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

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

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Reflections of Health Massage
School Podcast, where healinghands become powerful careers.
Whether you're looking toescape the 9-to-5 grind, earn
extra income during college orfinally get paid for all those
family shoulder rubs, massagetherapy could be your next big
move.
Join us as we explore the powerof touch, the path to purpose,

(00:26):
and why starting your journey inmassage therapy might be the
smartest decision you'll evermake.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
If you've ever dreamed of a career with meaning
, flexibility and real incomepotential, up a career with
meaning, flexibility and realincome potential, massage
therapy might be the calling.
But how do you know if it'struly 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 ofReflections of Health School of

(01:02):
Massage.
John, how's it going?

Speaker 3 (01:05):
It's going good.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
All right.
Well, we're thrilled to haveyou here.
Tammy asked you to jump in andshare some of your expertise.
I think you used to be inrecruitment, so for those who
may be on the fence about makinga decision, can you answer the
question?
How do I know if massagetherapy is the right career for
me?

Speaker 3 (01:26):
can you answer the question?
How do I know if massagetherapy is the right career for
me?
I sure can, especially afterdoing recruitment for about 15
to 20 years and talking tostudents and asking that
question.
You know what made you thinkabout massage, and a lot of
times the students have alreadyworked on people who've had
shoulder problems, neck problems, and they will have tried to

(01:47):
alleviate their pain and nothaving an education at that
point.
But caring is a big word andthat's what people want to do is
care for an individual.
When they try to help them outand they do help them they feel
good inside and we all want tofeel good and, like you said,

(02:08):
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, justdepends on what they want to do

(02:28):
with it.
So we like to say that ifyou're ready to think about
school and think about a programthat's going to put you into a
healthcare profession becauseyour license is in the
healthcare profession thenmassage.
You have already experiencedthat and you already feel good.
Now, if you look at from thebusiness point here, you have a

(02:49):
650-hour course.
It's about 30 weeks.
You're going to finish that up.
You're going to start abusiness and you're going to
make that up.
You're going to start abusiness and you're going to
make in the average.
With the AMT, which is AmericanMassage Therapy Association,
with their statistics, we'remaking anywhere from $72 to $74
an hour average across theUnited States and that's for 30

(03:12):
weeks.
So I look at it as like allright, I come out and I get a
health care license.
Which doctors get health carelicense?
Right Nurses get healthcarelicense.
This is the same type ofhealthcare license except it's
massage, and you come out ofschool after 30 weeks and able
to start a business.
And the nice thing is there'smany types of different

(03:33):
businesses you can get soexcited about.
You can do your own personalpractice at a professional
building.
You can go on tours and go onships and boats and get a job
there.
You can also work for doctorsin their office your job
placement and what you want todo.

(03:54):
You can work with othertherapists.
You can go to YMCA.
So there's so many differentdirections that you can go.
Now you could do that mix andmatch.
As I say do three in a doctor'soffice, two in another office
that you've rented out, so youcan really stay busy helping
people.
Since COVID we've seen a big upspike in massage therapy.

(04:16):
So once you get that niche,that you feel that this is what
you want to do, then the programis ideally put together so that
you can speed through it in 30weeks, get out there and get to
work.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
How soon can students start earning after they've
become licensed?

Speaker 3 (04:36):
You do have a national board test that we
prepare you for and you do haveto get that and fill out your
paperwork for the state and sendin money for the state for the
license.
Usually you're lookingdepending on the student,
because as soon as you can takethat test you can get your
paperwork set up and ready to gointo state and you're looking

(04:57):
anywhere from six to eight weeksWow.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
Very good.
It's not too bad.
Not too bad at all.
So how flexible is the trainingschedule?
You said it's 30 weeks.
How flexible is that?
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (05:11):
Basically how we set up years ago so that we could
have a set schedule for and it'sjust gone up to 750 hours,
which puts us on a weekday andweeknight.
We're set on a certain scheduleof four days, in other words
you're going to school from 8 to2 30, then you're going to go

(05:31):
weeknights 4 to 9 30, then we doa weekend class which is on a
two and a half day schedule.
So it really jams in on aweekend.
But everybody likes thatweekend class for some reason,
so we always have a nice crowdon the weekends.

Speaker 2 (05:45):
Wow, so very flexible , depending on what.
If you've got a day job ornight job, you can work around
it.

Speaker 3 (05:52):
Absolutely, and that's why we did the three
programs, so that we can get youon the weekends in 30 weeks,
very good.

Speaker 2 (05:59):
Well, are there opportunities to specialize in
different types of massage?

Speaker 3 (06:04):
All specialty is usually dependent on the
techniques that you choose, andwe teach variations of all of
our techniques during the schoolprogram and then, of course,
when you come out, they'recalled educational units that
they have to take to keep theirlicense, and so there's where a
lot of the specialty is done andadded on to a certificate

(06:25):
programs and things like thatwith with the technique
department.

Speaker 2 (06:29):
Gotcha, gotcha.
Well, it sounds like a greatopportunity for somebody.
I don't think I have a touch,but you know I like Well, that's
it, you still have a gettingmassages.

Speaker 3 (06:38):
Well, that's it Now.
You still have a touch, though,yeah that's true, that's true.
Everybody has a touch it's justdependent on.
Is this what I want to do?
Do I feel like this is what Iwant to do for a career?
And it's a long-term career,Everybody thinks well, massages,
you're all the time workingwith your hands and you'll wear
yourself out, but you may beable to do that five days a week

(07:03):
.
To me it's a win-win situationbecause you know it's 30 weeks,
650 hours.
You do get a license that doeskeep you in a healthcare
profession, that does keep youconnected to the healthcare
world so that you're networkingwith those people.
And there's another part of thebusiness world that you could

(07:23):
talk about.
But really you shouldn't haveany trouble getting out into
business and being busy,depending on what you want to do
.
Right, Very good, that'sanother thing.
You got a choice.
You can stay at home and workif you want to.

Speaker 2 (07:35):
True, yeah.
So what kind of personalitytraits, if there are any, make
someone a great massagetherapist?

Speaker 3 (07:45):
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 inand do the program.
So you get a personality traitsto somebody who's really enjoys

(08:06):
helping people and when theyget the results, it fulfills
them.

Speaker 2 (08:11):
Very good, very good, good thing to remember.
Yeah Well, john, I can't tellyou how much I appreciate you
stopping by today by the studio,and we will maybe catch you in
another episode in the nearfuture.
Sounds good, all right.
Well, thanks so much, and youhave a episode in the near
future Sounds good, all right.
Well, thanks so much, and youhave a great rest of the day,
you too.

Speaker 1 (08:32):
Think you've got the touch, let's make it official.
Call or text 423-804-3067 toschedule your tour and
consultation, or visitreflectionsofhealthcom.
Your future could be just onemassage away and, let's be
honest, being everyone'sfavorite stress reliever isn't a

(08:54):
bad gig.