Massage Therapy School

I went to a massage therapy school. I loved it. :) You can actually make good money doing massage and it's nice to be able to kinda choose your own schedule. I'd definitely recommend NOT taking on full-time hours, though, because your body will wear down quickly if you do. So if doing it part-time isn't enough money (and it might actually be enough, depending on where you work, if you choose to work for someone else), you can always take on a second part-time job, hopefully one that's not so physical.

Anyway, what I did when I was considering getting into this was I called different massage therapists, asked if they had a moment to answer a few questions, and then I asked them things like what they like best about massage therapy, what they like least, and what school they went to... And that is how I learned about the school I ended up choosing. Even the ones who didn't go there had nothing but good things to say about it. Oh, and just so you know... I don't think anyone really had anything to say about their least favorite thing. They all loved what they were doing. :)

So, that is what I recommend... Call massage therapists in your area and if they have a moment to talk to you, give them a little interview like I did. :) Also, I can't say for sure, but I have a feeling those schools that offer other, unrelated things like legal secretary courses or graphic design are probably not your best choice.

You should totally pick the brain of manifestress

She's been doing massage quite successfully for over 20 years and is a wealth of information!

I went to school for Massage Therapy. I LOVED the education. I went to the Soma Institute for Clinical Massage, in Chicago, I chose this school because I wanted to help people, not just rub lotion on them.

Unfortunately I never loved doing massage as a career(in the town we moved to after I finished school...there are about 1497239587289457 massage therapists here), it's not a job where you can make a lot of money *UNLESS* you work for yourself and build up a really great clientele, OR you work yourself into the groud..40 hours a week is a really bad idea. It is said that 25 hours a week is full time for a massage therapist because you use your body so much that the workload is equivalent to 40 hours. Another problem are these massage business such as massage envy, or elements massage, you work so hard and pay 12K for school just to come out and be paid minimum wage.. it's ridiculous, and lots of clients are turning toward these types of places for a massage because they're not educated and can get a massage for 27 dollars or something insanely cheap.


So yeah I think part of that answered some of your other questions. You're looking at going to school for about a year, most places require 500 hours up to 1000 hours. And it costs from between 10k to 15k. Fin. aid works pretty much the same way it does for any other education... minus the grants and scholarships unless you find a real college that offers massage as an associates degree (most places are JUST schools for massage)

in my experience most massage schools teach a basic curriculum that allows someone to be good enough to do what most consider massage, swedish and deep tissue work. the work you do and continuing education you get is what makes you better. if you find a school that most consider good, i believe the student loans worth it, even if you only practiced and worked for a year.

my long term experience is that few continue being a massage therapist indefinitely. most go on to other careers or add to massage some other health related work, in my case teaching yoga. financial aid seems easy enough to get and imo is easy to pay back with a decent post school job.

finances matter but don't go into massage for money. it's a very heart draining sort of work that most can only do part time. it's labor intense, heart intense and if you're like most therapists i know you'll want to start charging clients by the pound.

it is fulfilling work. you're the opposite of the dentist, everyone wants to see you and is happy when they get to. in my experience it's best to keep learning, other body disciplines and modalities to get good at what you do. go to pilates, yoga classes, get different kinds of bodywork and try things out. you'll figure out where you need to go.

Namaste'

The key with getting into massage therapy is knowing why you want to. Who do you want to work with? Also, it takes a lot of marketing and networking. Even if someone hires you they don't really necessarily generate booming business for you all the time.

Here's what I did: I went to school (and yes, Financial Aid was just as easy to get as it was for college, but I believe it matters on the accreditation), graduated, got my license, had a baby. Then I worked at a few spas. It's pretty competitive out there. I then, upon my first renewal, took Massage for Motherhood because I luff the mamas and the babies. My instructor says, "Hey you should look into being a doula." Then BAM! now I'm a childbirth professional with massage under my belt. I'm still networking and advertising and honestly the childbirth comes first and the LMT is an asset to that. But massage opened the door to what I truly love.

It's just knowing what you want is all...

Massage School

The best and most innovative massage school is located in Oklahoma City. The lady that owns the school has now purchased a therapeutic massage franchise for her graduated students. Now the students can learn how to purchase their own massage company.

IMTC is a new college and is the only massage school for a lot of things such as transfer of credits and learning the real strategies of marketing. You can also pay for your tuition while performing massages at the school for a discounted rate. This can go hand-in-hand with their own finance plan with 0% interest. Classes are available mornings, nights, and weekends to fit any schedule you need.

I know you can make a lot of money in the massage filed now and the industry alone is rapidly growing with a lot of new and exciting movements.

I know first-hand IMTC has a students that are and have relocated from long distances. You may want to give Tobi a call and talk to her. She can be reached @ 405.420.9516 or toll free @ 1.866.447.5184. Her bio maybe found in the about us link.

Thanks :)