Some people enter massage school to help others through healing touch. Some attend massage school to work in a particular field such as sports medicine or in a spa environment. Others receive massage training to satisfy a different ambition. They want to:
¨ Own their own business
¨ Be their own boss
¨ Make a lot of money
The massage industry is not immune to capitalistic instincts. Nor should it be.
Many massage schools tout the income potential of a career as a massage therapist. Income projections for a good massage therapist range from $50-$75 per hour. That translates to about $65,000-$100,000 a year depending on the number of clients served each day. This also requires that you are working independently and managing your own client base.
As attractive as a six-figure salary for providing massage therapy may be, the reality is that the median income for a massage therapist is $35,000. Many massage therapists only work part-time and quite a few are working in spas or health clubs as an employee or sub-contractor. So apparently, the big money in massage therapy goes to those that own their own business and practice full time.
So can you make big bucks as a massage therapist?
It is definitely possible to make a quite decent living as a massage therapist. But don’t expect to strike it rich right out of massage school. You will have to build up a fairly substantial client base and that doesn’t happen overnight. Many new massage therapists go to work in a spa or health club to gain experience and build a reputation. Others perform massages for a very low fee or even for free just to get some buzz going about their capabilities. It can be a slow go once a therapist is out on their own and quite a few massage therapists call it quits as a full time enterprise early on.
Doctor Charles Drew Medical Blog 