{"id":1122,"date":"2018-10-03T09:47:46","date_gmt":"2018-10-02T23:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/?p=1122"},"modified":"2018-10-03T10:12:11","modified_gmt":"2018-10-03T00:12:11","slug":"the-road-to-a-new-career-in-massage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2018\/10\/03\/the-road-to-a-new-career-in-massage\/","title":{"rendered":"The Road to a New Career in Massage"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sharon Livingstone<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The road to massage is not always lined with scented candles. And massage is not always our first career.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jo Cotterall has been operating her home-based clinic in\u00a0Townsville, Queensland for just over a year.<\/p>\n

\u2018I always felt I wasn’t meant for accounting even though I did it well,\u2019 Jo says of her long career in Accountancy and Corporate Finance. \u2018From a young age I can remember having a fascination with how the human body worked \u2013 probably like most of us. Maybe not like most of us, I loved watching documentaries on surgeries and pathology, whereas my family would run and hide at the sight of these things. They all said to me, \u201cyou will be a doctor one day\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"

“In a nut(egg)shell, I was a mess.”<\/p><\/div>\n

Jo ignored her family and multiple aptitude tests that suggested her career should be in \u201chealthcare\u201d, and moved into accounting because of a natural gift with numbers. Jo made a success of her career while raising two children but, \u2018it was a high stress job, my lifestyle was not the healthiest \u2013 I was the heaviest I had ever been (even heavier than being pregnant). I didn’t sleep. In a nut shell, I was a mess\u2019. Added to this, Jo was managing a shoulder injury that persisted for 5 years. Ironically, it was that shoulder injury that introduced Jo to massage. \u2018The only thing I had found that worked for me to facilitate change was massage. It gave me clarity, reduced my stress, reduced my pain, gave me better range of motion and I remember thinking to myself, oh my goodness, this is amazing.<\/em>\u2019<\/p>\n

Perhaps fortuitously, Jo was made redundant from her accounting job and in a self-confessed mid-life crisis moment, Jo headed off to study massage. \u2018I wanted a better lifestyle, and this included a better work life balance. I wanted a whole lot more fulfilment in my work.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"Robert Sic has been a massage therapist for over 8 years, and works at a chiropractic clinic in Campbelltown, NSW. Diagnosed with a rare form of Diabetes in childhood, Robert travelled a stony path to massage, having to drop out of his Psychology degree to head out to work to support the family and save the family home. It wasn\u2019t enough and within a few hours of the family home selling, Robert\u2019s mother died suddenly. His father\u2019s health was poor so Robert also became his father\u2019s carer until he too died 2 years later. Robert and his younger brother were left to support each other.<\/p>\n

\u2018While trying to survive, working on cars, working in kitchens washing dishes, I was extremely stressed and unhappy and felt very empty until one cold morning, I was under a car welding and said \u2018enough is enough, I need a change\u2019.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"

Robert’s candle filled image of what a massage was.<\/p><\/div>\n

With an image of a candlelit, flowery massage in his mind and a bit of research, Robert met with a massage teacher at Sutherland TAFE. But Robert\u2019s image of massage received a shock at that meeting.<\/p>\n

\u2018She was showing me the clinic where the students practice on each other and I said to her “surely clothed right?” and she grinned and said no.\u2019<\/p>\n

At the time, Robert\u2019s self-esteem was low and he kept everyone at arm\u2019s length but massage changed that:<\/p>\n

\u2018I enjoyed massaging in a way I\u2019d never experienced anything else but I was really good at it and everyone loved my warm empathetic touch and I almost had an instant rapport with everyone.\u2019<\/p>\n

New Career, New Challenges<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Not everything about entering a career in massage is easy.<\/p>\n

Jo: \u2018At first it was hard to adjust to the reduced income and the limitations of how many people you can treat in a day due to the physical demand.\u2019<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Robert: \u2018The way my friends and family saw me changed. As a male it was difficult to get jobs. I found the fitness needed was very high as it can be draining physically, mentally and emotionally.\u2019 <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Good Bits<\/strong><\/h6>\n

On the other hand …<\/p>\n

Jo: \u2018Massage is an amazing gift of touch. To assist someone in letting go of stress is beyond words. To assist someone in finding clarity so they can deal with everyday life stressors and make those required changes for themselves is overwhelming (in a good way).\u00a0Having a client come into the clinic barely able to walk straight and have pain, at the end of the session get up and have 50% less pain and walk straight is so rewarding.\u2019<\/p>\n

Robert: \u2018I love being able to help people recover from pain, injury, trauma, stress. It never feels like work. I\u2019m literally excited every day to go to work and that feeling never gets old.\u2019<\/p>\n

Flexibility and Family<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Jo\u2019s family also had to do some adapting when she quite literally brought work home. However, working from home gives Jo flexibility to work around her family commitments.<\/p>\n

Robert, who shares a home with his brother, sister-in-law, nephews and niece, also finds massage a flexible fit.<\/p>\n

Words of Wisdom<\/strong><\/h6>\n

\"\"For anyone considering changing to a career in massage, Jo says, \u2018Go for it. You may be surprised at how things fall into place; how one door will close and another one will open. Challenge should be embraced, and anything is possible if you put your mind, body and soul into it.\u2019<\/p>\n

Robert wants wannabe massage therapists to be aware of massage misconceptions: \u2018There seems to be a huge perception out there that massage is easy, work is plentiful, et cetera, but in reality you have to work very hard, study very hard, constantly evolve and learn, and you have to be willing to work on not just the actual massage but everything from marketing, promotion, client files, draping, rapport with clients and much more. Talk to as many therapists as possible before going through to study to make sure it\u2019s the right career path.\u2019<\/p>\n

Is it worth it?<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Coming to a new career after gaining life (and work) experience is often met with a regret of not doing it sooner. However, the experiences gained in a life before massage may help us to be better therapists.<\/p>\n

Jo: \u2018Change is often hard for the bravest of people. Today I am always in the present moment, not looking back \u2013 for me it was well worth it to get to this point. I know I have just started my journey in massage (but) I am so thrilled to see what comes next. I am thirsty for new techniques and knowledge, and am looking forward to a long and rewarding career doing what I am so passionate about: helping others.\u2019<\/p>\n

Robert: \u2018My transition was difficult but it\u2019s the most rewarding thing I\u2019ve ever done and massage is not just my job, it\u2019s my passion and my life. I\u2019m in a good place at the moment and, after 8 years, I\u2019m still excited to go to work every day and it still doesn\u2019t feel like work, apart from when I have to deal with the dreaded health funds (lol).’<\/p>\n

\n

‘The joy and pride I experience every day, I feel like I could do this for free \u2013 don\u2019t tell my boss though.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

-Robert<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

About the Author<\/h6>\n

\"\"Sharon Livingstone is a massage therapist in Sydney, NSW. A love of sport drew her to the industry but discovering job satisfaction came from helping people live with less pain keeps her in it. Sharon is a writer, keen bushwalker and frustrated traveller, who has just returned from a 300km walk across France (but not on a pilgrimage).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many massage therapists, there was a life and career before massage. There are challenges in making a late move to a new career and many rewards. AMT members Jo Cotterall and Robert Sic share their experience and wisdom of finding their massage careers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,49],"tags":[291,292,104,121,290,62],"class_list":["post-1122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-members","category-profiles","tag-career-change","tag-jo-cotterall","tag-massage","tag-massage-therapists","tag-robert-sic","tag-sharon-livingstone"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/cocoons-329070_1920.jpg?fit=1920%2C1260&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":515,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2018\/02\/07\/a-massage-therapists-journey-through-a-career-crisis\/","url_meta":{"origin":1122,"position":0},"title":"A Massage Therapist\u2019s Journey Through A Career Crisis","author":"admin","date":"07\/02\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"What happens when all your long-held beliefs about massage and your place within the massage industry get blown out of the water? 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