Reflections of Health Massage School Podcast

Touch & Transform: Why Massage School Might Be Your Best Move Yet

• Tammy Cox • Episode 3

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How Do I Know If Massage Therapy Is The Right Career For Me?

Could your natural ability to soothe aches and pains be more than just a helpful trait? For many massage therapy students, that intuitive touch is the first sign of a fulfilling career waiting to happen.

"Caring is a big word," explains John Kessner, founder of Reflections of Health School of Massage, describing what makes someone right for this profession. "When they try to help someone and they do help them, they feel good inside." This intrinsic satisfaction from alleviating others' discomfort is the foundation of a successful massage therapy career—one that offers remarkable returns on a relatively brief educational investment.

The path to becoming a licensed massage therapist takes just 30 weeks, requiring 650 hours of training that can be completed through flexible weekday, weeknight, or weekend schedules. Unlike many healthcare careers requiring years of education, massage therapy provides graduates with a legitimate healthcare license and impressive earning potential—$72-74 per hour on average across the United States, according to the American Massage Therapy Association.

What truly sets massage therapy apart is the diversity of career opportunities. Graduates can establish private practices, join medical offices, work at spas or wellness centers, travel with cruise ships, serve clients at fitness facilities, or even operate from their homes. This flexibility extends to work schedules, allowing therapists to design careers that complement their lifestyle needs and personal goals. With students ranging from 18 to 70 years old and coming from diverse backgrounds—including nurses and doctors seeking complementary skills—massage therapy welcomes anyone with healing hands and a genuine desire to help others.

Schedule your tour and consultation today by calling 423-804-3067 or visiting reflectionsofhealth.com and discover if your hands could be the foundation of a rewarding healthcare career.

To learn more about Reflections of Health School of Massage, Inc. visit:
https://www.ReflectionsofHealth.com
Reflections of Health School of Massage, Inc.
1604 Lamons Ln, Ste 207a
Johnson City, TN 37604
423-804-3067

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Reflections of Health Massage School Podcast, where healing hands become powerful careers. Whether you're looking to escape the 9-to-5 grind, earn extra income during college or finally get paid for all those family shoulder rubs, massage therapy could be your next big move. Join us as we explore the power of touch, the path to purpose, and why starting your journey in massage therapy might be the smartest decision you'll ever make.

Speaker 2:

If you've ever dreamed of a career with meaning, flexibility and real income potential, up a career with meaning, flexibility and real income potential, massage therapy might be the calling. But how do you know if it's truly the right fit for you? Welcome back everybody. Skip Monty, here, co-host, slash producer, back in the studio with a very special guest, Mr John Kessner, who is the founder and former director of Reflections of Health School of Massage. John, how's it going?

Speaker 3:

It's going good.

Speaker 2:

All right. Well, we're thrilled to have you here. Tammy asked you to jump in and share some of your expertise. I think you used to be in recruitment, so for those who may be on the fence about making a decision, can you answer the question? How do I know if massage therapy is the right career for me?

Speaker 3:

can you answer the question? How do I know if massage therapy is the right career for me? I sure can, especially after doing recruitment for about 15 to 20 years and talking to students and asking that question. You know what made you think about massage, and a lot of times the students have already worked on people who've had shoulder problems, neck problems, and they will have tried to alleviate their pain and not having an education at that point.

Speaker 3:

But caring is a big word and that's what people want to do is care for an individual. When they try to help them out and they do help them they feel good inside and we all want to feel good and, like you said, this is a profession. And so, if I hear the stories, well, mama told me, boy, I ought to do something with my hands, or the grandpa or whoever. Then they have that already. That affirmation that says, hey, you've got a touch, and everybody has a touch, just depends on what they want to do with it. So we like to say that if you're ready to think about school and think about a program that's going to put you into a healthcare profession because your license is in the healthcare profession then massage. You have already experienced that and you already feel good. Now, if you look at from the business point here, you have a 650-hour course. It's about 30 weeks. You're going to finish that up. You're going to start a business and you're going to make that up. You're going to start a business and you're going to make in the average. With the AMT, which is American Massage Therapy Association, with their statistics, we're making anywhere from $72 to $74 an hour average across the United States and that's for 30 weeks. So I look at it as like all right, I come out and I get a health care license. Which doctors get health care license? Right Nurses get healthcare license. This is the same type of healthcare license except it's massage, and you come out of school after 30 weeks and able to start a business.

Speaker 3:

And the nice thing is there's many types of different businesses you can get so excited about. You can do your own personal practice at a professional building. You can go on tours and go on ships and boats and get a job there. You can also work for doctors in their office your job placement and what you want to do. You can work with other therapists. You can go to YMCA. So there's so many different directions that you can go. Now you could do that mix and match. As I say do three in a doctor's office, two in another office that you've rented out, so you can really stay busy helping people. Since COVID we've seen a big up spike in massage therapy. So once you get that niche, that you feel that this is what you want to do, then the program is ideally put together so that you can speed through it in 30 weeks, get out there and get to work.

Speaker 2:

How soon can students start earning after they've become licensed?

Speaker 3:

You do have a national board test that we prepare you for and you do have to get that and fill out your paperwork for the state and send in money for the state for the license. Usually you're looking depending on the student, because as soon as you can take that test you can get your paperwork set up and ready to go into state and you're looking anywhere from six to eight weeks Wow.

Speaker 2:

Very good. It's not too bad. Not too bad at all. So how flexible is the training schedule? You said it's 30 weeks. How flexible is that? Yeah?

Speaker 3:

Basically how we set up years ago so that we could have a set schedule for and it's just gone up to 750 hours, which puts us on a weekday and weeknight. We're set on a certain schedule of four days, in other words you're going to school from 8 to 2 30, then you're going to go weeknights 4 to 9 30, then we do a weekend class which is on a two and a half day schedule. So it really jams in on a weekend. But everybody likes that weekend class for some reason, so we always have a nice crowd on the weekends.

Speaker 2:

Wow, so very flexible, depending on what. If you've got a day job or night job, you can work around it.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely, and that's why we did the three programs, so that we can get you on the weekends in 30 weeks, very good.

Speaker 2:

Well, are there opportunities to specialize in different types of massage?

Speaker 3:

All specialty is usually dependent on the techniques that you choose, and we teach variations of all of our techniques during the school program and then, of course, when you come out, they're called educational units that they have to take to keep their license, and so there's where a lot of the specialty is done and added on to a certificate programs and things like that with with the technique department.

Speaker 2:

Gotcha, gotcha. Well, it sounds like a great opportunity for somebody. I don't think I have a touch, but you know I like Well, that's it, you still have a getting massages.

Speaker 3:

Well, that's it Now. You still have a touch, though, yeah that's true, that's true. Everybody has a touch it's just dependent on. Is this what I want to do? Do I feel like this is what I want to do for a career?

Speaker 3:

And it's a long-term career, Everybody thinks well, massages, you're all the time working with your hands and you'll wear yourself out, but you may be able to do that five days a week. To me it's a win-win situation because you know it's 30 weeks, 650 hours. You do get a license that does keep you in a healthcare profession, that does keep you connected to the healthcare world so that you're networking with those people. And there's another part of the business world that you could talk about. But really you shouldn't have any trouble getting out into business and being busy, depending on what you want to do. Right, Very good, that's another thing. You got a choice. You can stay at home and work if you want to.

Speaker 2:

True, yeah. So what kind of personality traits, if there are any, make someone a great massage therapist?

Speaker 3:

Well, we range from 18 to 70 years old. Wow, we're going to get RNs. We've gotten RNs. We've had one doctor come in and do the program. So you get a personality traits to somebody who's really enjoys helping people and when they get the results, it fulfills them.

Speaker 2:

Very good, very good, good thing to remember. Yeah Well, john, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you stopping by today by the studio, and we will maybe catch you in another episode in the near future. Sounds good, all right. Well, thanks so much, and you have a episode in the near future Sounds good, all right. Well, thanks so much, and you have a great rest of the day, you too.

Speaker 1:

Think you've got the touch, let's make it official. Call or text 423-804-3067 to schedule your tour and consultation, or visit reflectionsofhealthcom. Your future could be just one massage away and, let's be honest, being everyone's favorite stress reliever isn't a bad gig.