Full Time vs. Part Time

[William Wang]

Who all is full time vs. part time?  If you are PT what are your reasons?

Me, I'm planning on working PT only to begin with.  This is a career change for me and MT is a career that I've always thought I would be really good at.  I'm married with 2 small boys, frankly they come first.  I will be available when school is out.  I figure there will be time to work full time when they are grown or at least driving themselves around town.

 

[Amalthea]

A Poll

Hi, I am very part time.  Since graduating, I haven't advertised, and am happy with working with the small number of clients who come my way through referrals and direct contacts.  In the meantime, I'm finishing off my PhD, that I started at the same time as I started in massage school, doing a little part time work on another project, and learning some more great massage techniques on occasional weekend schools.   I hope that my massage work will grow slowly, and organically, to be a bigger part of my work life, say 50%, but never to the point where I feel like I don't want to get up and go to work today.

 

[Jeff will come back!]

A Poll

I would love to work full time as soon as I finish school.  I have had a  job offer from a local gym.Unfortunately this won't be possible due to the timing of state testing.  (NH)It may be possible if I travel to VT which has different state laws.

 

[Massage Therapist dubai]

A Poll

Part-time, though I rent my own office. I want to last in this field and I want to enjoy my work. I don't think I could if I did more than 10-12/week.

 

[Britta]

A Poll

I work part time.  This is my choice.  I don't want to work so hard and I want to last in the field.  Keep in mind that working full time in the field of massage doesn't mean doing 40 one hour massages a week.  If you have your own office, 12-15 massages per week is easily full time, as you also have laundry, paperwork and marketing to do too.  I have my own office.  I set my own hours.  Decide what works best for you in all areas of your life and then go about getting it.  It's a wide open field with many possibilities to suit everyone's needs.

 

[Pompal 09.]

A Poll

I came from a flexible job at SWA and in all honesty I got spoiled to it.  Being available to my kids is very important to me.  That is the main reason why I want to keep it part time.  I dream of owning my own resort spa someday, but as I get more into the business the more I find that part time may be the more healthy way to go.  I also have some physical issues with my wrist (which has improved immensly thanks to an instructor doing some Rossiter work on my pecs).  

 

[Maria G]

A Poll

When I was a teen, I came up with what I thought was a totally unrealistic idea. I broke out my sketch pad and #2 and sketched away. It was a hotel that catered to pampering people. Now, folks, this was around 20 years (or more) ago. And at the, someone told me I was crazy, totally science fiction.If only...I plan on eventually being able to work 20-25 hours a week on massage, 3-6 hours for paperwork/etc., and then resume my painting and acting interests.

 

[TahoeT]

A Poll

I work full time, but I am working on getting to part time.  Since I work a few nights a week for a DC and only get 50%, I can increase my personal clientel and get to the point where I am making the same and doing half the hours.I would like to have kids and be home with them so I am working towards those goals

 

[peking]

A Poll

I work part-time, have a few other part time jobs that are not massage, but I really, REALLY, REALLY want to work full time. I love the work I do,  and do the work I do very well. But have to be very patient with time and circumstances....  :-/

 

[Halo]

A Poll

I haven't graduated yet. . .but my intent has always been to work MT part time. I have several clients in the clinic who now come to see me at least twice a week. It wasn't hard to start developing a clientele in the clinic. They both come for specific work. I have far more than the minimum number of hours than was required, so I'm no longer required, or even encouraged to be in the clinic. Plus I don't get paid for it. . .so I'm not encouraging any new clients to come in regularly or to let me set up a plan for them right now. Figure I'll wait till I've graduated then work on building my own clientele. Since it was relatively quite easy to start establishing a regular clientele in the clinic (some coming in 1-2x/week and some 1/month), I figure I don't really need too many clients to keep me as busy as I want to be (10-15/week). After graduating from MT school, I plan to go for an MSW degree and eventually become a LCSW so I can do private counseling. The purpose of MT for me is to complement my psychotherapy practice. I know several other LCSW's who incorporate MT when they feel it's the most appropriate modality for for a client. - Samantha

 

[bluetigerpaw4]

A Poll

I'm married with 2 small boys, frankly they come first. . . I figure there will be time to work full time when they are grown or at least driving themselves around town.

Flying Hands, I'm proud of you. You have your priorities straight. Our children grow up SO fast! I've worked from home running various businesses for the past 20 years -- from teaching dance, to providing businesses with computer supplies -- and now that my children are starting to leave home, I'm oh so glad that I have been able to be there most of the time while they were growing up. It's a HUGE challenge to work and have a family. But if you can do it in a way that your schedule is flexible and where YOU, not your BOSS, gets to call the shots, it's very worth it. I wish I had my MT license when my children were young - I would have made more $$ per hour than I did. Oh well, there's a time and a season for all of us for different things. I don't think I was meant to be where I am until right now. I think it will work out for you well, though.- Samantha

 

[Pearl L]

A Poll

I'm a part-timer.  I have a little boy, too.Four or five hours is all I can do a day.  Most of my work is treatment based and I only have a few minutes in between clients.Katykangaroo

 

[valerie b]

A Poll

I currently work part time out of a chiropractor's office averaging a solid 12 hours per week (four afternoon/evenings). Starting this next week I will start working two days  a week at an athletic club to average about 10 more hours. Oh, and I also do 3 - 8 hours a week of chair massage.  So that will be around 30 hours a week plus LOTS of paperwork and marketing! Keeps me busy but I'm very careful about taking care of myself (regular massages, chiropractic adjustments, yoga, stretching, proper nutrition) and I don't have children yet as many others on this forum do.

 

[Candice]

A Poll

I'm full time.  My plans are to get out of debt - coming up with some savings, and then moving to a smaller city where I can work at a slower pace.  Should take about 10 years, I guess.It took a number of years to get set-up to where things actually flow easily, but once I got the set-up right, even full time, is pretty peaceful.I think working part-time and the kids being more important is an excellent idea!  Good for you!

 

[lydiiuhhx3]

A Poll

i am planning on working PT too.  i also have a son, and i want to be present for him as much as possible.he starts Kindergarten in the fall, so i hope to work while he is in school, mostly.i just finished school, and will be taking my licensure exam in june, and am currently seeing clients for relaxation massage on my own doing outcalls.  unfortunately, it isn't steady enough, so i intend to look for work somewhere, possibly a chiro, in order to make some $$ and gain some more experience while i build my own practice.peacejen

 

[napvapDuacY]

A Poll

Full time for me! I have another year in school, and am already chomping at the bit. Working on practice bodies is the most satisfying thing I think I've done to date. I can't imagine not doing as much of it as I physically can!

 

[The Wife]

A Poll

Part time because I have a baby.  This is a good profession for mothers of young children if there is good money coming into the house in other ways.

 

[Champdude21]

A Poll

After graduation I worked part time (kept that day job) for 4 years, very slowly and gradually built up my clientele, and that allowed me to very slowly and gradually built up my strength and stamina for massage.  (One of the benefits of this occupation is that it eventually rewards you with a killer upper body!  Wish it did the same for my "bottom half!" ha ha!)  Now that I'm full time I feel blessed that my business grew slowly, so that I didn't experience the burn-out and injury that suddenly having a full client load may have caused me.

 

[Nikki H]

A Poll

I have been part-time for the past couple of years and want to move to full-time (12-14 clients/week) by late summer as that's when I'll be coming back from being on maternity leave and will then hopefully get the option of spending more time with my child and thus set my own hours, leaving the deskjob life behind for a good number of years.I plan to give myself up to 6 months to build my part-time clientele up to full-time clientele once I'm back from maternity leave. Be well,Jen

 

[Fly Boys]

A Poll

full time and self employed, I see 5 or 6 clients a day, mon. - fri. and a everyother weekend.  There are definately hard times when i am just wiped out and I think I could totally stand to go back to PT - but I am addicted to the $, and there isnt a thing else in the world I would rather be doing.   I just got engaged and we want to start a family soon - when I have a husband to go home to I will cut hours down and when kids come I definately plan to go PT again.    But for now its just me, nobody waiting for me at home so I might as well take as many clients as I can.