The burning questions for any occupational education are "Are there jobs in this field?" and "How will I get work in this field?"
According to federal and industry sources, massage therapy is a growing industry and shows no sign of slowing, much less stopping its growth. In many areas of the country, schools can't put enough students through their programs to supply the demand for massage therapists. There are plenty of jobs in this field.
The real question for each student then is, "How will I get work in this field?"
For students fortunate enough to be in a school that is aggressive in placement, it's not a difficult question to answer. The better schools have a system of placement that is bifaceted; placement for them is aggressive, and it's open to grads for their lifetimes.
Aggressive placement goes beyond having a placement office that takes messages from organizations looking for therapists and then waits for phone calls from grads to tell them about these new opportunities. It goes beyond sending out an e-mail broadcast of openings to all its grads.
Aggressive placement begins with counseling students as they progress through their program, quarter by quarter or module by module. The goal is to follow each student's process in determining where her heart is in terms of type of practice. Aggressive placement continues with working with in-school students on their resumes, helping them develop all-important interview skills that will be useful with prospective employers and clients alike and finding interview opportunities for each student in their respective areas of specific interest.
More than that, aggressive placement doesn't stop there. It continues through directing grads into available continuing education units (CEUs) to enhance their skill sets, and then working with those students at their direction to find where they may better apply those improved skill sets. It's an ongoing, developmental process—and it's available for a lifetime.
You'll find that in the better schools.
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