If you’re about to finish massage school or considering enrolling, you’ve probably tried to picture what your career will look like once you’re a licensed massage therapist. Whether you picture yourself helping your clients relax in a soothing spa environment or envision a structured schedule helping patients alongside medical providers, there’s likely a niche that’s perfect for you. Here are 5 common career pathways for massage therapists:
1. Day Spa
Spa environments are one of the more common places massage therapists land, and there are several pros that make it easy to see why. LMTs in spas often work alongside other massage therapists and estheticians and form close connections to their coworkers.
Clients come to day spas for a range of reasons, from needing an hour of pure relaxation to working out muscle tension. If you don’t want to deal with checking in clients, accounting, maintaining the space, and piles of laundry, a spa environment might be a good fit.
While massage therapists often build a steady book over time, starting at a new spa can initially leave you with a few gaps in your schedule. Since you’re paid by the service, a spa might be more stressful for those who need consistency.
2. Medical Settings
If you like having a consistent schedule and paycheck, you’re more likely to find it in a medical environment. From chiropractic offices to assisted living facilities to hospitals, providers are increasingly realizing the benefits of having a massage therapist on staff.
Medical massage gives you endless opportunities to specialize in different niches, including oncology massage, geriatric massage, and lymphatic massage. If you love the science side of massage therapy, you can grow your knowledge by obtaining CEUs with a focus on specific medical massage techniques.
This career pathway won’t be for everyone. If you prefer having longer sessions with clients, you might not find that in medical environments. You’ll be working closely under a provider, so taking direction is key. While massage therapists who specialize in medical massage find fulfillment in helping clients through serious injuries or chronic illness, it might take an emotional toll if you’re unable to compartmentalize.
3. Sports Massage
Sports massage is a great option for massage therapists who love learning about all things anatomy and want to address injuries. Like medical massage, you can continue to hone your knowledge through CEUs. Sports massage can take place in many environments, from mobile setups after marathon races to gyms and health clubs.
Many sports massage therapists are athletes themselves. With the physical strength required to perform some sports massage stretches and techniques, you might need to stay involved in a sport of your own. This isn’t a path for those who like giving lighter pressure massages or who can’t deal with some sweat—but it is a great path for those who like talking to and working with their clients to address goals over time.
4. Mobile Massage
Just as some sports massage therapists travel for games and races, many mobile massage therapists target health and wellness events. Corporate chair massage can provide a steadier stream of income throughout the year. Mobile massage therapists often perform massages in clients’ homes.
If you love traveling and meeting new people, mobile massage might be a good path for you. If you’re less outgoing and like consistency, the unpredictable schedule and louder environments might cause some stress.
Many mobile massage therapists are also self-employed, which means handling client acquisition, transporting equipment, accounting, and laundry.
5. Business Owner
If you don’t mind handling everything on the back end of a massage business—or prefer having full control over your business model and environment—you might be drawn to the independent practitioner career path. With relatively low startup costs and little inventory compared to other businesses, massage therapists are uniquely positioned to branch out on their own.
Once you build your own massage book, you might continue to expand your business by hiring other massage therapists or partnering with an esthetician. Eventually, this could mean stepping back from doing most massages and handling client acquisition, marketing, inventory, and other paperwork instead.
What’s your path?
Some massage students already have their heart set on a certain career path and are ready to jump in the second they obtain their license. Other massage therapists will work in several different environments over the course of their careers. Continuing education courses offer endless opportunities to pursue new interests and build your skill set. Whatever path you choose, your career in massage therapy begins with education.