Monday, April 28, 2008

Key Reasons for Becoming a Massage Therapist

Career Center - by Carie Bishop

Once considered a luxury, therapeutic massage for a great many Americans has become an essential component of everyday life. If you have a keen desire to help others and are looking for a career that offers unparalleled diversity and flexibility, here are some key benefits to working in massage profession:

1. Job freedom. Massage therapists are their own bosses. They control the number of hours a day they want to work, how many days they wish to work a week–and where they want to work. You can work at home, for instance, or rent (or share) office space with other health practitioners. Planning a vacation? You can book your calendar accordingly, work hard for a number of weeks, and take off for as long as you want to sun yourself in the sand.

2. Huge variety of workplaces. Massage therapists can hook up with other medical practioners or associate their practice with a growing wealth of business alliances. For instance, massage therapists can work at health clubs, spas, chiropractor offices, cruise ships, salons, yoga centers, with professional or amateur sports teams, massage therapy clinics, shopping malls, or in corporate offices where companies offer chair massage to their employees.

3. You help people. Many massage therapists love the opportunity to affect lives. You can help reduce stress, empower people to recover from illnesses and injuries, or boost someone’s athletic performance. In addition to massage, many practitioners help clients with stretching or exercise instruction. Some conduct workshops.

4. You’re always building your expertise. By taking additional classes, networking with other massage therapists, or branching out into new alternative disciplines, massage therapists broaden their professional expertise and can significantly increase their client list.

5. Massage is increasing in stature across the country. More and more, physicians, mental health counselors, and chiropractors are referring their
patients to massage therapists. Major corporations bring in massage therapists on a regular basis to benefit office workers. Massage has found its way into airport lounges, county fairs, marathon runs, bicylcling events, and other new venues. Spas and athletic clubs find that adding massage services greatly increases their revenues.