Massage Therapist

Career Overview

Massage therapists touch and manipulate the soft tissues and muscles of the body in order to relieve pain, relieve stress, increase relaxation, and help to rehabilitate injuries.

Education

Massage therapists typically complete a postsecondary education program of 500 or more hours of study and experience, although standards and requirements vary by state or other jurisdictions. Most states regulate massage therapy and require massage therapists to have a license or certification.

Future Outlook

Employment of massage therapists is projected to grow 21 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations. Continued growth in the demand for massage services will lead to new openings for massage therapists.

Work Environment

Massage therapists work in an array of settings, such as spas, franchised clinics, physicians’ offices, hotels, and fitness centers. Some massage therapists also travel to clients’ homes or offices to give a massage.

Recommended High School Courses

Psychology
Business
Communication
Anatomy
Marketing

Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Dynamic Strength - The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
Extent Flexibility - The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Multilimb Coordination - The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Stamina - The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
Static Strength - The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
Trunk Strength - The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing.
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Administer therapy treatments to patients using hands or physical treatment aids.
Interview patients to gather medical information.
Maintain medical records.
Assess physical conditions of patients to aid in diagnosis or treatment.
Teach medical procedures or medical equipment use to patients.
Develop patient therapy programs.
Confer with other professionals to plan patient care.

Schools

Alaska Career College- An...

Alaska Institute Of Orien...

Capri College- Cedar Rapi...

Capri College- Davenport...

Capri College- Dubuque Ca...

Capri College- Waterloo C...

Carrington College- Albuq...

Carrington College- Boise...

Carrington College- Portl...

Carrington College- Spoka...

Carrington College- Stock...

Central Texas College

Clary Sage College

Columbus State Community...

Cortiva Institute- Baltim...

Cuyahoga Community Colleg...

Daytona College

Gadsden State Community C...

Greenville Technical Coll...

Institute Of Business & M...

Miller-motte College- Fay...

Miller-motte College- Wil...

Miller-motte Technical Co...

National Holistic Institu...

Navarro College- Corsican...

Northeast Wisconsin Techn...

Northwestern Health Scien...

Palm Beach State College-...

Parker University

Pinnacle Career Institute...

Praxis Institute- Hialeah...

Praxis Institute- Miami C...

Suny At Morrisville

Suny Niagara County Commu...

Suny North Country Commun...

Waubonsee Community Colle...

Academy Canada- Corner... ●

Academy Canada- St. Jo...

Alberta College Of Mas...

Alberta Institute Of M...

Atlantic College Of Th...

Canadian College Of He...

Cdi College- Calgary N...

Cdi College- Edmonton...

Cdi College- North Yor...

Cdi College- South Sur...

Durham College- Oshawa...

Eastern College- Halif...

Eastern College- Monct...

Eastern College- Saint...

Eastern College- St. J...

Evolve College Of Mass...

Fanshawe College- Lond...

Fleming College- Suthe...

Macewan University- Ci...

Makami College- Calgar...

Makami College- Edmont...

Mckay Career Training

Mount Royal University...

Okanagan Valley Colleg...

Professional Institute...

Robertson College- Mai...

Royal Canadian College...

Trillium College- King...

Trillium College- Osha...

Trillium College- St....

Trillium College- Sudb...

Vancouver Career Colle...

Vancouver College Of M...

Wellington College

West Coast College Of...

Westervelt College

West Coast College Of Mas...

Potential Scholarships

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

Approx Salary Expectation

Currency:

Low End:

$21,810.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$42,820.00 /yr

High End:

$80,630.00 /yr

Related Careers

Social & Community Services Workers

Esthetician

Funeral Director

Recreation Director

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.