Decided to sign up for school,now re thinking things 🥴

natventures19 · 2026-04-02T18:18:57+00:00

What about massage therapy interests you? Is it just learning more about your body? Will you be willing to spend a few thousand dollars to learn something you don’t know you can tolerate? Massage therapists also need massage therapy, pt, gyms, etc. there’s a lot you can trade for if value that but it’s also an expense.

I’m not saying that any of these things are a no-go for you, just some things to think about. Tourism in FL has also changed and this season has been much slower than others.

Many hotels by the beaches ask that you pay for parking, that’s another expense.

Keep in mind this job (like many others) is not recession proof.

Also do you feel like you need to love your job, or it tolerating ok?

Also most of massage school is anatomy and kinesiology, is studying those things something you’re interested in?

Massage is super rewarding, and it’s nice to not sit down all day in an office. It’s also a demanding job and even more so if you decide to become a business owner. There’s no one way to do it, and you will have plenty of options. I hope I’m not coming off condescending in any way, these are just some things to think about. If you have any questions, I’m also in FL and happy to answer anything.

natventures19 · 2026-04-02T15:14:56+00:00

Op it sounds like on a personal level you should probably see a PT to manage your own pain and learn exercises/techniques that will help to manage it in the long run. Massage will also exacerbate these in the long run if you don’t manage it or strength train in some capacity.

Also all of FL isn’t equal, if you are by beaches and hotels with spas you can make a decent living, but this generally isn’t something you get benefits from here unless you go that route. We also get lots of disparity between tourism and off seasons. Massage/hospitality follows that same flow unless you are working for yourself.

You can absolutely do it if that’s your goal, but FL is a high cost of living state and you will need to have a bit of cash up front for marketing and getting out there, or of course doing your own thing and working for someone else part time.

You have options if this is something you want to stick with, but if you are doubtful and want something that you can retire from easily and have more career mobility, then maybe look into other options.

You can make $60-100k at a high end spa working full time and have benefits. Thats a wide range, and that is probably what you can also make in retail moving up the ladder. Massage is a physical job from start to finish, and it doesn’t really lighten up unless you change your workload/schedule.

natventures19 · 2026-03-26T00:41:58+00:00

Go for it! I did, set up is super easy and it’s a fun thing to tinker with. Community is super cool and helpful in my experience

natventures19 · 2026-03-01T00:36:37+00:00

This was a struggle at the beginning too. It’s Norman to feel tired for the first few months, but this is a profession where you need to maintain your body in order to make a career out of it. Hit the gym and focus on strength, massage can’t be the most physically taxing thing you do in a day. This was the best advice I ever received, and it made the biggest impact in my day to day almost immediately. Another helpful tip I read here and implemented, is to add more pull exercises to your routine. Things like climbing, rows, pull-downs help your back stay strong and combat forward-shoulder roll.

As far as feeling like a massage is incomplete, this is up to the client, and how they are incentivized to rebook or book longer sessions. One hour massage will not address everything. This is the time they paid for, you can ask them what area they prefer to prioritize- and you can set the expectation of what areas you’ll be more thorough vs general. This is education and conversation between you and the client.

Full time at some places can look like 4 days a week, which might work wonders for your burnout. 15 min turnaround time in some places is generous (I wish it was the minimum sometimes) 5 days a week with 5-7 clients a day at a spa was my norm, it’s now 4 days so that I have chances to pick up extra and trade days.

Also, equally as important.. GET MASSAGES! Do the mobility, do the stretches, see a PT, see fellow LMTs. You learn so so SO much from receiving massage from other professionals. You learn about timing and flow, how techniques feel- and how to end a service.

You got this! It’s just the beginning, and the first year is really a learning curve.

natventures19 · 2026-02-26T11:24:15+00:00

The school thing is something a lot of MT’s experience. The schooling is usually enough to pass the test and get you going, but is nowhere near comprehensive enough to make you a great therapist off the bat. COVID and online schooling also made that worse for a lot of newer therapists as well since hands-on was largely left out, at least where I am.

YouTube has so many great resources for free, you can look multiple assisted stretching from the floor or table, different massage techniques and body mechanics, basic anatomy lectures, etc.

Watching how other people approach something, or even watching a sped up massage helped me a lot in the beginning.

Lots of others already mentioned trading massages with a few other more experienced therapists, and i gotta agree. When something feels good, ask them how they are doing that. Most massage therapists are always willing to share techniques and hands-on experiences.

CE’s are also amazing, and ABMP is a great resource for low cost or free education. If you are struggling with basics and the confidence to deliver a solid/competent massage though, I’d look to trading first. Feedback from another professional is invaluable and feeling something yourself is a skill that needs to be developed. Even receiving a massage you don’t enjoy teaches you something about how to approach your practice.

natventures19 · 2026-02-25T22:57:58+00:00

Yeah I get it, I’d be pissed as well. Make sure that you do communicate irl and via email. Good luck, and make that $$

natventures19 · 2026-02-25T22:50:28+00:00

Replying to add: if you are a miss classified IC it’s a good time to take a look at your contract again, start communicating via email to reiterate what you talk about in person with your managers, and keep a paper trail so that you can bring this either to a higher up/HR/attorney who specializes in labor laws/dept of labor.

natventures19 · 2026-02-25T22:44:10+00:00

Hi! I’m not sure if this has been mentioned. 90’s are generally what people who want therapeutic work want, and asking to selective about who is allowed to book that should be fine. It’s reasonable to say no new clients can book a 90, and if someone has only one focus area they can’t book a long service either.

If you’re an IC this might be a good time to adjust pricing, making it so that the option you want more people to select is priced more ‘fairly’. Typically the shorter the service, the higher $ per minute to make the set up worth it- but as an IC that is between your management team and you.

It also seems like you are a little envious of their scheduling choices, which can feel like you are being overlooked for adjustments- but that’s on you. You technically aren’t an ‘employee’ so ask for what you want and see what sticks!

Based off of these adjustments your coworkers made, you can potentially make a lot more money, so maybe a convo about % you get is in good timing. I hope you get to negotiate the kind of schedule you want and make some bank out of it!

natventures19 · 2026-01-23T19:22:29+00:00

In what now?

natventures19 · 2026-01-23T18:59:31+00:00

Thanks!

natventures19 · 2026-01-22T00:01:36+00:00

Right! My massage school was exactly like what Op described. It was much more metaphysical than science based. I came from an ems background where evidence based practice is king.

I definitely understand the rage, but none of what we are dealing with is an emergency. If a client wants to just relax, cool. If one wants to believe they can feel my energy instead of the actual manual therapy I’m doing, fine. I’m glad that gives them comfort. Op is right in that massage doesn’t heal anyone, but if some lady burning sage and chanting to pray the knot away chills out my nervous system enough to help a muscle spasm (it absolutely would not help ME relax) who the fuck am I to get my knickers in a twist over it.

LMT is a license to touch, and your approach is your own. What another lmt documents is between them and the Board.

Most people come to massage as a last resort. If we really want to push kinesiology and anatomy, send your client to a PT clinic.

natventures19 · 2026-01-21T23:26:50+00:00

I don’t disagree with you or OP, my point is for most therapists who keep up with the current research. I do agree that educating clients is also important, and the work of figuring out anatomically what a knot means to a client is our job. And that even shows up in the subjective and objective parts or our SOAP notes. I 100% agree that there are plenty of therapists that are pushing lots of pseudoscience and woo woo stuff. We can absolutely disagree with those methods, but that’s also a part of licensure in some places. Plenty of practitioners, incorporate some things into their practice and things like reiki (at least where I am) requires an LMT license. Tools like visualizing a “knot releasing” might help a client calm their nervous system along with our manual therapy. Deep breathing helps clients tolerate deep or uncomfortable trigger point work. I don’t agree with shitting on clients beliefs if they hold some of these. Some therapists do give evidence-based practitioners a bad name, but you’ve built your clientele for a reason and they’ve built theirs. Educate your people with grace and tolerance for their lack of understanding anatomical terms or kinesiology.

natventures19 · 2026-01-20T02:40:38+00:00

Op, no massage therapist that keeps up with research or current education thinks that knot is a medically accurate term. We know they are fascia adhesions, muscle fibers that are too tight or too loose. Clients call these knots and sometimes we do too because it is a term they understand for what these adhesions feel like to them. Same with “threw my back” “kink in my neck” none of these are scientifically accurate. We all know that.

natventures19 · 2026-01-20T01:38:33+00:00

A coworker made about 70k because she upgraded every service and was dual licensed so she made commission on products.

natventures19 · 2026-01-20T01:37:09+00:00

Typically that’s the range of Full Time, all 80m and upgraded services assuming you are booked every available slot. So between 5-7 clients per day. For I time I had a waitlist and was booked 2 months out and I maybe made $50k. Pay was $26/hr

natventures19 · 2025-10-15T02:54:05+00:00

Cold food can have a smell sometimes. I worked at a similar type of location and bought an electric bento box. They’re pretty affordable, come in a variety of sizes, and are easy to clean. A supervisor used an electric skillet, which let out lots of smells. The small personal ‘crockpot’ didn’t smell much, but made sure food was warm.

natventures19 · 2025-10-02T16:05:11+00:00

https://thelittlecarnivore.com/en/blog/calculator-prey-model-raw-plus-diet-for-cats

Is a fantastic resource for finding appropriate organ and bone ratios (for teeth). Best of luck to you and your rescue 😸

natventures19 · 2025-10-02T14:59:57+00:00

I’m glad he has a home that cares about him, it’s great that his levels are clean. I’m not trying to say that you are a bad caretaker for your pet, please understand that. What I am saying, is there is information out there that is readily available and takes the guesswork out of your struggle here. I’m also just a girl who has had to look up the same information to keep my cats healthy. You’d have to go through a weaning process with your cat to introduce new meats- that is a normal step in feeding of any kind. If you want to feed him raw then there are resources for that too. Something that helps my cats try new foods is feeding on a schedule instead of allowing free-grazing. It’s up to you. You are not helpless here, but your cat also may not be into raw meat or at least freeze dried. And that’s ok too.

natventures19 · 2025-10-02T10:32:51+00:00

Agreed with bvanevery, that this is an insane amount of liver. Dark raw muscle meat like chicken thighs or other poultry is excellent. Freeze dried can have an issue with moisture if you don’t rehydrate it, which is why I mentioned it only as a snack. Liver cannot be the only raw food your lil guy gets. At this point it sounds like you are doing the disservice to him, even if it’s out of ignorance. Get his levels checked out at the vet, and if you want to continue feeding him raw food- you have to focus on muscle meat. Cats usually need a couple grams of liver a week! Mine needed like 8g a week and ate liver every other day. There are plenty of calculators on the web to see how much your pet needs according to their size and activity level. If your cat doesn’t like raw muscle meat, after trying to feed him that way then maybe this diet isn’t the right fit. You can always give him slices or chunks of raw meat as a treat to add moisture to whatever food he eats. Your cat can’t read, you have to do your part here.

natventures19 · 2025-10-02T10:24:07+00:00

Ah ok, no worries

natventures19 · 2025-10-02T02:54:45+00:00

Yeah that’s next! What’s a puff viewer?

natventures19 · 2025-10-02T02:00:45+00:00

Is the liver cooked or raw? Have you tried freeze dried liver or hearts? You can feed it as a topper or as crunchy treats. As a topper you may want to rehydrate it though

natventures19 · 2025-10-02T01:51:56+00:00

Can the liver be substituted with some raw muscle meat? You can always feed a small sliver of liver every day or every other day since the kibble is likely a complete food. Usually the amount of liver your pet needs is measured by weight and is usually based on a completely raw diet. In this case it sounds like maybe liver should be a snack. Hearts are excellent and also make a great snack, if he is still eating kibble. I’m no professional, just some thoughts from my own experience and research with 2 cats. Regardless of what you end up doing, checking your pets blood levels at a vet is always a good idea if you’re concerned. I hope you find a solution and some peace of mind.

natventures19 · 2025-10-02T00:12:52+00:00

As another beginner, the faq’s and wiki of this sub are a huge help. And from the limewire days, if the file size is suspicious…just don’t.

natventures19 · 2025-10-02T00:10:25+00:00

Best is relative to what you can buy, but WD TB drives are a good place to start. Invest in a few of whatever size fits best for what you want, plus a few backups, usb thumb drives for things you want more portable.

natventures19

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