Yes Anna it sounds like you should get out of the massage profession. You must not have heard the info that most massage therapists start their own business and that jobs are really low paying and generally don't respect massage therapists.

You must have missed my website that tells you about that stuff. There are also many things you can do to reduce the wear and tear on your body like getting a massage yourself once or twice a week as I am sure you already know.

How Much Money Can You Make As a Massage Therapist & the Factors That Impact Salary

But actually your claim that the web is oversaturated is not true at all. There is always more room online for other views, opinions and yes even ebooks. There is actually a big need for other views and information. The market online is increasing and coming up with new things everyday. I have sites on many different topics not just massage.

I take my hobbies and turn them into websites and each one makes a bit of money and keeps making more each month. Having websites is not dependent on the market - it is dependent on traffic and keywords. You just have to learn about them to make it happen. I wouldn't teach at a school either. They don't really pay much at all. You can start teaching you own classes on special techniques or methods or about business or whatever you have learned the most about and make a nice income. Your income will increase when you get more students and teach more classes.

There actually is a big demand for teachers. One of my new projects is an online continuing education calendar. Massage school is just basic skills. You really have to take much more training. You can also specialize in working with special areas in the population like pregnancy massage or people who have cancer or fibromyalgia or something like that. Sharon in Portland, Oregon.

For every post on here I get about 20 new emails that are positive on my website. So thanks to everyone! You have to raise them incrementally or offer something really different to of VALUE in order to be able to charge that. You can make more when you bill insurance companies. You can make more when you learn new techniques and set yourself apart from everyone else charging less. You then have to market to people who have more money to spend. I am sure if we met in person we would just get along fine.

Most of what is happening here is not being able to see or hear what is being written as I am sure you well know. You will lose clients sometimes when you raise your rates. You have to learn to talk to people to make them understand the value. No prices don't have anything to do with anything. Money is just money. The emotional things we put on money are the issues. Actually what is happening here is typical of someone untrained giving career counseling advice.

It also happens when you offer cookie-cutter advice to different people in different situations. No matter how strongly you believe in your own method it simply cannot be understood or applied the same way for everyone.

This kind of sensitivity and knowledge comes with proper training in the counseling field. I know this fact won't influence your behavior any, but maybe this will help others understand why they get angry with you.

I am not taking anything personally. I am not counseling anyone on anything. All I am doing is sharing my business information and what has worked for me and the people I have worked with. Massage can be a really great profession but just like anything else success doesn't happen overnight and it doesn't come without it's challenges.

Part of the problem is that massage schools make you think it will be easy and that you can just step in and start making tons of money and get lots of clients. That's what I talk about in my sites to try to inform people that it is hard work but it can be done.

I just have to say that I only just stumbled across this forum last night. Why does everyone let "the body worker" get them s riled up? Just don't read or reply to them. For being in a field that is supposed to be peaceful, there sure is allot of hate here. Right or wrong, let's not let this person turn us into bad energy people. Massage is what you make it like any career. I left the military, went to school and also got my esthetician license. I prepared myself to be successful and planned a career path I did it all and now own my own place.

You are what you think! I love my career and the skin I'm in.. I hope nobody out there has it in for me because I asked about "The Body Worker" Please don't put me on the list too. I'm starting massage school in three weeks. Anyone out there have an opinion about the Southeastern School of Neuromuscular massage? Is there anyone out there that's from the Charlotte area who can tell me a little about the market?

Ultimately, i decided to make this huge life change because I was sick and tired of working a corporate job that I hated instead of doing something I love.

Trina in Portland, Oregon. I have no experience with that school, but I can speak to your plan in general. I did the same thing, quit a corporate job to massage.

It was a HUGE mistake. I worked in technology and after 6 years I'll have to seriously retrain to get back in. But I'm working on it! You may love to massage now, and you may love it the first year.

Almost anything can become miserable if you do it long enough. I make the same salary I did in my corporate job but without the insurance , education or retirement benefits. The only way to make serious money in massage is to get out of the actual massage part and focus on the business.

So that puts you back into a realm more similar to your corporate job anyway. Just stay there and be thankful for what you have.

Maybe if you read some of thebodyworker sites instead of acting so hateful you would get what they are saying -god knows you need some help here and what you are doing is apparently not working so try something different. Just like any other career -it is what you make it. I for one have found a working as a massage therapist to be very lucrative, rewarding and enjoyable and wouldn't trade it for any desk job, pt job or anything else.

You can make great money and have fun and find it very fulfilling if you want to - or not.

Massage Therapist - Career Rankings, Salary, Reviews and Advice | US News Best Jobs

I find it quite interesting that anyone who disagrees with Your Leader is consistently labeled as 'needing help' and 'needing to try something different to make it work'. I disagreed once on a simple point of style and was slapped with the same label. Independent thought is a good thing, folks. If I had a corporate job I'd hang on to it.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side. Massage has its wonderful points but it's very challenging too. For me the 'spiritual fulfillment' just ended up to be a pipe dream.

For me the realities of the daily grind of the business end of things and the physical discomfort cancel out any fulfillment I would otherwise enjoy. Perhaps if I didn't accept insurance I would feel differently about it. Insurance billing is a HUGE pain in the nether-regions. I disagree about the lofty expectations. Most people I know had similar expectations to yours including me and we find it isn't even that good.

I wouldn't do it over again. I'm getting it it more now. Would some of the practicing Massage Therapists say that the experience was ruined after regulations started to change?

It seems as if the profession is going trough a huge transformation. Now that massage is considered a good supplement for preventative care by doctors, would you say that the experience for the body worker has changed.

Thanks for giving me something concrete. I can understand how having to deal with accepting insurance can be a real pain. Especially having to deal with it as the business owner. Here's my next question. I refuse to believe that all or even most of the LMT's on this page jumped into body work without taking a look at forums like this or talking to people with experience. Not that anyone is trying to convince me different The question is What was it that made you become a therapist?

What is it that keeps you an LMT? I know just like the next person how hard it is out there. Even if I was willing to go back to the corporate world, I can't - banks are still on freeze. The majority of people on this thread hate the profession and regret ever making the "huge mistake".

Ok, I get that it sucks for you and that allot of you regret it, so what is the next step for you all? Or were people just wanting to vent. Everyone needs to be able to be real. I am by no means Mrs. I appreciate an environment where I am safe to be honest about negative feelings. There are no judgments here. You only live once. For me regulation had nothing to do with my experience. The regulations have been the same since I've started my practice.

It's just the nature of the work: The negatives exceed the positives in my experience. I researched massage as a career choice obsessively for years before making the leap. I did it anyway because I 'KNEW' I was different than the majority of other practitioners out there.

I have a business degree and had proven myself successful at networking and marketing. I am in fantastic physical shape and am in tune with my body. A healing career was my first choice but western medicine and regulations turned me away from it. I had always succeeded at whatever I wanted. So I 'KNEW' beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would be passionate about a massage career forever. Telling people to 'get the hell out' is as helpful as others telling you to get back in the corporate world.

Do you think your last paragraph might be a little insulting too? If someone told me to go into the corporate world I wouldn't mind because I wouldn't take it to heart because I know I am best right where I am and I am very happy being a massage therapist.

I think people should get out of something if they are not happy doing it. Time is just to short to be living a life without being happy and passionate about what you do- that is all. OMG you must be joking right?! I'm a massage student struggling to find time for school cause I work up to 12 hours days 6 days a week at Countrywide now BofA.

We can't get enough staff to cover operations. The same thing is happening all over the country. If you don't want to go back to the corporate world I understand tho. All my teachers recommend something like that. BonitaMarina in Miami, Florida. Here in Florida the problem is bad bad bad, I don't know about North Carolina. I've been attacked and grabbed but the owners laughed and said that's how it is, get used to it. I work at my own place now but still have problems with dirty old men. Looking back it seems obvious but I was too young and stupid to know.

I should of gone to PTA school instead. I can't just get the hell out for the same reason you can't just get your banking job back. Not that easy right now so we need to have more patience and sympathy for each other. I am so not here to get all personal and heated. Really I come in peace. I guess I shouldn't be shocked considering the heading of the forum was a warning.

Everyone on this page is valid to me. When I said to get the hell out I truly hope that you all find happiness.

I was just looking for a little direction. Again, I'm sorry if I offended anyone. None of us knows I think that those men that have violated any of you should be in jail.

I think that your bosses should be fined and put in jail as well, for allowing the behavior All of you deserve to be happy.

I'm gonna hop off of here because I don't want to add to any anger. Again, I am so sorry. I didn't come here to hurt anybody. I really do wish you all peace and happiness.

Tracy in Portland, Oregon. I don't see anything getting personal or heated, massubian. I think everyone is OK. They're just responding, not getting mad.

If I'm wrong let me know guys. It's just the nature of discussion forums. Everyone has different experiences and different opinions. Some are passionate about massage and love it. Others are indifferent and think of it as just a job. Many passionately hate it and want to leave it but are finding it very difficult with this economy the way it is.

What one person finds a challenge is no issue at all to someone else. I found that everyone else's opinion didn't affect me at all in the end, although like you I spoke with as many therapists as possible.

If you love massage and want to do it, go for it and make it your own! Did you think I was getting mad? No, not my intention. Sometimes it's hard to tell when you're not face-to-face. I agree with tracy, everyones different and your experiences will be unique too. To the guys considering Massage Therapy as a career. All the massage therapy jobs are being offered to females.

Men ask for female massage therapists, and Women are asking for female massage therapists. Regardless of how you look at it , the fileld has become dominated by the girls, thos who "put out" and those who are definitely trying to make a honest living. It is true a majority of the jobs are being offered to females, but opportunities for self-employment are unlimited for males.

Why would you settle on employment when you can be your own boss and make your own destiny? This does pander to the stereotypes, but clients do accept males more in therapeutic settings.

My clinic offers hand and foot rehabilitation for post-surgical clients. All of our independent contractors have advanced training and are in high demand in our area. You are correct about one thing, though. Other professions in the medical field are much more accepted for males than massage.

I wouldn't complain about it, though. The ladies deserve something, since men have traditionally dominated almost every other field. We are the ones who've got it easy! Massage No More in Hyattsville, Maryland. I have to agree with the original poster. Massage therapy is a dead end job. I practiced massage therapy for 5 years treating clients that suffered from chronic pain. It was fulfilling on the level that I was able to help people however that doesn't pay the bills.

Massage therapy is great however the massage industry and massage therapist are their own worst enemy. When dealing with people on a healing level it can very complex and there are many things that MTs need to be aware of but the training and education isn't there.

I became frustrated with the lack of direction and needed education in the field and I left the massage industry over 2 years ago. I'm currently completing my undergrad in psychology and will continue with my masters. There are so many great things about massage therapy and bodywork however the industry itself is not focused or grounded and will continue to back slide or flounder until it finds a direction.

Sabeena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Massage No More in Hyattsville, Maryland said: Nunya Beezwax in Dallas, Texas. I've read Rick Rosen's white paper on the evolution of massage into a profession one day.

Anyone who is thinking about going to massage school MUST READ THIS:. Sure, it's great to be a part of the solution. You can even coddle your Pollyanna attitude if it gets you through the day. Fact of the matter is it doesn't matter what you think about massage. It is what it is, and the very white paper you provided describes in great detail every single problem that has already been expressed here plus many, many more.

The issues are indeed being addressed, but nothing will be resolved for 10 to 20 years, folks. Massage practitioners will be considered stupid prostitutes until then, and it WILL continue to be a dead-end job, not a true profession. Thank you for providing seekers real information for once about the state of massage for years to come. Zen in Seffner, Florida. Uh Men and Women of this site, Please know that I come in peace and i am not trying to take any sides or cause anger pertaining to this discussion, i just wanted to join the conversation if thats ok with everyone?

I'm learning more about the massage world and its controversies everyday. And i have to say, There really is a lot of issues still going on with the profession. I can briefly see or shall i say read, both sides of story here and most of it seems mis-understood in most cases.

One person has many years under their belt, may know what worked for them and just put it out there for others to read on how it may work for you based on her results, and from the other perspective it seems like people got angry stating that it was affending and rude, but honestly lets just take a sec to look at it from this way if you will, every one has a point in their life when you feel like your stuck, you need a change so you take a leap and it can split into 2 ways.

Depending on what your choices were while partaking in what journey you've picked, can affect how your life can go. Julie the body worker, has become an independent practitioner with a bunch of experience and probably a lot of knowledge under her belt.

That doesn't mean we have to get upset at her for sounding bossy. Communication is the hardest skill to understand and being wrong or right doesn't matter here really. Everyone has a story, and most people just wanna be heard am i right? Your probably saying who the hell is this person and why is she saying this crap and taking sides with Julie. Please, Just for the record, in a positive way, if we all have the time to be blogging or chatting about this, then why don't we use it to start doing something positive in our lives that show results?

It really does start with a thought. Heard of THE SECRET, by chance? Just to continue on the mini novel i was writing: TV It speaks for itself and can be very helpful. I've been a Massage Therapist for 4 years now, and understand truely, what a lot of you are talking about , the rude men and women clients who don't respect your personal space, or the people who seem like their doing so well in this profession while yours is falling apart, or sick and tired of taking advice from anyone to fail at it later, or maybe even taking that risk and falling on your face.

I have been in those situations over and over too. If we didn't fall on our faces at times how would we know we were succeeding? If we didn't have bad experiences how would we know good ones? I'm sure your wondering, what degrees does she have to make her so much better than us right, i know there may be a few and its ok, that why we have opinions, they truely make the world go round, but you all know that right?

No sarcasm, i mean it kindly in discussion. I have made choices like others to get my degrees and decent money but as i write to you all here, i think to myself, isn't nice to have the freedom to make good choices and bad ones in your lives? I thank you all for reading and having what opinions you all have of me and what i say, i hope that some of the things i've said gave you hope, and i'm sorry if the the things i have said made you upset, just know that with every word or comment that someone says to you, you have the power to change how you interpret it, for yourself.

Exec in Virginia Beach, Virginia. There are some good points here, others not so much LOL. I would like to address college educated professionals considering leaving their careers for massage. Before making the leap, consider if being a respected, educated member of a professional team is an important part of your identity. If the answer is 'yes', then massage may not be a good fit for you.

This has nothing to do with how much money you can make, but how a non-professional job affects your identity. Massage is a low-skill manual job that as others have mentioned is still associated with sex. Unless you only offer very light energy work it's a sweaty, manual labor job with the only opportunity for advancement being business owner in one form or another. If you are an educated professional considering massage, do yourself a favor think about how either of those two options would fit your self image before pursuing it further.

And remember, you don't need to be a massage practitioner to own or manage a massage business. Anna Bananna in Jacksonville, Florida said: Go into something else related but more accepted in the medical field such as physical therapist, occupational therapist, or an assistant. But you will have 4 guarantees: You will have a steady income stream 2.

You can get a real job with actual employee benefits 3. You will be treated as a valued member of the medical field, and not a sex worker or flunkie who couldn't do any better 4.

It won't tear up your body so your career span will be much longer. I have been massing 6 years and really regret leaving my high-paying job for what I thought was going to be a wonderfully creative , independent career choice for a free spirit like me.

I make decent money as a LMT but there are so many negatives to it and I WANT OUT Other income streams are unrealistic. The market for them is shrinking every day. How many more web sites and e-books promoting massage do you think the market will support?

There's a waiting list to teach at every school in my area. That tells you how many people are desperate to get out of massage and into alternative income streams. I don't agree with your comments. Massage can be a wonderfull carear but your comments do open up many peoples eyes. I opened my business 12 years ago in washington state.

We are more respected in washington than in most states because we can charge medical insurance companies here. Be aware that if Obama gets his way of national health insurance everyone in states that can bill health insurance companies will lose this ability and the ability to make a living will be gone. Is there anyone at all that feels positive about massage therapy? Is there anyone out there that has had the luxury of choosing this career for the benefit of the soul?

To me it's no real surprise. When I got into massage, I read up on what to expect, I spoke to practicing massage therapists. I know that I will have to maintain CE credits as well as insurance. I know that there are no benefits. It all makes sense, considering you only need a GED to enter a Massage Therapy program. Furthermore, the length of the education period is six moths to two years. I guess I see it like the nurse is to a doctor. The anatomy and systems study is no match for any medical degree requirements.

I don't expect to get paid like a doctor. With this info in mind, is there anyone that has chosen to become a Massage Therapist that is fulfilled? Is the spiritual aspect just a pipe dream? I got into Massage Therapy for the spiritual aspects. I just wanted to care for people. I had been caring for others my entire life. What I discovered after a grueling seven years was that I needed to be needed. I was sick and exhausted from giving too much. I decided to stay in the profession and establish boundaries.

Over the last seven years I have had the time of my life. I have earned a six figure income while healing and connecting with people in a deeply profound way.

What could be better? Few things, in my mind. This journey has been very spiritual for me.

I have grown so much. I think many people may be drawn to caring for others because they need to be cared for. I was one of the lucky ones who figured out how to do just that care for myself and as a result have had a better career these last seven years than I could ever have dreamed.

Much of the spiritual growth in this profession came from the pain and exhaustion I endured, but now I see that people don't have to experience that side of it at all. For some reason it the quotes around the person I was responding to disappeared.

My comment began at "I got into Massage Therapy for the spiritual aspects". Exec1 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I do have a college degree and it is all hogwash in my opinion. Having a degree is meaningless to me. Why exactly did you become a massage therapist since it is so unfit for your needs? And the bigger question - why do you stay? The things in the white paper are happening as we write and it is happening in the professional organizations. I am part of one of the biggest movements currently happening.

It will only be a few years - really for some big changes to happen. I think if you start looking harder you will see how much respect massage has gained in a very short time instead of focusing on the so called bad image you think it has.

Great, your self identity doesn't include a professional, educated position that is respected by others. I wasn't talking to you in my original post then, just to those who find it important.

She is perfect and knows exactly what is best for everyone, including you, despite having no actual training or credentials in the subject, whatever the topic is. A few psychologists here have pointed out that fact to no avail. We'll be the ones to "let" others be who they are instead of forcing them into our own personal molds, alright? Sabeena in Oklahoma City , Oklahoma said: Yes, I had that one figured out already. It became blatantly obvious when she criticized me for needing the respect of others then announcing her thousands of adoring fans in a brilliant display of hypocrisy.

If you are an educated professional working in a highly respected position and are considering massage, first take inventory of what you need in a career. Massage is a relatively low-skilled, repetitive job that even the leading experts say is NOT a real profession. If you value being a respected member of a professional team, massage may not be a good choice for you.

Sabeena and I are good examples of this. I know many, many others who quit their professional careers for massage and are very disappointed and have gone back to their careers. I know others who are very happy. Just consider first what you need from your work before deciding either way. Michael in Marbella, Spain. I love my job doing massage but I have to agree that its up and down and very frustrating to say the least and am looking at another feild in the medical field to have a steady income I could scream sometimes They don't think massage is professional because it wasn't what the massage schools told them it was going to be.

I agree- the massage schools are marketing to students and filling their heads with pretty pictures. That is why I have created my sites - to inform people just how hard it is and how much skill it does require to be happy and successful. Jobs are such a new phenomenon in the field that they are low paying and don't demand much for the most part. You can find or create more meaningful jobs that pay more but most massage therapists start their own businesses and take advanced trainings and increase their skill levels.

You can actually learn as much or even more than a PT if you put the time and money into it without going to PT school. My head doesn't get filled with pretty pictures from anyone. I don't take what anyone says as absolute truth.

I have a mind and use it to make my own decisions about the world around me as I experience it. Massage school didn't tell me one way or the other what the job would be like. I would have ignored it anyway. I decided on my own, based on my own experiences, that massage is a tedious, sweaty, unrewarding thing to do with my life that the majority of the public still associates with sex. No one had to tell me this. I have eyes and ears and experience it for myself.

Geez, you'd think I was the only one that came to this conclusion. I don't care what you need to tell yourself to make it through the physical pain and disability you're experiencing after 20 years of tearing up your body for nothing. You need to stop assigning thoughts and motives to everyone else and allow other opinions out there. Why can't you do it? I am just voicing my opinions just like everyone else here.

I am allowing others to have theirs- this is a discussion forum after all. That is also the way it is in most careers. People don't stay in one thing very long any more. It isn't just the massage profession. Sitting at the computer is way harder on people's bodies than doing massage if you do it right. I see it all the time in my practice. No career is free from wear and tear on your body.

Then how did you get into a career that you hate so much?

Massage has made my life a living hell. Woke up this morning still hurting from yesterdays load and must do it all over again. Someone please kill me. I have a whole year b4 I can get my real job. Pleeeeeeaaaseeee listen to the warnings and dont massage if you value your body.

Body mechanics dont matter at all, its all about overuse. Im truly in hell doign massage with all the pain. No bodymechanics is only half of it- the other is getting regular WEEKLY massage yourself, exercising, eating right, setting boundaries around your time and energy , getting clinical supervision sessions and basically taking care of yourself.

There is a better way. Negative tissue decompression gets double the results efforlessly and painlessly. It is a pain eater, no physical effort on your part.

You can even reshape the body and face. You job has nothing to do with your self image. That is all created by your self. You could be a garbage man and be the happiest most successful garbage man in the world if you wanted to be. There was a story last year on just that- some guy who drove a garbage truck who went out of his way to be the best and was honored by the community as such.

Yes others comments can be hard but if you are confident in your work and abilities it doesn't have to affect you or your self image yet I see it does. Since you don't think the massage profession is respectable you aren't getting respect or feeling respected. I am a therapist and my clients think very highly of me, I represent the massage industry in a very proffessional manorand my clients know this I use decompression massage therapy and I am still amazed at the results. I now provide painless deep tissue and get results that keep the referrals coming.

Meagan Holub LMT in Seattle, Washington said: Guys I would like to hear you views on cancellation policy I think it is also educating your client What is Decompression Massage Therapy? Decompression Massage Therapy is an effective technique to painlessly and naturally renew the entire body. DMT begins with lifting the soft tissues, stretching muscles increasing tone and pliability. DMT boosts circulation, nutrition, immune function.

DMT decreases toxin levels, fascial restrictions, adhesions and the chronic pain they present. DMT restores the natural health , beauty , strength and function of the tissue by unloading the crushing forces of gravity, tissue contractions and blockages by re-establishing the vascular and energy flows that are so necessary to good cellular function. DMT heals from the inside out. One of the web sites is www. These tools are used for tissue manipulation: I have studied cupping extensively.

Its only good as adjust treatment for spot areas like trigger points but not for an entire session. Nothing helps relive the pain of doing massage. Pleeeeeeeaaassseee if you value your health dont do it. Actually Decompression Massage Therapy it based on the Russian clinical trials that made it a main stay today in U.

It cuts the time to heal a surgical wound dramatically. Totally different from cupping. This is real scientific tissue renewal that is changing my clients lives. So if you value your health as a massage therapist pleeeeaasssee use some type of variable negative pressure tissue manipulation system, not your appendages or you will be posting like many others about how your body hurts and how bad it is to be a massage therapist.

BTW the russian work is based on chinese cupping. The Russians clinical trials was based on static cupping, The contribution of the Russians was to develop dynamic cupping and prove its power to heal tissue in a fully documented clinical trial.

This success led to its acceptance in the medical community and explosive growth. But this machine is another generation later. This generation has 27 tools that do everything from facil, body contouring, chronic and acute pain, and wellness therapies such as detox and destag. My unit is an iSculpt model which includes natural aesthetics tools. It comes from www. There is another tissue decompression machine out of New York.

I can locate the address if you want it. I am not sure about the prices. I am very interested For the DMT unit go to www. Send your email to bodyworkerpro gmail.

I remember that one of them said they teach classes in Europe and South America but you will have to ask. A warning for anyone considering massage as a career option Get new comments by email My Email You can cancel email alerts at anytime. Julie Actually what is happening here is typical of someone untrained giving career counseling advice.

Yes - thanks glad you could find that and read it. Of course many people disagree with me and have very different experiences. So what happened to your passion? If you are "gay" go ahead and become a Massage therapist. Anyone who is thinking about going to massage school MUST READ THIS: I will re-state my point since it has been drowned in a sea of rebuttal.

If you are in pain doing massage something isn't right. Im very interested in what you said. What is negative decompression Top Cities for Massage Therapist Jobs Atlanta, GA 91 Houston, TX 90 Chicago, IL 84 Austin, TX 80 Las Vegas, NV 80 Find Massage Therapist Jobs by City, State, or ZIP. View Massage Therapist salaries.

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For jobs in France, visit Indeed France. A warning for anyone considering massage as a career option. Get new comments by email My Email You can cancel email alerts at anytime. Comments 1 to 50 of