What Is the Yearly Salary of a Massage & Spa Therapist?
Massage and spa therapists manipulate a client's soft-tissue muscles to relive ailments, stress and cramped muscles. Massage therapists are generally self-employed and often visit their client's homes and offices while spa therapists work in spas and salons offering treatments to clients in the facility. The U.S. Department of Labor expects the number of employment opportunities for therapists to grow as people become aware of the benefits of therapy.
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Income
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In 2009, there were 55,290 massage therapists in the United States. Their income ranged from $17,270 to $68,670 with a mean annual of $39,780. The majority of providers worked in the personal care service field. The highest paid therapists worked in specialty hospitals where they earned a mean wage of $55,100 per year. Nevada had the most massage therapists with 1,540 therapists who had an annual mean wage of $21,520. Therapists in Alaska --- where there were only 320 --- averaged the most money making $85,050. Napa, California had the highest concentration of workers with 4.67 workers out of 1,000 working as therapists. The annual mean average of massage therapists in Napa was $40,550. Anchorage, Alaska, where the concentration of therapists was 1.55 out of every 1,000 workers, had the highest paid massage therapists of any metropolitan area, with a annual mean average of $86,530.
Education
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Massage therapists can receive training through technical programs offered by community colleges and private schools. Most programs require that applicants graduate from high school or receive a general equivalency diploma. Some programs offer job placement services and continuing education classes.
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Licensing
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Not all states have regulations for massage therapists but in the ones that do, graduates of training programs must receive a license before they can legally work. While some states have their own licensing exams, some use the National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCETMB) or the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx). Licensing boards in each state decide what certificates are acceptable and which tests the applicants for licensure will take.
Advancement
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There are not many opportunities for career advancement for massage therapists because of the nature of the work. Therapists can open their own business or teach massage therapy. Therapists working for themselves with many clients have higher incomes than therapists working in a spa or salon where a portion of their fees will go to the business owner.
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References
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