# Are there any Registered Massage Therapists here?



## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Does anyone work in the industry, like at a physio clinic or elsewhere? Just curious if you’d recommend it as a vocation. I'm in BC, the Lower Mainland and am currently looking into the various schools. Looking for any advice or positives and negatives.


----------



## twa2w (Mar 5, 2016)

I am not a massage therapist but have a few friends that are in, or were in the profession.
It has a bit of a sleasy reputation. If you are male, it is much harder to get clients and to make a living.
It is a hard job physically and unless you are young and strong, this limits the number of clients you can see in a day and a week. Many massage therapists who work full time when youger, move to other occupations as they age due to the physical requirements.
Many work for spas or at chiro or physio places at first but if they get a loyal following, they open their own shop or work out of own home. Most end up part time or as a second income.

It is not as lucrative as the hourly rate implies.


----------



## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

twa2w said:


> I am not a massage therapist but have a few friends that are in, or were in the profession.
> It has a bit of a sleasy reputation. If you are male, it is much harder to get clients and to make a living.
> It is a hard job physically and unless you are young and strong, this limits the number of clients you can see in a day and a week. Many massage therapists who work full time when youger, move to other occupations as they age due to the physical requirements.
> Many work for spas or at chiro or physio places at first but if they get a loyal following, they open their own shop or work out of own home. Most end up part time or as a second income.
> ...


Thank you for the reply. Not sure where you are located, but I'm unclear how it can be considered sleazy. I'm not talking about corner beauty salon massage shops or rub n' tugs, I'm speaking about being an RMT, which in BC requires 2200 hours of training at an accredited school, and you are employed at physio clinics, hospitals and other care facilities or in private practice, and it is covered under Medical services plans, ICBC, and extend health care plans. For the most part, you deal with injury recovery, repetitive use issues, stress relief, and other medical issues. 

I initially gave some thought to the thing about supposed bias against male therapists, but then discounted it when I realized that this perception is more in the spa/beauty salon level of massage; my feeling is that someone who goes to a physiotherapy clinic for a medical issue is going to be concerned about the quality of care over anything else. Me personally, I have no preference for a female vs a male therapist whether its a physiotherapist or an RMT; its all about the results. I saw a statistic a day or two ago that was something in the neighbourhood of 27-33% of RMTs in BC are male, so they are obviously accepted and doing OK- I think it's just that more females traditionally have chosen this field.

I'm not too concerned about the earnings, as I'm never driven by money on any level as long as I can make a reasonable living and put a little away for retirement. I know that there are ups and down depending on bookings, and that you have limits on the number of clients you can take in a day- most therapists I have seen talking about it online say they hold it to 5 or 6 a day so they do not burn out- you also need time between clients to clean up and reset the room, rest your arms, etc. My current research shows that you can expect anywhere from $50 to $90 an hour depending on the facility; they take their share. So what I have thus far gleaned is that you can reasonably take home $200-400 a day depending on various factors; enough so that many therapists schedule themselves on reduced work weeks or part-time if they want to. I'm single with no dependents- I only need about $2000-$2500 a month to cover my mortgage, expenses, and to put something away every month to pay myself into investments. I have many artistic pursuits as well as a dedicated fitness plan that I stick to, so free time is far more valuable to me than making money. 

If anyone on here has been through the schooling, I'd be interested in how much study time you felt you needed every night- I'll need to work part-time to support myself while in school. Any other input would be great also!


----------



## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Seems like a great career that has most of the benefits of blue collar work, service sector work, and "professional" work combined.

-Reasonably high pay
-Not staring at a screen all day
-Physical, but not back breaking labour
-Can be an employee or run your own business
-Can choose your own hours
-Can QUIT for years and still come back to do it - Nobody saying "I see there's a 2 year gap in your resume here".
-Surrounded by women

Don't know anything more about it other than just being a customer and hearing about it from people.


----------



## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

We all have anecdotes.... I have regularly enjoyed the services of RMTs approximately every 3-5 weeks for about 15 years to deal with mostly lower back issues. I have had about 6 different RMTs over that period of time, all female, and each with slightly different techniques. I value what they do for me a lot and it is a highly professional job. In my experience, most start out as an ancillary practice with chiropractors, but some branch out into their own businesses, either at home, or together with other practices like acupuncture, etc. My current RMT started in a chiropractor's office and now owns her own business with 3-6 other RMTs, an acupuncturist, and a few other 'well being' types. She has been about 10-15 years of experience but has had to cut back her hours to 3 days a week due to upper body issues of her own. It is fairly grueling physical work that will take a toll on one's body over time. 

My take is in our community which has a more senior demographic, RMTs are pretty busy, although it can take a year or more to build up a regular clientele. Any new RMT needs to consider that. My take is most start in a shared office with other services, like physiotherapy or chiropractic, to build their client base.... and most can establish a reasonable living. In my years, I have noticed maybe 1 in 10 being male, but I don't know how well they are received. A female friend of mine much prefers a male RMT, while I would be adverse to a male RMT. My hang up...


----------



## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Not a massage therapist but helped my previous nanny research, have a friend close friends that are, and have gone to them for over 20 years.

Some observations and feedback I have had through conversations...

- It is hard physical work. 
- Most therapists will do about 6 billable hours a day max. That’s assuming breaks, and time to clean between clients.
- Spas will take a larger cut (up to 50%) than clinics but the work is easier at a spa because Pepe going to spas tend to want a more relaxation massage vs a harder therapeutic massage. 
- spa clients will usually tip, clinics will not
- you get more repeat clientele in clinics which is better for building your own clientele 
- it’s very veristile in terms of hours and flexibility. Some will work in multiple clinics, or a combination of work for themselves and a clinic, you just have to make sure when you sign on with a clinic there isn’t a non compete clause.
- I have seen thearipists do mobile, sign a deal with a corporation to get an meeting room once a week and then gove the employees a cheaper rate, work from home, etc. Tons of flexibility and different markets to pursue to specialize depending on clientele and technique. 
- I have found some people initially will go with females if they are not as comfortable (both men and women). However, I need a really deep massage and have preferred men as most of the women have not been able to work out the knots. My favorite theataoistwas a professional body building and martial arts instructor. He. Loved away though. 

- for schooling part of the difficult part is getting the clinical hours
- there is studying involved, like college level amount of time. Currently the two people I know in the program study a couple hours night. The both have kids but find it manageable but final exam time they are quite stressed. 

Hope this helps.


----------



## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Really appreciate the great input everyone. Thank you. I've contacted the various schools here and am going to do some meetings with admissions personnel. I'm also going to do some informational interviews with clinic managers; this is going to be through WorkSafe BC so I need to write a proposal for partial funding.


----------



## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

indexxx said:


> ... this is going to be through WorkSafe BC so I need to write a proposal for partial funding.


That tidbit speaks volumes.

Unless I miss my guess, the WCB is involved because you suffered a workplace injury and the WCB has come to accept that you cannot return to your pre-injury type of employment. Am I warm? If so, I'll have more to add.


----------



## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Mukhang pera said:


> That tidbit speaks volumes.
> 
> Unless I miss my guess, the WCB is involved because you suffered a workplace injury and the WCB has come to accept that you cannot return to your pre-injury type of employment. Am I warm? If so, I'll have more to add.


Hi- yes, that is correct.


----------



## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

In that case, indexxx, I would imagine you are working with a Vocational Rehabilitation Consultant in developing a plan that will return you to work with no loss of earnings. You evidently have what the WCB would call some "permanent functional impairment" and the WCB will be keen to avoid having to pay you a disability award on a "loss of earnings" (LOE) basis, which is usually much greater than an award implemented on a "functional" basis.

My guess is that, also, your impairment rating is somewhere below 10% of total, in which case a functional award is more likely. So the VRC will be amenable to funding a vocational rehab plan that will, when combined with the functional award, result in no LOE. VRCs usually have a pretty good grip on the job market. What has your VRC told you about the plan to retrain as a massage therapist? What has the VRC said about the nature of the training and the job market at the end? They study this stuff.

One concern I have regards your age. Elsewhere on this board you have mentioned being in the "bar business" for 34 years. So, if you started at age 18, you are now 52. It is getting late to get into a new gig, certainly one far removed from your old one. I see bar business and massage business as quite different. Moreover, I do not know the nature of your physical impairment, but, as others have suggested, the work of a massage therapist can be somewhat physically demanding. It is important that your vocational rehab plan not set you up for failure - a result not unheard of in the WCB disability awards department. You might think that you can go along with a rehab plan and score a LOE pension should it fail. But changes some time back in the legislation and policy have made the coveted LOE pension more elusive than once upon a time.

Anything you can add will be useful. Also, do you have a union rep or Worker's Advisor assisting you?


----------



## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Mukhang pera said:


> In that case, indexxx, I would imagine you are working with a Vocational Rehabilitation Consultant in developing a plan that will return you to work with no loss of earnings. You evidently have what the WCB would call some "permanent functional impairment" and the WCB will be keen to avoid having to pay you a disability award on a "loss of earnings" (LOE) basis, which is usually much greater than an award implemented on a "functional" basis.
> 
> My guess is that, also, your impairment rating is somewhere below 10% of total, in which case a functional award is more likely. So the VRC will be amenable to funding a vocational rehab plan that will, when combined with the functional award, result in no LOE. VRCs usually have a pretty good grip on the job market. What has your VRC told you about the plan to retrain as a massage therapist? What has the VRC said about the nature of the training and the job market at the end? They study this stuff.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your feedback. Yes, I'm in VocRehab. I do have a disability award coming; however the disability does not affect this line of work. I have yet to discuss this plan with my case worker- I just this week came to the conclusion that it might be a good fit. The proposal I am preparing will inform her of my intent. My understanding from a discussion with her earlier this week is that it is up to me to decide on a vocation, and they will either approve it or not. Part of my proposal is to detail how I will make up any difference between their funding and the cost of tuition/training. The thing is, there just isn't that much that interests me outside of writing, music, and photography, which they won't consider as feasible in the job market. My other interests are in science, health, complementary medicine, and fitness, so this seems like a good idea. 

As far as switching careers, that is actually part of my VocRehab- I am not to return to my former industry. I'm not concerned with my age (you are accurate- I am 53), as I am an extremely young 53- I trail run, hike, swim at least a mile a day, train in the gym every night, bike, etc etc usually 10-15 days in a row followed by one day off for recovery and rest, and have always really looked after my health. Yes, it is far removed from my former occupation, but that is why I am interested; even though I was in the bar business, I have been self-studying health and medical-related subjects for about 25 years- my first choice would be to become a licensed Naturopathic physician, but it's a four year program. I feel that my management and people skills would serve me very well, maybe better then very young graduates- my understanding is the there is high turnover in the field, mainly under-30's who don't realize what they're getting into. I've been through decades of incredible stress- pretty sure I can deal with anything that comes up. After graduation, I need only last for ten years until I am eligible to retire. If I keep it to a reasonable schedule of clients and practice good self-care and recovery, I'm confident I'll do well. Four to six clients a day, four days a week sounds about right- should pull in 4-5K a month with that and not risk burnout or injury. I'm also pretty good with ideas and have an entrepreneurial bent, so I feel I can come up with creative ways to add to my income if I want, allowing me to maybe retire a bit early. And as someone mentioned above, you can always take a break for a year and come back- if I feel I need some time off I'll take it. One of the main things that appeals to me is the ability to set your own schedule to an extent. 


I do not have a union rep- I'm unsure what is meant by a Worker's Advisor; is that a WCB person?


----------



## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

indexxx said:


> Thank you for your feedback. Yes, I'm in VocRehab. I do have a disability award coming; however the disability does not affect this line of work. I have yet to discuss this plan with my case worker- I just this week came to the conclusion that it might be a good fit. The proposal I am preparing will inform her of my intent. My understanding from a discussion with her earlier this week is that it is up to me to decide on a vocation, and they will either approve it or not.
> 
> I do not have a union rep- I'm unsure what is meant by a Worker's Advisor; is that a WCB person?


Your are right that, at least to some extent, it is up to you to decide on a vocation. Once upon a time, VRCs were more active in selecting an alternate vocation for an injured worker, but then, if it failed, the worker, naturally, would blame the VRC. Better for the VRC to be able to say "Well, it was _your_ idea, so don't blame me if there are no jobs or the jobs pay below minimum wage, or or you are physically unable to do the work over the long term. However, VRCs are supposed to have some handle on the job market and knowledge of various occupations and the requirements for same.

How far the WCB will be willing to go to sponsor retraining is a function of your impairment rating for disability awards purposes (most impairment ratings are drawn from the infamous "meat chart"), your age and, perhaps most important, your disability wage rate. When first injured, your wage rate will usually be your actual date of injury earnings. But, depending on the duration of wage loss benefits, there will be an 8-week and/or 13-week rate review, to set your long-term rate. The rate can then decline quite significantly from the DOI rate if you have had a lot of time off work or low paid work in the year prior to injury. The board usually looks back one year and takes the earnings for that year as your long-term rate. They can reach back further if the one year rate results in distortion, such as you were off work for a long time due to non-compensable illness or injury. Moreover, different rules apply to new entrants to the workforce or those who have been out for awhile. At the end of the day, the object of the exercise is to get you back into a job at no loss of earnings, at least when your earnings are combined with your functional disability award. It's when that cannot be achieved that a loss of earnings award has to be considered. So tailoring a voc rehab plan involves taking all of those factors into account. 

You don't have to set it out here, but do you happen to know what is the long-term wage rate set on your file? It would have been provided in a decision from a Claims Adjudicator. The decision would have come with a pamphlet explaining how to appeal. One should always appeal the wage rate if it looks fishy. The Disability Awards Claims Adjudicator will usually just adopt the CA's rate setting and it can have a significant impact on the quantum of any disability award and the extent to which the Board will support a voc rehab plan. The voc rehab budget will include an amount for supporting you with a rehab allowance while retraining, the cost of retraining and a post-training "job search allowance". Once that runs out, you'll be set adrift. 

Without seeing your board file, I can only guess at a lot of things. The memo section of the file will reveal the thinking of the various decision-makers. Being funded to become a naturopathic physician would be nice, but, regardless of your wage rate, the Board won't embark on a 4-year venture given the number of years you likely have left in the workforce. They might go along for someone in their 20s, earning WCB maximum, where there could be a prospect of paying an LOE pension for decades. But now is the time to ensure you get the most bang for the buck.

As for the merits of becoming a massage therapist, others have already expressed some views. I really have none. I worked in an office once where a colleague's daughter trained as such. I know one working from home on the Sunshine Coast who seems to do okay. One reason for optimism that I see is an emerging somewhat broader acceptance of the benefits of massage. Often injured workers seek massage therapy and Board Medical Advisors have typically warned Claims Adjudicators against paying for such "passive" therapies that, while perhaps providing some short-term symptomatic relief, are not really therapeutic and of doubtful lasting benefit. The same was seen in the courts. Those suing for damages arising out of motor vehicle accidents (with, effectively, ICBC as defendant), often sought payment for past an ongoing massage. Judges exercised considerable restraint, echoing the thinking of MAs at the WCB. But, in recent years, I have seen that change somewhat. The net result, more work for massage therapists. 

Before you get too much further down the road with your claim, you might want to discuss with a Workers' Adviser. They are independent of the WCB, but paid out of the Accident Fund just the same. They will often assist those who don't otherwise have representation. Almost all trade unions have staff dedicated to helping injured union members with WCB claims. So you are at a disadvantage without representation. The whole WCB thing is complex and not too user-friendly. There are only a handful of lawyers in the system and most represent employers. You can't eat off representing an injured worker. Here's the link to the Workers' Advisers Office (formerly CAS - Compensation Advisory Services):

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/...s-advice/personal-injury-and-workplace-safety

Okay, gotta' go now. I have a recent judgment waiting to be read. The first line reads: _Sex for pay, opportunism, deception and false expectations form the backdrop to this litigation_. Sounds tantalizing huh? I am going to pour that second cup of coffee, go out and sit on the deck, and enjoy what will, I hope, provide more interesting reading than the foregoing.


----------



## Daniel A. (Mar 20, 2011)

My daughter-in law is currently enrolled here in Vancouver she started in New West and changed to Vancouver due to the workload that was required in New West. Its a tough program she has about 8 months to go, a lot of study hours with short breaks.


----------



## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Daniel A. said:


> My daughter-in law is currently enrolled here in Vancouver she started in New West and changed to Vancouver due to the workload that was required in New West. Its a tough program she has about 8 months to go, a lot of study hours with short breaks.


Good I know, thank you for chiming in. I thought the courses were more or less the same across schools as far as workload and hours- it's a fairly standardized curriculum from what I understand so far. Unless she went to the one that offers a part-time program? I know there is only one here and it's in Vancouver.


----------



## Daniel A. (Mar 20, 2011)

She is full time has been since day one started with West Coast College of Massage Therapy then after the first year and a half transferred to Vancouver. In New West she was working/ studying 6 day's a week as they need to put in X number of hours per semester doing clinic work.

A couple of her friends switched as the work load was better so she joined them. She did fail one course early on which met she had to redo the whole semester the standards are very high. She did work part time a bit and some of her friends do carry regular part time jobs along the way. The only difference between the two schools is the work load hours due to the clinic requirements from what I understand.


----------



## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Bumping this thread to say that I graduated from the program in January and wrote my Board Exams in March. I heard back on the weekend that I passed, so I will be a licensed RMT in about two weeks. It was a ridiculously difficult program but worth it- clinics are literally clamouring for therapists. It's never too late to change careers!


----------



## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

^ Congratulations!!! 

Not meant to rain on your parade but isn't it a "difficult" time being a RMT given the Covid situation? I miss my RMT dearly (in Ontario)!


----------



## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

indexxx said:


> Bumping this thread to say that I graduated from the program in January and wrote my Board Exams in March. I heard back on the weekend that I passed, so I will be a licensed RMT in about two weeks. It was a ridiculously difficult program but worth it- clinics are literally clamouring for therapists. It's never too late to change careers!


 Congrats! Glad to see it's working out even during these tough times. I know a few other people that have recently graduated. During these times, they have been doing private appt in peoples homes. It feels 'safer' (both are masked)


----------



## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

Congratulations! RMTs are highly respected in BC due to training requirements and are highly professional as discussed much earlier in this thread. I can't comment for anywhere other than my areas of BC, but RMTs are in very high demand in the Okanagan Valley, at least in the Central Okanagan where I live. There is a real shortage. I see an RMT every 4 weeks and she is booked well in advance. If I was not a repeat customer, bookings could be at least a month out.

There is no issue about seeing an RMT with the BC covid rules (with the exception of the first 3-4 months in 2020 when everything was shut down). There are the usual protocols and masking and I don't feel at risk. Covid transmission is mostly by air droplets and masking provides that protection. Most retail RMTs operate out of small businesses, either independently, or 2-3 in a small 'office'. I can't speak to those that work in an institutional/medical/health environment.


----------



## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

AltaRed said:


> Congratulations! RMTs are highly respected in BC due to training requirements and are highly professional as discussed much earlier in this thread. I can't comment for anywhere other than my areas of BC, but RMTs are in very high demand in the Okanagan Valley, at least in the Central Okanagan where I live. There is a real shortage. I see an RMT every 4 weeks and she is booked well in advance. If I was not a repeat customer, bookings could be at least a month out.
> 
> There is no issue about seeing an RMT with the BC covid rules (with the exception of the first 3-4 months in 2020 when everything was shut down). There are the usual protocols and masking and I don't feel at risk. Covid transmission is mostly by air droplets and masking provides that protection. Most retail RMTs operate out of small businesses, either independently, or 2-3 in a small 'office'. I can't speak to those that work in an institutional/medical/health environment.


Thanks Red and everyone else! @Beaver101; this quoted post is correct. I have been working non-registered up until now and there are simply protocols in place in clinics.

Good to know about the Okanagan (it's the same demand everywhere really; one of the reasons I chose this field)- there is an extremely high likelihood that I will relocate there within two years. I've always wanted to live in the OK but didn't have a vocation that was conducive to stable year-round income in that market.


----------



## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

^ Great to know people are feeling confidence about going to their RMTs at this time. 

Last time I read the health clinic where my RMT works - the protocol requirements were like pages and pages (or a PITA to attend). Now I feel (or my muscles) are like a pretzel.


----------

