The worst reason to go to massage school
Oh man- late 1990's billboards advertising massage therapy schooling.
Not truthful.
Maybe there are some out there in your part of the world to this day. Thankfully, I haven't seen any in a while.
I used to drive past billboards that would boldly proclaim:
"Make $60/hour as a massage therapist!"
This was the going hour back in the day. As a new massage therapy student, sometimes I would do the math and incredulously think,
$60/hour X 40 hours a week is $2400!
Even if I took 4 vacations a year (goals), I'd make $115, 200 a YEAR!
(Keep in mind, this was 1997 or 1998. That was a crapton of money. Still is.)
Did the billboards mention that massage therapists don't do 40 hours of massage a week?
Nope.
Did they say - "oh wait-you'll have to buy things and have a place to rent as your massage office or a reliable car for outcalls"?
Nope, none of that, of course. Der.
"Make all this money!"
was an incredible headline. And totally misleading.
It worked, though. Massage schools were springing up willy nilly, mostly in conjunction with trade schools.
These schools took government funding (GI benefits, for example). I do love the idea of helping veterans advance their education after serving our country.
But there was a problem-the billboards enticed the wrong people into the massage industry with the promise of big bucks. Some of these students might have been perfect for other trades.
But massage school instructors were told they "must" pass the student because there was funding involved. More times than not, the student didn't do well in the program, didn't do their work, or didn't understand the material well enough.
(Obviously, some students were ideal candidates. I'll get to this at the end.)
These students graduated but couldn't pass their licensing exam.
Where was the breakdown?
- Massage students went to the school for the wrong reason-they were enticed by the almighty dollar.
- Government funding allowed the wrong people to join a program for the wrong reasons.
- Schools, eager to grab funding, contributed to the lack of quality graduates.
Do I blame the billboards?
They certainly contributed to bringing massage students into a field for the wrong reason-for the money alone.
Back to the ideal massage school students...
The best massage therapists love what they do.
If you're one, you know what I'm talking about.
It's your passion. Your life's calling. You can't imagine having to work a 9-5. Instead, you often sacrifice your own body to make others feel better.
That's the best reason to go to massage school.
To go for the money is probably the worst.