Why To Be A Massage Therapist

Massage therapists are professionals who use their knowledge of the human body to provide basic therapy and pain relief to clients. With today's hectic routine, a good massage may be the best way to relax after stressful or long work days. How long does it take to become a massage therapist? What is the average massage therapist salary like? Learn the answers to these questions and more here.

How Long Does It Take To Become A Massage Therapist?
Becoming a massage therapist requires you to have professional training in the field, and understanding the way the human body works. is the professions requires that students complete at least 500 hours of study and experience in order to gain the certification they need. Different programs cover these 500 hours in different spans; some programs are intense and may meet daily for long hours, but they will end in about 3 to 4 months. Others spread the training out longer and take about 6 months. You may choose a course which best suits your preferences and get started immediately. Over the course of this training, you will learn about anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology, which is the study of body movements and motion. Using this information, you will be taught how to provide pain relief and massage therapy to patients facing different problems.

What Skills Do I Need? What Is The Payoff?
Massage therapists must have high manual dexterity, be able to work long hours while standing on their feet, and have good communication skills in order to deal with clients and put them at ease. They must also possess particular licenses by passing certain tests such as the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination and the National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.

While the job outlook for this profession is quite high - 20 percent expected job growth rate between 2010 and 2020 - the median salary is not very high. The top ten percent of individuals in this field were earning close to $70,000 but the median salary for 2010 was stated to be only $34,900. Most massage therapists may work as private care providers, allowing them to earn potentially more while working flexible hours. However, private spa facilities are also high employers of these therapists, making this a potential hotspot for employment. With more people entering old age, the need for proper physiotherapy and massage therapy is also increased; as a result, therapists are able to find employment in old age homes as well.

Additional Information
Before you sign up for a massage therapy training program, make sure that the program is state-approved and allows you to be eligible for the licensing examinations, which you must take at the end. Some of these training programs may be quite costly, and you would not want to spend money only to find out that the training cannot be made use of professionally. Looking through the testing service's website may provide you some insight into the kinds of schools which offer accredited programs.