I love my job. However, with any job there are several pros and cons. It was, of course, the positive aspects of massage therapy that first attracted me to the profession. First and foremost is the money. I am a young adult working my way through college and this really is one of the best jobs to have through that experience. Massage therapy is one of the few jobs that allow you to make several times the amount of minimum wage per hour without committing more than eight months of your life to training for it. Although I did not like the idea of starting college later than my peers, I realize that going to massage therapy school was one of the best decisions I have made. Plus working as a waitress wasn’t working out. Apparently people don’t like wearing their drinks…
Another positive aspect of massage therapy goes along with money is the fact that it is recession resistant. There are so many places a massage therapist can work. Casinos, spas, doctor’s offices, hotels, cruise ships, resorts, malls, hospitals, and places like Massage Envy are all places that a massage therapist can often find work at. I have never looked at a single job website and not found a listing for “Massage Therapist Needed” in the area that I live.
Working at Massage Envy specifically has many benefits. The best thing I like about it is that I can just show up, do my job, make money, and go home. I do not have to advertise myself almost at all or try to sell people anything. They provide the clients, cream, holsters, tables, rooms, and scheduling services. It is so nice to not have to worry about any of that. Many therapists choose to market themselves independently and travel to and from people’s houses doing massages. I could not imagine doing that – it would take so much time to build a consistent clientele base and would be really stressful (not to mention potentially dangerous) to go into a stranger’s homes. Here many people might object that it is dangerous, but I certainly would not want to take those kinds of risks. I also like that I get frequent breaks throughout my day. I usually do not get booked the maximum amount of massages I can do in one day (which is six), so I normally get two or three hours within my shift that I can use to hang out with coworkers or, better yet, do my homework (or work on my blog!). After several months of working with the same therapists, you really develop a strong bond and “team” attitude with each other.
Just as there are good aspects of my job, there are some bad parts as well. The first thing that comes to mind is bad tippers. There are some people that, for God knows why, choose to tip poorly. This is the most frustrating thing that happens, to atleast someone on staff, on a regular basis. The lack of consideration shown by some clients to their therapists is just out of this world. It is common sense I think for anyone to be able to conclude that tips are an integral part of our paycheck. We depend on tips to make a living, pay our mortgage, put gas in our cars, food on the table, textbooks, and college tuition. It is not just a slap in the face to get a bad tip – it is a guttural punch. It is like having acid tossed in my face to be presented with a crumpled, Cheeto-covered small wad of ones from the lint-ridden depths of a cheapo’s back pocket. I just cannot understand what compels these people to be so rude as to mess with our income. The second most frustrating thing about being a massage therapist is the sheer physical demand. It is not an easy job by any means. You have to do real, actual labor. The first year I was a therapist I would walk into my home after a shift and stick my hands in the freezer because they ached so badly. Physical pains become part of your life. The average career span of a massage therapist is only seven years for just this reason. An injury or illness can end or put a major obstacle in the way of your career. The final major con of being a therapist is the occasional weirdo. Though I have almost never had to deal with them, I will get the random socially-awkward eye wanderer and it really grosses me out. All in all though, it’s a pretty great profession and I enjoy working as a therapist very much.
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