5 Mar 2018

Career opportunities for Massage Therapists

There is one question I get asked again and again by people interested in learning massage or holistic therapies: “what are the career opportunities?” “Will I be able to find work?” “How much work is there in the North West? Would I be better moving to London? Or would I have to go and do massage abroad?”

Many of our students at Orchid Massage Academy have given up their jobs to become massage or holistic therapists. Many more would like to give up their jobs, but haven’t yet found the courage or the finances. So how easy is it to find work once you have qualified?

I have been a holistic therapist since 1999 and I have to say it is a lot easier to find work now than it was when I first qualified; massage and holistic therapies are so much more accepted by the mainstream. However, even all those years ago, I didn’t really struggle to find people that wanted treatments. It was just a case of knowing where to look…

Throughout my career as a therapist I have worked with a huge variety of different clients –

people recovering from sports injuries,
adults with severe disabilities
those overcoming substance abuse.
vulnerable women
young athletes

I have treated

professional footballers,
the homeless,
soap stars,
refugees,
sex-workers,
office workers

I have worked in many locations:

top-class spas,
physiotherapy clinics,
community centres,
nursing homes,
a centre for people with MS,
back stage at music gigs
homes for the disabled

I’ve given massages:

in a church
in a retirement home
in the street,
in shops,
at exhibitions
in field at a music festival
in a prison
at a hen-do

Basically, as a massage therapist there is only one rule: If there are people around you, then there is work, if you want it . And sometimes you don’t want it! Many are the times I have found myself giving treatments when I was supposed to be off work – whilst on holiday or travelling. I’m smiling as I write this – remembering times I’ve treated strangers in the most random of places;

- a hostel in Costa Rica;
- a tent in the Amazon;
- a hut in West Africa;
- a mountainside in Southern Spain…

The point is: There is always someone, somewhere in need of a massage. You just have to find them.
So, making a career out of being a massage therapist comes down to two simple things: