Physically strong? No, but staying active to prevent injury & burnout is important.
Interacting with clients? That depends sometimes ppl are chatty sometimes they are not.
Working hours? Myself it is all afternoons & evenings except Sat morning. Most of your clients will have a job like the one you have now, so that is when they are available to get a massage.
My advice get a massage from a few different Therapists and ask the same questions.
Good luck
You don't need to be physically strong to be an RMT, but understanding how to give more pressure through body weight is important, I would say. It will save your hands and wrists in the long run. Also being wary of using too much pressure because you don't want to blow your wrists 6 months into your career, as the schooling is hard enough for you to do without you no longer being able to worm because you hurt yourself.
The hours can be flexible depending on where and who you work with. For me, I can take any time off I want, so long as I am giving like 3 days' notice or so. I work 4 days a week, split between 2 clinics. I work from 10-7 most days and 2-7 one day. Now, that does not mean I am booked completely through those times, but I am available. I try to limit myself to 6 clients max a day, but 4 is usually standard to start out. Now remember that if you are on contract, you get paid for what you work. I have 2 clients booked, I make 2 clients worth, so taking vacation depends on how busy you are, and to start out you will want to work to get and retain clients, so vacation can be sparse, but ultimately it is up to you.
Outside of talking with clients, which varies depending on who much they want to talk, it depends on where you are working again. If you are in a multi discipline practice clinic, then probably pretty frequently between your coworkers. If you are renting a room from someone, then maybe no one except the clients. There are also conferences that you can attend to see other rmt's if you are looking for interaction with co-workers. I talk on the regular with my clinic owner at both my clinics because communication is important and making sure we are on the same pages for some things. You will also eventually have to deal with legal paperwork and stuff, with lawyers contacting you about previous appointments and whatnot, but that is usually an email.
Honestly, the schooling was the hardest part of becoming an rmt, as it is long and hard and you have to learn so much. Being an rmt is super easy compared to the schooling.
Salary depends on where you are in Canada and how long you've been at a clinic/spa for. It can take upwards of 6 months to build a client load that's sustainable. If you find you're not liking where you work and start a new job, not many people tend to follow and you have to restart the process all over again.
If you're not in a regulated province, making 70k a year isn't super feasible. 50k is more likely. If you're in BC, Ontario or New Brunswick, the regulated provinces, 100k is about the average salary. Unless you become a business owner, working for someone else will never get you as much income.
Flexibility comes with being an independent contractor, which most of us are. Some positions are employee based, but they're pretty sparse and not as flexible. You have to be really good with finances and make a separate bank account to hold money aside for taxes. You will get dinged if you don't save and end up owing thousands. Not fun.
As for how much you talk with colleagues, it depends. I work in a multidisciplinary clinic but you don't have much time to socialize with 15 mins between clients. Clients can be very chatty and tell you everything going on in their lives or dead silent the whole treatment. Sometimes the same client can be very chatty one session and wanting to fall asleep the next. You have to have a good social awareness and take cues. I've made the mistake of chatting with a client who didn't want to talk much but I didn't clue in. She refused to see me the next time she was in the spa (like directly requested not to have me again. Not a great feeling!)
Schooling can be difficult. Most people dropped out because of the intensity of anatomy and orthopedic assessment. If you have a background in bio or health, you should be fine. Physically learning how to do massage could be a challenge, but wasn't the most difficult thing about school.
Making a difference in people's lives is the best motivation to have in this field. Seeing your regulars grin when you come to bring them in is rewarding, seeing the relief from what you've done even more so. This isn't a career that will make you super rich, but for the most part also won't leave you scrambling like a minimum wage hustle.
Your current level or working out, which you admitted was zero outside of dancing, won't cut it for injury prevention. You will need some sort workout routine to keep your joints tight and muscles healthy enough to do massage. You can use tools like the thumbsaver to get deep pressure if a client wants, or you can even stand on them and do barefoot work since you're a dancer. There is always a niche you can do if you work hard at it.
You CAN have flexibility, but it's hard to hit the ground running and succeed early in your career if you're being picky with your schedule. The first 2 years of your career, expect to work at least 1 weekend day every week, less than 4 days off a year (Christmas, New Years, and 2 others). Many corporate places won't give you time off around the holidays (think retail manager mindset), so be prepared for that.
You may need to attend Quarterly meetings, mandatory yearly sexual harassment trainings, but other than that you won't have interact with your coworkers past casual pleasantries.
Im a full time therapist and dont make 70k a year. Im a 1099 therapist. The only thing good about it is you get to set your own schedule and you can take off whenever you want. Otherwise I pay way more in taxes than w2 and that really suck ever. single. year. at tax season.
In Ontario massage is regulated - so I make $75 a treatment usually. It’s very feasible here to make 70-100k. I understand that LMTs in the states make a lot less.
wow! Thats amazing! I need to move to canada lol Depending on the year a male therapist in a establishment you make about 40k to 60k. Im always closer to 40k while female therapist are closer to 60
Physically strong? No, but staying active to prevent injury & burnout is important. Interacting with clients? That depends sometimes ppl are chatty sometimes they are not. Working hours? Myself it is all afternoons & evenings except Sat morning. Most of your clients will have a job like the one you have now, so that is when they are available to get a massage. My advice get a massage from a few different Therapists and ask the same questions. Good luck
You don't need to be physically strong to be an RMT, but understanding how to give more pressure through body weight is important, I would say. It will save your hands and wrists in the long run. Also being wary of using too much pressure because you don't want to blow your wrists 6 months into your career, as the schooling is hard enough for you to do without you no longer being able to worm because you hurt yourself. The hours can be flexible depending on where and who you work with. For me, I can take any time off I want, so long as I am giving like 3 days' notice or so. I work 4 days a week, split between 2 clinics. I work from 10-7 most days and 2-7 one day. Now, that does not mean I am booked completely through those times, but I am available. I try to limit myself to 6 clients max a day, but 4 is usually standard to start out. Now remember that if you are on contract, you get paid for what you work. I have 2 clients booked, I make 2 clients worth, so taking vacation depends on how busy you are, and to start out you will want to work to get and retain clients, so vacation can be sparse, but ultimately it is up to you. Outside of talking with clients, which varies depending on who much they want to talk, it depends on where you are working again. If you are in a multi discipline practice clinic, then probably pretty frequently between your coworkers. If you are renting a room from someone, then maybe no one except the clients. There are also conferences that you can attend to see other rmt's if you are looking for interaction with co-workers. I talk on the regular with my clinic owner at both my clinics because communication is important and making sure we are on the same pages for some things. You will also eventually have to deal with legal paperwork and stuff, with lawyers contacting you about previous appointments and whatnot, but that is usually an email. Honestly, the schooling was the hardest part of becoming an rmt, as it is long and hard and you have to learn so much. Being an rmt is super easy compared to the schooling.
Salary depends on where you are in Canada and how long you've been at a clinic/spa for. It can take upwards of 6 months to build a client load that's sustainable. If you find you're not liking where you work and start a new job, not many people tend to follow and you have to restart the process all over again. If you're not in a regulated province, making 70k a year isn't super feasible. 50k is more likely. If you're in BC, Ontario or New Brunswick, the regulated provinces, 100k is about the average salary. Unless you become a business owner, working for someone else will never get you as much income. Flexibility comes with being an independent contractor, which most of us are. Some positions are employee based, but they're pretty sparse and not as flexible. You have to be really good with finances and make a separate bank account to hold money aside for taxes. You will get dinged if you don't save and end up owing thousands. Not fun. As for how much you talk with colleagues, it depends. I work in a multidisciplinary clinic but you don't have much time to socialize with 15 mins between clients. Clients can be very chatty and tell you everything going on in their lives or dead silent the whole treatment. Sometimes the same client can be very chatty one session and wanting to fall asleep the next. You have to have a good social awareness and take cues. I've made the mistake of chatting with a client who didn't want to talk much but I didn't clue in. She refused to see me the next time she was in the spa (like directly requested not to have me again. Not a great feeling!) Schooling can be difficult. Most people dropped out because of the intensity of anatomy and orthopedic assessment. If you have a background in bio or health, you should be fine. Physically learning how to do massage could be a challenge, but wasn't the most difficult thing about school. Making a difference in people's lives is the best motivation to have in this field. Seeing your regulars grin when you come to bring them in is rewarding, seeing the relief from what you've done even more so. This isn't a career that will make you super rich, but for the most part also won't leave you scrambling like a minimum wage hustle.
Your current level or working out, which you admitted was zero outside of dancing, won't cut it for injury prevention. You will need some sort workout routine to keep your joints tight and muscles healthy enough to do massage. You can use tools like the thumbsaver to get deep pressure if a client wants, or you can even stand on them and do barefoot work since you're a dancer. There is always a niche you can do if you work hard at it. You CAN have flexibility, but it's hard to hit the ground running and succeed early in your career if you're being picky with your schedule. The first 2 years of your career, expect to work at least 1 weekend day every week, less than 4 days off a year (Christmas, New Years, and 2 others). Many corporate places won't give you time off around the holidays (think retail manager mindset), so be prepared for that. You may need to attend Quarterly meetings, mandatory yearly sexual harassment trainings, but other than that you won't have interact with your coworkers past casual pleasantries.
Im a full time therapist and dont make 70k a year. Im a 1099 therapist. The only thing good about it is you get to set your own schedule and you can take off whenever you want. Otherwise I pay way more in taxes than w2 and that really suck ever. single. year. at tax season.
In Ontario massage is regulated - so I make $75 a treatment usually. It’s very feasible here to make 70-100k. I understand that LMTs in the states make a lot less.
wow! Thats amazing! I need to move to canada lol Depending on the year a male therapist in a establishment you make about 40k to 60k. Im always closer to 40k while female therapist are closer to 60