There are two main reasons people go down a given career path. The first reason is that they’re passionate about a certain vocation. It gives them a deep sense of personal satisfaction, whether it’s because the career involves helping people, giving back to the community, or simply honing a craft that brings a lot of joy. The other reason, of course, is money. Certain careers are so lucrative that people embark on that path, even if it’s not something they’ve ever really dream about doing. The ability to own property and look after a family is reason enough to establish a career for some people.

Of course, we all know the best-case scenario: To spend your days doing something you absolutely love – and to be paid well for it! This is the ultimate career goal for a lot of people. After all, most of us spend a huge part of our life at work. If we can enjoy what we do, it makes life that much more joyful and inspired.

That’s one of the reason we love massage therapy so much. It’s one of those jobs that has enormous potential to give people the best of both worlds, especially if they receive a high level of training and take their work seriously. There are countless massage therapists out there who are doing incredibly well financially, and couldn’t be happier with their jobs.

But let’s get specific for a minute: How much money does a massage therapy make? For someone who’s just starting to investigate this career path, what can the realistically expect in terms of annual earnings?

According to a lot of the statistics you find online, the “average” massage therapist makes about $40,000 per year. This is a reasonable wage – nobody is saying otherwise. A lot of respectable people in respectable jobs and careers make even less than that. You’ll also see statistics that say the top 10 or 12% of earners in massage therapy make around $75,000 per year.

Those numbers are actually quite encouraging for a career that has such high levels of job satisfaction – but it’s worth pointing something else out: There are a lot of massage therapists out there making a lot more money than that! Often times, the most successful massage therapists will attract a team around them and will go down the path of owning a spa or massage therapy business. The possibilities in the health and wellness industries are boundless at the moment, and massage therapy is right in the middle of the action.

Getting the best possible start to your career

The massage therapy school you choose to start your career is probably the single most important thing to get right. The best schools are led by experienced, successful instructors. They give you a wide range of massage techniques, learned through classroom hours and plenty of real world experience. They also teach you the business side of things – because there too many newly certified massage therapists who graduate and enter the field without a solid grasp of how to run a flourishing independent practice – or how to make the most of working with a team. So choose the right school and get the most out of this exciting new chapter!