Career in acupuncture??

[knexsugqimkidhenc]

I am a 28 year (m) architectural technician and interested in acupuncture ever since it helped eradicate my bad back. I have been looking for a lucrative part time business and was wondering if acupuncture is the answer?

The 3 year course cost £15000 in fees so it is very expensive. I would look to do it part time, say 7-8 hours/patents a week. Looking ahead, during my 40s+ I would probably look to do it full time, into retirement (probably in Australia). I think I would enjoy helping people!!

My questions are
1) Is it feasible to do acupuncture part-time what with the cost of insurance?
2) How much is the insurance?
3) If I charge say £45 how much do I keep after the cost of the needles, tax etc.??
4) How much demand is there for acupuncture? (what sort response do acupuncturist get from yellow pages ads etc.)?

Thanks so much!

 

[Yuriy R]

Not sure why you are asking about two very different forms of therapy and their risk (or otherwise) as a career venture. The training for acupuncture is far more involved than for that of Bowen.

It is also very early days to ask for opinions on how much to charge!

And, just which therapy eradicated your back pain, since you say exactly the same about Bowen.

 

[ItseyBitsey]

Hello Peter,

In my experience people expect you to be subserviant in the alternative/complementary therapy industry. 99% of all the enquiries I get are disgusted when I mention a charge. They believe that they are doing me a favour by allowing me to treat them and not the other way round.

I'm not writing this to put you off, I'm just trying to inform you of what could lie ahead if you choose to pursue this career.

regards,

James

 

[DotDutpurdy]

Answer to Jabba Hut:

Yes I am interesed in both, and Im undecided which to do (not crime of the century is it?).
That is why Im doing abit of research into the matter.

Its not really a big surprise that someone would do some research because it is big commitment and a (potential) life changing decision.
Nor is that surprising somebody would ask about earnings/costs/popularity either really is it?
Both have helped me in different ways.

Thanks to dibdab for an informative answer.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Peter:

If you're referring to me as dibdab then don't take my word for it. Find out for yourself when you qualify.

 

[Tiara M.]

no, dibdab was somebody on another thread.

 

[bball]

My mistake, sorry.

 

[BikerChick]

Hello there Peter Smith,

As you seem to know, acupuncture & Bowen therapy both have lots of training involved but before you even begin to think of that side of things, you need to decide if you actually could be a therapist. Jabba wasn't being awkward with her reply, she was just asking a straight forward question. If you find you take offence at people's comments so easily, personally I don't think that bodes well with becoming a therapist. You'll come across all sorts of people but a lot of them, especially with the therapies you are considering, will have some kind of problem. They will be looking for a symathetic ear and some understanding from you so sarcasm wouldn't go down too well! Have a good think about your possible career change and if it would really suit you.

 

[jannyneovenot]

I met up with a good friend over the weekend, who is a recently retired chartered physiotherapist and TCM (traditional chinese medicine) practitioner, married to a GP, who is also an acupuncturist. I mentioned that a question had been asked about training/costs/insurance/earning potential. Like I said, she has just retired, but had been in the business for 40 years. She trained in acupuncture (5 year course) when she lived in Hong Kong during the 70's. Anyway, she said that she was glad she hadn't relied solely on acupuncture, and that she was able to offer other therapies - herbs, massage, and physio.

If you wanted to recoup your training fees, you have ,no doubt, worked out that you will need to see a minimum of 5 people per week for a year - around 300 sessions, to cover £15000. Needles cost around £6 for a box of 100. Tax? That would need to be worked out on your tax return, especially if you are going to be doing therapy work part-time.

I see a chinese doctor quite regularly, who is treating a shoulder problem I have - he uses chinese massage techniques, and acupunture. When I am on the couch, he invariably has two other clients in the building, and he goes between the rooms whilst we lie like pin cushions. However, occasionally he can go for 3 or 4 days with no clients - December and January were particularly quiet for him. He has admitted that he will probably work here for around 5 years and then go back to his family in Shanghai. He lives in a very small flat, near his clinic, and doesn't own a car. He must pay in excess of £10,000 per year for his clinic space. He still earns more here than he could in China (although that is changing at a fast rate)

I think you may have taken exception to my original reply because, personally, I didn't come into the 'business' looking at what I could get out of it, and see so many people who do and just don't survive. I don't make much profit, but I pay my bills and can afford on-going training. If my husband wasn't sharing household expenses then I would have to become more mercenary about it.

I hope you do train, I really do, but don't just think about spreadsheets and cheque books - also, although it is a long way off, check that Oz will let you in as an acupuncturist - my cousin went there 2 years ago, but on the qualifications of her plumber husband - her herbal medicine degree didn't count! (However, she is now working as a therapist, but it took a few months to get established).

 

[smmay2]

Thanks for that.

I've just re-read my original question and I wish I hadnt put the 'looking for lucrative part time business' part as it makes me sound like some high flying idiot. I was just curious about the money side of things. I have thought about doing this sort of work for a long time now and have to think carefully about all the pros and cons.

 

[MiJA]

I don't think wanting money makes you a high flying idiot, having money as a result of helping others can only be a good thing, it's when you start trampling on others for your own personal gain that makes it wrong in my view.

 

[Snark]

Hi there! I am an acupuncturist amongst other things. I trained for 3 years in London for which I took out a career development loan. That was 7 years ago. I probably paid out about £15K including travel, accommodation, books etc. It was also quite a hefty course and so I found especially in the third year that I couldn't work and do the course so my income plummeted at that time.

I live in the Midlands where there is a demand for comp medicine, but not as much as in some places in the South East so I don't get a huge demand for acupuncture, even though my success rate is pretty good. I also trained in other therapies and to be honest, my spiritual healing and kinesiology seem to be the most popular therapies here at the moment.

Most acupuncturists and therapists in general are self employed. Some get to do it full time (of which I am one) but many do it as a part time thing, often working from home. There are a lot of us about and sometimes I think that people who want a full time career in therapies might get disappointed.

You have to love working with people, and have endless patience! And I don't think it is a way to get rich! Graduation is one thing, but being a competent experienced acupuncturist can take a lot longer.

Then there is the problem of finding a good place to work from. However I worked for 5 years from rented rooms which was good, except when going through the quiet times. One has to commit to rent a set amount of time whether the clients come or not.

Having said all of that, I find working with people fascinating and each client is like a little mystery that needs to be solved so no two days are ever the same.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

Christine , LicAc MBAcC

 

[Megan M]

You asked about insurance. I get mine with my membership of the British Acupuncture Council. This costs me about £600 a year at the moment, so obviously I have to do quite a lot of treatments just to cover that cost.