25-60 hours per week, Avg. 15-20 therapy hours per week. Own a MT business for 6 years, practicing for 14 yrs. Bill for medical massage. Revenue annually about $60 grand per year. Take home pay about half that after expenses.LMTs/massage therapists: How many hours do you work, and how much do you make?
I'm not a MT but have seen here and on another message board that the job may be very physically exhausting and a lot of people are not happy in the profession.
For general career info: http://www.bls.gov/oco and can search 'massage therapists' or such.
Please forgo those private $$ tech schools and opt for the more affordable county vo-tech school or community college as long as it's accredited within the industry.
According to the American Massage Therapy Association the average MT works 10 hours a week and earns $41.50 an hour. That's around $20,000 a year. MTs generally get no employee benefits. 72% are self-employed. The average length of time in the business is 6 years.
Before I opened my own spa I worked as a self-employed practitioner and worked 25 hours a week. I charged $80 an hour and took home about $50 an massage after expenses. I worked 1/2 hour in addition to every massage doing cleaning, billing, laundry, etc.
I just quit after 5 years because for me the work was painful, sweaty, I got sick of dirty old men, I couldn't find reliable, sober employees who wouldn't rob me blind, and insurance companies don't like to pay.
This question is hard to answer because there are so many ways to work as a massage therapist!
It really depends on how much you want to make, and how you try to achieve your goals.
Some spas will pay you hourly, (that's if you do or don't have a client)
Some spas will only pay commission, (you only get money if you work)
Some spas will pay commission (if you have a client) and hourly if you don't (but you will be cleaning, washing laundry, perhaps restocking, answering phones, etc)
You need to decide a few things:
Who will you work for?
Will you work hourly (guaranteed pay, but no advancement) or commission (slower to start, but the potential to make more)
I've been employed at the same spa for about two years. I make commission- 50% of the service plus tips if there are any. This means paychecks can vary greatly. It can be hard to not spend money when you've had a few great weeks and hard to make ends meet if you've had a few bad ones.
This also means the hours I work change week to week. I'm on call ten hours a day five days a week and I usually am at the spa for 10-22 hours a week.
I work for myself as do most massage therapists. Jobs are low paying like $12-$15 an hour and you only make that when you have a client. If you don't have a client you make minimum wage. Full time for a massage therapist is about 25 -30 hours max because of the physical demands. You have to work out regularly and be in great shape to do more than that.
I have been a massage therapist for 22 years.
There are more jobs opening up but you really need to know how to negotiate a job contract and get employers to hire you and pay you more than the ave entry level wage.
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