lots of questions

[Good gone girl]

HI,
I'm a 53 year old woman. I have a little arthritis in my thumbs. I have a few other aches & pains in my knees & feet. I'm an RN now but thinking of becoming a massage therapist. I need to have an idea if I can really do this at my age!
Also, I'm concerned about the job market. What is it like out there for new graduates? I think I would like to be a massage therapist, but I don't want to spend time & money on training if there aren't jobs out there.
I don't know anything about "tools", but I've read some reference to them. Are there any good alternatives to using my thumbs?
How much time is spent on your feet? If it's a lot what do you do to decrease stress & injury?
Thanks!
Laurie

 

[angel lovs wrestling!]

Laurie,

First, you need to look into whether you want to work for someone as an employee or if you want to work for yourself. Both have their pros and cons. There are plenty of opportunities for good massage therapists available. Most of it depends on how hard you want to work on building a practice. Even as an employee, you have to work at building your clientele. It will be slightly different from building one for your own business but it is still something that will take time.

As for the arthritis in the thumbs and standing, you can work around that depending on the kind of massage you specialize in. I do mostly injury work and work on one or two body parts in a session. This allows me to sit for most of the massage. I also use the heel of my hand, forearm and elbow to do massage rarely using thumbs.

I hope this helps. I am sure more people will respond.

 

[Sappho]

The job market for MT's varies from place to place; unless you are willing to relocate, it is hard to say if there will be a job for you.
As a nurse, do you have a network of professionals that might hire a Massage Therapist? Think of the places you'd like to work, visit them and ask questions. Do they currently employ MT's ~ or would they consider it in a year or so?

If massage is for you, age is not a factor. There was a 52yo man and a 63yo woman in class; he passed his boards and she will be sitting for her's on Friday. She is currently a nurse, as well.

The more massage you get, the fewer aches and pains you will have. There are many modalities that don't use thumbs such "No Hands" massage, Ashiatsu, and energy work.

I went to school for MT in my mid-forties and the curriculmn was a much more difficult than I anticipated. It's not just about rubbing shoulders.:undecided: There is a lot of information to learn in a relatively short amount of time.

Your medical background may help you through the Anatomy & Physiology, Pathophysiology and Medical Terminology. Are you ready and open to learn about Traditional Chinese Medicine, chakras and reflexology? In other words, can you quiet your Western medically-trained brain to listen to Eastern philosophies?

This is where I see students have the most resistance, and they seem to have more trouble passing the boards.

I hope you find the answers you are seeking.

 

[solstice_baby]

I would suggest taking a massage short course and buying an inexpensive table. The market is getting saturated in some areas. If your skills are very good and you have a knack for marketing or aren't afraid to learn about it, you will succeed.

The good ones usually rise to the top while the not so good fall away.

 

[Fred D]

Thanks for response. New question....

Thanks for the response. My new question is how do I go about building up a clientele? I'm not a great sales person. If everyone is trying to build their clientele What can I do different that everyone else is NOT doing?
I had a used bookstore a while back & found out that most of my advertising dollars were basically wasted. Rarely got a response from them. Mostly it was word of mouth & signage. Is it different with Massage Therapy?
Thanks!
Laurie

 

[PF32]

Thanks for response. New question....

Thanks for the response. My new question is how do I go about building up a clientele? I'm not a great sales person. If everyone is trying to build their clientele What can I do different that everyone else is NOT doing? Laurie

You will have to "shop" the market to find out what everyone else offers, and how they do things. Maybe you will be interested in a modality that no one offers yet.

I had a used bookstore a while back & found out that most of my advertising dollars were basically wasted. Rarely got a response from them. Mostly it was word of mouth & signage. Is it different with Massage Therapy? Thanks!

It is even more so with massage. Good luck

 

[Chupacabra_Chic]

lots of questions

Hi Laurie,

Just curious if you ever decided to go to massage school? I see you are also in Mo, so if you have any more questions, please post them! I wish you the best of luck though, and if you are still considering massage, I say go for it!