Massage Therapist

What massage therapists make

RMTs (registered massage therapists) are paid per treatment, not per hour on shift. Income depends on how many hours you can fill and how much of the fee you keep. Job Bank's survey shows about $33,000 to $62,400 a year with the median sitting at the bottom of that range, which says more about how many RMTs (registered massage therapists) work part time than about what a full book earns.

Per treatment

In a clinic you usually keep 60% to 70% of that. In your own space you keep it all but pay rent, laundry, booking software and insurance.

The physical ceiling

This is the honest limit on pay. 25 hours at $100 with a 65% split is roughly $80,000 a year gross, and your hands, wrists and shoulders have to hold up for decades.

What it costs to get there

Massage therapy diploma (2 to 3 years, about 2,200 hours in Ontario and longer in BC)

$8,000 to $12,000 a year at public colleges; $25,000 to $35,000 total at private schools

Provincial registration exams

About $1,650 in Ontario for the written and practical exams

Annual registration and insurance

$700 to $1,200

Table, linens, supplies

$1,000 to $2,000 to start

Roughly, all in

$19,000 to $40,000

Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel

The low end is a public college diploma at the cheaper end of the range taken over two years, plus the registration exams, a first year of insurance and a basic table and linens. The high end is a private school charging 25,000 to 35,000 for the whole program, or a longer British Columbia program, with a fuller kit. Neither figure includes the unpaid student clinic hours you work near the end of the program. Registration and insurance of 700 to 1,200 a year continue for as long as you practise.

Total $20,000 to $40,000. One of the cheaper regulated health careers to enter.

Benefits

• Usually none provided

  Most RMTs (registered massage therapists) are self-employed: no pension, no sick pay, no health plan unless you buy one.

• Clients can claim you on insurance

  In regulated provinces, workplace health plans cover RMT (registered massage therapist) treatments, which keeps demand steady.

• Flexible hours

  Many RMTs (registered massage therapists) work 3 or 4 days a week.

• Low start-up cost

  A table, a room and a booking app.

The path

A college diploma, provincial exams, then building a client list.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   Biology and anatomy if offered. A high school diploma and a police check are the entry requirements.

2. 2

   Massage therapy diploma

   2 to 3 years

   Two to three years at a public college or accredited private school. Ontario requires about 2,200 hours and BC programs run longer, up to about 3,000: anatomy, physiology, pathology, technique, and a student clinic treating the public.

3. 3

   Provincial exams

   After graduation

   In Ontario the CMTO (College of Massage Therapists of Ontario) runs a written exam and a practical exam. BC and the other regulated provinces run their own.

4. 4

   Register and insure

   A few weeks

   Register with your provincial college and buy malpractice insurance. Then you can use the title RMT (registered massage therapist).

5. 5

   Build a client list

   1 to 2 years

   Most new grads start on a clinic split or at a spa. It takes 1 to 2 years to fill a book.

High school courses that help

• Biology

  Anatomy is the core of the program.

• Physical education or kinesiology

• English

  Treatment notes and client communication.

• Business or accounting

  You will be self-employed.

Time and money, at a glance

Years after high school

2 to 3

Admission

Open at most schools; a high school diploma is required

Total tuition

$16,000 to $35,000

Paid while training?

No, though the student clinic gives real experience

Regulated in some provinces, not all

Massage therapy is regulated in Ontario, BC, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and PEI. In those provinces only registrants can call themselves RMTs (registered massage therapists), and insurers only reimburse them. Elsewhere, including Alberta and Quebec, anyone can practise massage and voluntary associations set the standards. An Ontario or BC diploma is the strongest credential to carry anywhere.

Where people study

Public colleges are cheaper; private schools are faster and more numerous. A few examples:

• Humber, Centennial, Fanshawe, Algonquin, Georgian

  Ontario public colleges

• Canadian College of Massage and Hydrotherapy

  Ontario private school, several campuses

• Vancouver College of Massage Therapy, West Coast College of Massage Therapy, Okanagan Valley College of Massage Therapy

  British Columbia

• Private career colleges

  In every regulated province

Extras that raise income

• Sports massage

  Team and event work, higher rates, travel.

• Manual lymphatic drainage

  Post-surgery and cancer care; a specialized niche.

• Prenatal and pediatric massage

• Your own space

  Renting a room or working from home raises what you keep per hour from about 65% to 100%.

Nice-to-haves

• Strong hands and a strong core

  Seriously. Build them before you start.

• Customer service jobs

  Repeat clients are the whole business.

• First aid and CPR

• Basic bookkeeping

Spas versus clinics

Spa work is paid hourly or per treatment at lower rates, often $25 to $35 an hour plus tips, but the bookings come to you. Clinic and self-employed work pays double per hour but you find your own clients. Many RMTs (registered massage therapists) start in a spa and leave once they have a following.

A typical day

Four to six 60-minute treatments with 15 minutes between to change linens, wash up and write notes. A mix of tight desk-worker necks, runners' legs, post-surgery scar work and people who just need to relax. Late afternoons and evenings fill first. You go home physically tired and mentally quiet.

The honest trade-offs

Work life

Typical hours

20 to 30 treatment hours a week, plus admin

Remote work

No

Physical demand

Very high

Unionized

No, except a few hospital and rehab jobs

Similar paths

Like the field but not this exact job?

• PhysiotherapistGet people moving again after injury, surgery and illness. A tough master's to get into, then steady work everywhere.
• ChiropractorTreat backs, necks and joints with your hands. A doctor's title and a private-practice income that starts slow and builds.
• KinesiologistMovement, exercise and rehab science. A popular 4-year degree that opens doors, but the degree alone pays modestly.

Regulated in Ontario for about a century

Ontario has regulated massage therapy since the years just after the First World War, longer than most health professions. BC followed in the 1940s.

Some of the longest training in the world

Ontario's 2,200-hour standard, and BC's even longer programs, are among the highest massage therapy training requirements anywhere. Many US states require 500 to 750 hours.

Most work part time

Because treatment is so physical, a typical RMT (registered massage therapist) does 15 to 25 hands-on hours a week and rarely works 5 full days.

December is the busiest month

In regulated provinces, workplace health plans usually cover a few hundred dollars of massage a year per person. Clinics fill up in November and December as people rush to use it before it resets.