Massage therapist
💆Gives therapeutic, sports and baby massage: relieves pain and muscle spasm and helps recovery after injury. Working with your hands all day.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $44.3k a year on average · +15.3% jobs by 2035 · 20,400 openings a year
Massage therapists — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £29.6k median a year
Health associate professionals n.e.c. — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
Massage chairs and robots will appear, but hands that can feel a muscle won't be replaced in the next 15 years.
Who it suits
Interests: 🔧 Making things by hand, 🩺 Medicine and health, 🤝 Helping and caring, 🏃 Sport and movement.
Key strengths: manual dexterity, strength and stamina, understanding people.
Where to study
- Vocational Level 3/4 Diploma in Massage / Sports Massage (UK), massage therapy programme 500–1,000 hrs (US)
- Bachelor's BSc Sports Therapy (UK) — broader route including massage
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): Biology, PE.
🧗 UK: a Level 3–4 college diploma in massage or sports massage and membership of a professional body. US: a 500–1,000-hour massage school programme, MBLEx exam and state licence. Many are self-employed.
Similar careers
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