for jobs like: jobs relating to home healthcare services, jobs relating to nursing and residential care facilities; physical therapy jobs in hospitals or hospice care services; and many other jobs in therapy offices.

Reference:

College Grad: https://collegegrad.com/careers/physical-therapists

Massage Therapy Ontario: http://www.massagetherapyontario.net/demand-massage-therapists-canada/

My Plan: http://www.myplan.com/careers/massage-therapists/summary-31-9011.00.html

Payscale: https://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Job=Registered_Massage_Therapist/Hourly_Rate

Snagajob: https://www.snagajob.com/job-descriptions/massage-therapist/

Truity: https://www.truity.com/career-profile/massage-therapist