A Career In Massage Therapy

In 2005, massage therapy was projected to be a $6 to $11 billion a year industry. It is estimated that there are 265,000 to 300,000 massage therapists and massage school students in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment for massage therapists is expected to increase 20% from 2006 to 2016, faster than average for all occupations. Between August 2006 and June 2007, almost a quarter of adult Americans (24%) had a massage at least once in the last 12 months.

Who is today's massage therapist?

• Most likely to enter the massage therapy profession as a second career.

• Predominantly female (85%).

• Most likely to be members of a professional organization.

• Most likely to be sole practitioners.

• Working an average of 19 hours a week providing massage. (Excluding time spent on other business tasks such as billing, bookkeeping, supplies, maintaining equipment, marketing, scheduling, etc.)

• Charging an average of $60 for one hour of massage.

• Earning an average wage of $39 an hour (including tip) for all massage related work.

• Giving an average of 41 massages per month.

• Working in the industry on average for 7 years.

• Likely to provide massage therapy in a number of settings, including their own home, spa/salon, their own office, a healthcare setting, health club/athletic facility, or massage therapy only franchise or chain.

• 82% of massage therapists provide Swedish massage, followed by 70% who provide deep tissue massage, 43% trigger point, and 40% sports massage.

Massage Therapy as a Career

Massage therapy can be a rewarding and flexible career

• The average annual income for a massage therapist (including tips) who provides 15 hours of massage per week is $30,000, compared to $28,170 for full-time healthcare support workers; $27,190 for full-time medical assistants and $23,290 for occupational therapist aides.

• While massage therapists work in a variety of work environments, sole practitioners or independent contractors account for the largest percentage of practicing therapists (76%).

• 76% started practicing massage therapy as a second career.

• 51% of massage therapists say they would not want to work more hours of massage than they presently do.

• More than half of massage therapists (57%) also earn income working in another profession.

• Of those massage therapists who earn income working in another profession, 24% work in healthcare while 21% practice other forms of body work and 20% work in education.

Education Is Valued In The Massage Therapy Profession

• There are over 300 accredited massage schools and programs in the United States.

• Today there are more than 87,000 Nationally Certified massage therapists. To become Nationally Certified, a massage therapist must demonstrate mastery of core skills and knowledge, pass an exam, uphold the organizations Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics and take part in continued education.

• 89% of massage therapists strongly or somewhat agree there should be minimum education standards for massage therapists.

• Massage therapists have an average of 688 hours of initial training.

• The majority of massage therapists (91%) have taken continuing education classes.

• The average number of hours spent in continuing education is 22 per year.

• The most popular choices for continuing education are training for new modalities/techniques, advanced training for specific modalities, and massage for specific populations (i.e. pregnant women, geriatric, and athletes).

Excerpted from the 2008 Massage Therapy Industry Fact Sheet, American Massage Therapy Association, www.amtamassage.org.