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What are your thoughts on ABMP's survey showing falling enrollment at massage schools and many small schools closing?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alexei Levine on
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Emmanuel- When you say the next market adjustment will be in the labor market, what do you mean? Do you think demand for massage therapists will be rising or falling? It's an interesting, and complex question as conventional medicine becomes increasingly expensive and reliant on pharmacology. So many people are starting to seek out healthy alternatives to stress relief because of bad experiences with prescription "relaxants", or come to think of it, stimulants like ritalin and adderall.
Also, the textbook market has been changed with the rise of Amazon.com offering used textbooks.
Daniel, I agree with you about the current state of "elective" massage education. An unfortunate result of over regulation.
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Permalink Reply by Emmanuel Bistas on
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Daniel, I agree with your statement. Thre are two variables that have the potential to change that, all other things being equal. One is an increasingly knowledgeable public that receives regular massages and expects higher quality (which will in turn cause massage therapists to pursue higher learning); the other is the recalibration of the NCBTMB with voluntary certification paths and recognition of those paths by the profession.
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Cohen on
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Today's internet savvy consumer usually checks out anything they are interested in online. The professional's online presence is increasingly important to expanding business. Education should become transparent to the potential client. More than increased quantity, the MTs background should be readily available. I think links to transcripts, organization memberships etc should be publicly available. The online presence will convince first time clients to get an appointment or not and for some the education will be important.
As for the quality of education, I think this can be greatly improved by developing comprehensive course text books. Many schools use copies from various sources or simply an anatomy text supplemented by instructor lecture. Professions have recognized scholarly text books used in many parts of the country. Develop this and we will not need more hours. Combine it with practical application coordinated through the text with teacher manuals and I think we would see an improvement in the quality of entry level practitioners.
Then follow up with the continuing education branches of your choice.
Perhaps some who don't want to learn Swedish or anatomy, those interested in reflexology of the feet or others wont agree, seeing it as burdensome and unnecessary. Swedish need not be the massage taught in basics but a standard base is important to a profession.
Emmanuel Bistas said:Daniel, I agree with your statement. Thre are two variables that have the potential to change that, all other things being equal. One is an increasingly knowledgeable public that receives regular massages and expects higher quality (which will in turn cause massage therapists to pursue higher learning); the other is the recalibration of the NCBTMB with voluntary certification paths and recognition of those paths by the profession.
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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on
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I don't know... Something is wrong with how massage is taught... They really are teaching for the test... Ive been doing this kind of work for years and I would flunk every test these new students take in school... For some reason, I dont need to know what they are teaching.. I mean really... ? I think every one should go through a bisic massage training for a couple months.. Then apprentice with a therapist that has had a succesful business for at least five years... split it up with two different apprenticeships six months each...Get signed off by the two professional therapists, pay money for a license.. then you are ready to practice.. Have a small minimum educational requirement each year to maintain your license. Something like that maybe?
Daniel Cohen said:Today's internet savvy consumer usually checks out anything they are interested in online. The professional's online presence is increasingly important to expanding business. Education should become transparent to the potential client. More than increased quantity, the MTs background should be readily available. I think links to transcripts, organization memberships etc should be publicly available. The online presence will convince first time clients to get an appointment or not and for some the education will be important.
As for the quality of education, I think this can be greatly improved by developing comprehensive course text books. Many schools use copies from various sources or simply an anatomy text supplemented by instructor lecture. Professions have recognized scholarly text books used in many parts of the country. Develop this and we will not need more hours. Combine it with practical application coordinated through the text with teacher manuals and I think we would see an improvement in the quality of entry level practitioners.
Then follow up with the continuing education branches of your choice.
Perhaps some who don't want to learn Swedish or anatomy, those interested in reflexology of the feet or others wont agree, seeing it as burdensome and unnecessary. Swedish need not be the massage taught in basics but a standard base is important to a profession.
Emmanuel Bistas said:Daniel, I agree with your statement. Thre are two variables that have the potential to change that, all other things being equal. One is an increasingly knowledgeable public that receives regular massages and expects higher quality (which will in turn cause massage therapists to pursue higher learning); the other is the recalibration of the NCBTMB with voluntary certification paths and recognition of those paths by the profession.
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But Gordon that would impact the economy reducing a large industry that would then require a bailout. Just leave it alone so the money gets spread around and tax dollars are needed for student loans which often go unpaid. Really Gordon if we simplified it there would be less big money to be put in fewer hands. Besides it is too reasonable.
Gordon J. Wallis said:I don't know... Something is wrong with how massage is taught... They really are teaching for the test... Ive been doing this kind of work for years and I would flunk every test these new students take in school... For some reason, I dont need to know what they are teaching.. I mean really... ? I think every one should go through a bisic massage training for a couple months.. Then apprentice with a therapist that has had a succesful business for at least five years... split it up with two different apprenticeships six months each...Get signed off by the two professional therapists, pay money for a license.. then you are ready to practice.. Have a small minimum educational requirement each year to maintain your license. Something like that maybe?
Daniel Cohen said:Today's internet savvy consumer usually checks out anything they are interested in online. The professional's online presence is increasingly important to expanding business. Education should become transparent to the potential client. More than increased quantity, the MTs background should be readily available. I think links to transcripts, organization memberships etc should be publicly available. The online presence will convince first time clients to get an appointment or not and for some the education will be important.
As for the quality of education, I think this can be greatly improved by developing comprehensive course text books. Many schools use copies from various sources or simply an anatomy text supplemented by instructor lecture. Professions have recognized scholarly text books used in many parts of the country. Develop this and we will not need more hours. Combine it with practical application coordinated through the text with teacher manuals and I think we would see an improvement in the quality of entry level practitioners.
Then follow up with the continuing education branches of your choice.
Perhaps some who don't want to learn Swedish or anatomy, those interested in reflexology of the feet or others wont agree, seeing it as burdensome and unnecessary. Swedish need not be the massage taught in basics but a standard base is important to a profession.
Emmanuel Bistas said:Daniel, I agree with your statement. Thre are two variables that have the potential to change that, all other things being equal. One is an increasingly knowledgeable public that receives regular massages and expects higher quality (which will in turn cause massage therapists to pursue higher learning); the other is the recalibration of the NCBTMB with voluntary certification paths and recognition of those paths by the profession.
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LOL It would still be expensive though. Maybe even more expensive? .. You would have to pay the therapist thats apprenticing you... He has to teach you what he knows and does... Everything about the business....Actually thats the way the Hawaii License was for me...Except we still had to pass a Big state exam after. But if you had money after all that, and clients..lol.. You could run your own business.. .
Daniel Cohen said:But Gordon that would impact the economy reducing a large industry that would then require a bailout. Just leave it alone so the money gets spread around and tax dollars are needed for student loans which often go unpaid. Really Gordon if we simplified it there would be less big money to be put in fewer hands. Besides it is too reasonable.
Gordon J. Wallis said:I don't know... Something is wrong with how massage is taught... They really are teaching for the test... Ive been doing this kind of work for years and I would flunk every test these new students take in school... For some reason, I dont need to know what they are teaching.. I mean really... ? I think every one should go through a bisic massage training for a couple months.. Then apprentice with a therapist that has had a succesful business for at least five years... split it up with two different apprenticeships six months each...Get signed off by the two professional therapists, pay money for a license.. then you are ready to practice.. Have a small minimum educational requirement each year to maintain your license. Something like that maybe?
Daniel Cohen said:Today's internet savvy consumer usually checks out anything they are interested in online. The professional's online presence is increasingly important to expanding business. Education should become transparent to the potential client. More than increased quantity, the MTs background should be readily available. I think links to transcripts, organization memberships etc should be publicly available. The online presence will convince first time clients to get an appointment or not and for some the education will be important.
As for the quality of education, I think this can be greatly improved by developing comprehensive course text books. Many schools use copies from various sources or simply an anatomy text supplemented by instructor lecture. Professions have recognized scholarly text books used in many parts of the country. Develop this and we will not need more hours. Combine it with practical application coordinated through the text with teacher manuals and I think we would see an improvement in the quality of entry level practitioners.
Then follow up with the continuing education branches of your choice.
Perhaps some who don't want to learn Swedish or anatomy, those interested in reflexology of the feet or others wont agree, seeing it as burdensome and unnecessary. Swedish need not be the massage taught in basics but a standard base is important to a profession.
Emmanuel Bistas said:Daniel, I agree with your statement. Thre are two variables that have the potential to change that, all other things being equal. One is an increasingly knowledgeable public that receives regular massages and expects higher quality (which will in turn cause massage therapists to pursue higher learning); the other is the recalibration of the NCBTMB with voluntary certification paths and recognition of those paths by the profession.
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"Emmanuel- When you say the next market adjustment will be in the labor market, what do you mean?Do you think demand for massage therapists will be rising or falling? "
Demand is going up and it's increasing even faster than before. I have not seen any official numbers on how many massage business are out there but there so many places offering massages now, from the franchise places to the expensive spas, to DCs and PTs and hospitals and, yet, everybody is busy. Thanks to chains like Massage Envy, more and more people are trying massage and there is no end in sight in terms of demand.
On the supply side we don't have a similar increase, especially with the adjustment in enrollment numbers we have seen in the past couple years.
If these two trends continue, all other things being equal, we should start seeing a relative shortage of therapists which should drive therapist wages higher. Higher wages will cause employer margins to drop and to an eventual slowdown of new businesses entering the marketplace, as business owners don't find it as marketable to do business. The ability of low-price massage establishments to be in business will depend more on MT availability and less on public's demand for services. Eventually, as career seekers find out that MTs can make a decent living, enrollments will go up again.
I would be curious to see official numbers - the AMTA fact sheet that used to provide a good indication seemed totally out of whack this year, but that has been my observation being an employer and business owner. Other employers share the same thoughts, a couple weeks ago I was having a discussion with a fairly large-size employer and he was saying in previous years he would post a job and he would get hundreds of resumes, now he posts a job and gets 20 or 30 resumes.
I know to some extent "high massage therapist wages" sounds silly when MTs report such low annual earnings as we have seen, but that is due to the part-time nature of work and overall utilization, not the hourly rate.
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Thanks for your input Emmanuel, as usual you are spot on. I've been thinking the same thing, that demand for MT's continues unabated, yet student enrollment has dropped. It'll be interesting to see if there's a rebound in enrollments (and if massage therapists wages begin to rise).
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Permalink Reply by Shelene Taylor on
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Same thing has happened with my business - I have five locations in Tucson, Arizona with 125 employees. When I used to run ads we would receive a lot of resumes - now we receive about 1/4 of what we used to. I am not as large as the employer you were speaking of but I am also feeling the trend of less therapists. I agree with your last statement re wages, and I also know that those that treat their jobs like a career instead of a hobby do really well.
Emmanuel Bistas said:"Emmanuel- When you say the next market adjustment will be in the labor market, what do you mean?Do you think demand for massage therapists will be rising or falling? "
Demand is going up and it's increasing even faster than before. I have not seen any official numbers on how many massage business are out there but there so many places offering massages now, from the franchise places to the expensive spas, to DCs and PTs and hospitals and, yet, everybody is busy. Thanks to chains like Massage Envy, more and more people are trying massage and there is no end in sight in terms of demand.
On the supply side we don't have a similar increase, especially with the adjustment in enrollment numbers we have seen in the past couple years.
If these two trends continue, all other things being equal, we should start seeing a relative shortage of therapists which should drive therapist wages higher. Higher wages will cause employer margins to drop and to an eventual slowdown of new businesses entering the marketplace, as business owners don't find it as marketable to do business. The ability of low-price massage establishments to be in business will depend more on MT availability and less on public's demand for services. Eventually, as career seekers find out that MTs can make a decent living, enrollments will go up again.
I would be curious to see official numbers - the AMTA fact sheet that used to provide a good indication seemed totally out of whack this year, but that has been my observation being an employer and business owner. Other employers share the same thoughts, a couple weeks ago I was having a discussion with a fairly large-size employer and he was saying in previous years he would post a job and he would get hundreds of resumes, now he posts a job and gets 20 or 30 resumes.
I know to some extent "high massage therapist wages" sounds silly when MTs report such low annual earnings as we have seen, but that is due to the part-time nature of work and overall utilization, not the hourly rate.
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Yet the average career span for a massage therapist is only six years? How does that fit in with what you are saying? Hmm..
Emmanuel Bistas said:"Emmanuel- When you say the next market adjustment will be in the labor market, what do you mean?Do you think demand for massage therapists will be rising or falling? "
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Demand is going up and it's increasing even faster than before. I have not seen any official numbers on how many massage business are out there but there so many places offering massages now, from the franchise places to the expensive spas, to DCs and PTs and hospitals and, yet, everybody is busy. Thanks to chains like Massage Envy, more and more people are trying massage and there is no end in sight in terms of demand.
On the supply side we don't have a similar increase, especially with the adjustment in enrollment numbers we have seen in the past couple years.
If these two trends continue, all other things being equal, we should start seeing a relative shortage of therapists which should drive therapist wages higher. Higher wages will cause employer margins to drop and to an eventual slowdown of new businesses entering the marketplace, as business owners don't find it as marketable to do business. The ability of low-price massage establishments to be in business will depend more on MT availability and less on public's demand for services. Eventually, as career seekers find out that MTs can make a decent living, enrollments will go up again.
I would be curious to see official numbers - the AMTA fact sheet that used to provide a good indication seemed totally out of whack this year, but that has been my observation being an employer and business owner. Other employers share the same thoughts, a couple weeks ago I was having a discussion with a fairly large-size employer and he was saying in previous years he would post a job and he would get hundreds of resumes, now he posts a job and gets 20 or 30 resumes.
I know to some extent "high massage therapist wages" sounds silly when MTs report such low annual earnings as we have seen, but that is due to the part-time nature of work and overall utilization, not the hourly rate.
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Gordon, I used to think this statistic to be true, but I don't know if we can depend on it anymore. MTs may drop in and out of the profession several times in their lifetimes, depending on their life situations, income needs, career alternatives, etc. I don't know how we can get accurate numbers on this.
Since for the vast majority of MTs, massage therapy is not a 40-hr per week job and they tend to fill the rest of the time with other work, they may shift back and forth between other things and massage therapy.
I am starting to think that the burnout factor and some of the other ills that are frequently mentioned (low wages, not being able to make a living, etc) are not unique to massage therapy. I see accountants who go to school for four years, graduate and go to work for $25/hr for Robert Half and other staffing agencies, with no benefits. Or they may get full-time jobs at 60-70K per year with benefits and when you figure how many hours they actually have to work in unpaid overtime it turns out to be the same.
Then I see MTs who go to school for six months and pay less than 10K for their schooling and they make twice that per hour right after school.
The world is upside down (and there is nothing wrong with that). I think we need new metrics to understand how therapists fare.
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Most of the MT's I know of that have left the profession have done so not because of burnout, but to explore other experiences. There are many wonderful and varied experiences to be had, and we only get a short time on this planet. It's not necessarily a bad thing if a massage therapist chooses to do something else after a few years. It might just mean they are a smart and talented person who wants to do many things with their time. Many people choose to experience more than one career these days.
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