Just Relax, I'm a Professional… a Professional Massage Therapist, That is

By Joe Pringle
Joe.pringle@medicalhealthcarecareerschools.com
Medical Health Care Career Schools Columnist

We live in a high-stress world, and people are always looking for ways to relax, de-stress, and "wind down." One of the ways they do so is seeing a professional massage therapist and getting a professional massage.

Being on the Giving End of Massage Therapy

Everyone likes to get a massage, but who would want to give a massage? There are actually many reasons professional massage therapists like giving massages: knowing how much pleasure you are giving the person receiving the massage, knowing how much you may be helping someone who is under a huge amount of stress, or, maybe you just enjoy the fact that you are making $15+ per hour doing something you only trained for about six months to do. Whatever the reasons, massage therapy jobs can provide the massage therapist with some pleasures and perks of their own.

Massage Therapy Schools

There are about 1,300 massage therapy schools and training programs in the nation, about 300 of which are officially accredited by state accreditation boards. The reason so few of them are officially accredited is that the requirements to be an "official" massage therapist vary from state to state. Getting trained at a massage therapy school varies in the amount of time it takes, anywhere from three months to one year. Once you have completed your training at a massage therapy school, it won't be hard to find a massage therapy job, as the number of jobs is growing fast and is expected to continue to grow at least through 2014. Many people quit their massage therapy job to open their own massage therapy practice, where the money is even better. If you've been looking for a high-paying career with little required training, massage therapy may be just the career for you.

Sources:

US Bureau of Labor Statistics

About the Author

Joe Pringle is a full-time student at Seattle Pacific University, where he spends his weekdays going to class and doing freelance writing, and his weekends looking into the intricacies of social and abnormal psychological processes.

Posted on: January 19, 2006