A career in the massage therapy business can be fun and rewarding, but going to school for massage and investing your time and money may be a waste if it is not the right field for you.

Take a moment to answer these following questions...

• Would you be comfortable touching strangers who were nude?

• Would you be comfortable even if they were hairy, overweight, underweight, smelly or oily?

• Would you be comfortable massaging a member of the opposite sex?

• Do you feel comfortable to be undressed and receive a massage?

• Do you have a lot of stamina?

• Do you like to help people?

• Can you stay quiet for 60 minutes or more at a time?

• Are you willing to have a physically demanding job?

• Would you still be interested in a career in massage therapy if you knew you wouldn’t be paid all that well?

• Would it bother you to accommodate snooty clients who had to have everything ‘just right’?

• Do you deliver customer service and are you able to keep your cool, even when customers are in the wrong?

• Are you a team player?

• Can you be assertive and inform clients of how often they need to see you and what products will help them without being ‘pushy’?

• Are you willing to be active in your community?

• Do you have excellent hygiene?

• Can you act highly professional?

• Do you believe in yourself?

• Would you be willing to drop what you are doing on your day off to fill-in for a sick co-worker?

• Are you willing to stay in a physically demanding career for at least 5 years?

If you answered ‘no’ to most of these questions, then a career in massage therapy may not be for you. On the other hand, if ‘yes’ was your most common response, than this career may be right up your alley.

- Cynthia Jensen