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Discover what Massage Therapy has to offerAccording to Career Centre Canada, Massage Therapy is among the fastest growing careers in Canada offering "great pay, excellent job stability and additional benefits."
Massage is a flexible career choice, allowing you to work varied hours in an employment/contracted setting or as a self-employed therapist.
Personal Requirements
As a Massage Therapist you need to be a self-motivated, caring individual. Physical health and self-care are important and necessary to enjoy a long and successful career.
The Government of Alberta has published an Occupational Profile for Massage Therapy that lists personal characteristics important for the success of a Massage Therapist:
- excellent listening skills
- good communication and time management skills
- good general health and posture
- comfortable sharing personal space for extended periods of time
- interested in wellness issues
- able to work in a standing position for long periods of time
and use the body as a tool in adminstering massage therapy
- critical thinking skills
- friendly, outgoing personality and caring attitude
Educational Requirements
As it currently stands in Alberta, only 250 hours of Massage Therapy education are required to become a Registered Massage Therapist. The minimum acceptable level of education for that most businesses look for in hiring a Massage Therapist is 1000 hours.
Alberta Health & Wellness is currently reviewing the possibility of regulating Massage Therapy in Alberta. This will likely mean higher educational requirements. The general understanding is that this will be a minimum of 2200 training hours.
Compensation
Income from Massage Therapy depends largely on whether you are independently self-employed or working for commission. One option is offering mobile services or renting a treatment room, in which case, overhead costs need to be taken into account. Or, you may choose to work with a Wellness Centre or health clinic, which usually offers a commission split. Either way, it is important to think about where you will best fit in.
Career Centre Canada lists Massage Therapists as earning an average of $61,000 per year.
It is important to note that the amount you will actually earn depends largely on the type of career that you create for yourself and the number of massages that you are able to do in a day. The most sustainable number of massages to do in a day is 3-4. And the average amount of earnings per 1 hour treatment is between $30 and $50 (commission split).
According to this reference, once you have grown to full capacity of working 5 days a week, you have the potential to earn between $22,500 and $50,000 plus tips as a commissioned massage therapist. Note that tips are usually between 5 and 10% of service value ($3,000-$6,000 per year).