uncertain about education

[Pompal 09.]

Hello,
I am hoping to hear from some people have been practicing massage for a while. I am a student with 530+ hours training so far towards 1200. I live in Oklahoma where there are no state laws regarding massage. A friend of mine does hair at a local salon that lost their therapist. I JUMPED at the opportunity to begin massage as a career before I end school. I've taken NMT anterior and posterior, Functional Assessment, Medical Massage, All kinds of anatomy, Musculoskeletal, and I am currently taking Traditional Chinese which incorporates a lot of other asian and energy modalities. I work on a few family friends and associates regularly(monthly, bi-monthly). I feel completely qualified to work on the public. I actually dropped out of college as a business major and I have two and a half years experience in marketing. I LOVE marketing.
My point in posting this is that the State has no laws but some cities have their own requirements. I had to apply for a permit to practice massage in the city of Moore. I had to get fingerprinted and take front facing photos just to apply for the permit. The salon owner said it would probably take 3 or 4 days to hear back from the chief of police or someone to do a background check. Anyway when I turned in the application on a Monday the woman at city hall told me I would hear from them probably by the end of the week but she didn't know if I would be approved since I had not graduated. That struck fear into my heart! It is now Saturday night and the week is over. I called on Thursday to check on it and the womans secretary told me it usually takes two weeks from the app date to hear back from background checks. So now I'm a little nervous.
It's not the end of the world but then last night an friend of a friend totally attacked my education saying my school sucked!!! It is a federally funded College. I will recieve an associates degree when I graduate. There is another school locally that is run by loonies but very involved. It teaches a lot more in depth than the school I go to and takes 3 times as long to complete and the only thing you recieve at the end is a wooden plack. Oddly enough my instructor and several others at the school I attend graduated from there. When I graduate I will be an LMT. This post is very long I'm sorry. I just want to get your feedback about whether my worry is justified or not and if I am just letting these people make me feel insecure about my education. Thank You for reading and letting me know your opinions. Diana}]i[{

 

[Twilighter09]

Hi DianaMarie, and welcome to MassagePlanetL!

It sounds like a rough initiation you're going through. Sorry to hear it.
I don't know much about OK law, but I do know that many states/ towns etc have some pretty backward laws on the books. Sounds like your area still subscribes to the "guilty until proven innocent" way of thinking. It is no reflection on you, it's just the way it is.

Similarly, approvals from government offices are notoriously slow. It's too bad they told you one thing and are doing another, but that isn't uncommon either. Seems to me you should keep calling them until you get your answer.

As for getting approval to work, it may be that there is some "unspoken" process where you can't get permitted until you've completed a program. Have you checked the town of Moore to see if they have their own set of rules? Here in MA, the cities and towns decide what is required for licensure. Some are very stringent, and some are much more lenient. Some towns have no rules at all...except that they don't give out licenses.

In response to the comments about your school, I guess I would have to ask if you feel that you are getting a good, well-rounded education. If you feel you are, then fu'geddaboud'it. There have been a couple of strings on this board that talk about programs that are less than ideal (and I'm not implying that yours is one of those) that turned out some first rate mt's. Plenty of body workers have been in the workplace for years with no "formal training" other than what was passed down to them. It is more about the person than the institution in the long run. Sounds like you're getting exposure to a lot of different elements; experience will teach what you need to know.

On the other hand, a wooden plaque vs an associate degree...not sure I would choose a school based on what kind of diploma I ended up with. The reputation of the school and my own experience while there are what are going to be the lasting elements for me.

Good luck in your pursuits, and keep us posted!

 

[Top Contributor]

My state is unregulated also...or was at the time of my obtaining a business license. So I was at the mercy of my City Hall....my town requires 70 hours of education (I have 525), a background check...fingerprints....etc. It took nearly three months to get it all processed.

I agree with merlescuz on the other points. If you feel you are getting a good education then really, don't worry about other people. School gives a good foundation, but....the making of a good MT doesn't necessarily happen at school.

 

[Canadian Bacon]

Welcome Diane! We hope you enjoy our forum here.

Some of my first thoughts regarding employment are these:

Since you are still in school, how will employment fit into your current schedule? I'm talking about personal life, school, any other employment you currently have, family and other responsiblities? What are the conditions you will be working under? What kind of rental, commisions, supplies, ect. will you be responsible for? Do they have a built in clientelle for you to work on already? How busy are they with what they have already? Will you have to make your own appointments, or do they have employees who will set appointments for you? What kind of hours do they want you there for, or can you set your own hours? Will you have to be there waiting for things to happen, or can you come in when you have appointments?

I realize that some of these issues you didn't touch on in your post, but the thing I see outstanding is you are still in school and not quite half way. I'm not saying you are not qualified to do the job, and I am not trying to discourage you from taking the position, but these are a few things you may need to think about when taking the position. When I was still in school, I had a similar opprotunity as you did. I was offered the postition, but after thinking about it I realized that my time was very constricted with school and every thing else I had to do.

The thing I noted too that is most definitly in your favor is your schooling in marketing. That is an absolute advaneforum.xxxe for you! Marketing can be challenging for us, and you have skills in that area already, which can definitly help you to suceed in this business!

I hope I may have helped you on a slightly different curve, Diane. Good luck with your endevors and let us know how it goes!

 

[Lucas (2nd account)]

YAY!!!

I finally got the call today at the last minute that my permit is approved and ready to pick up! I'm so relieved and excited to get started.
Dodab I appreciate your concern about my schedule. I have been so excited because this job will suit my schedule wonderfully. I will be working 9 to 12, 12:30 Monday through Friday and I'm willing to work 6 hours on Saturday. The salon owner accepts these hours just fine so I can be flexible. I will start on 60/40 commission in my favor. This will last until I have a reasonable clientelle. Not longer than 6 months. I graduate June 2nd. School is from 1-5pm Mon-Fri.
I wait tables part time at a full service restaurant and scaled back my schedule to working 2 shifts per week which should be enough to put gas in my car and food in my stomach. I chose shifts that would allow me to get off in time to get enough sleep. Socially this will be wonderfull since I will be working with a close friend and I used to work every night of the week and sleep till noon, missing out on time in the evening with friends. Only drawbacks to my job at the salon I see is
#1 The room in the salon is tiny. It is only 6x12
#2 I must supply all my linens, oil, etc.
Number 2 doesn't bother me too much. I can wash my sheets at the salon which is a plus. The space is something to get used to.
The salon owner assured me a few of her hair clients would weekly book a massage.
The Therapist she had there previously left without any notice due to personal problems and evidently reffered her clients to other people as she was not continuing massage. Most of those people were not just massage clients. Most of them were hair and nail clients also so they will be likely to come back to the salon.
I know I am optimistic but hopefully rational. This is really important to me. I know I won't fill my appointment book right away and when I do I won't always get those people to come back but I'm hoping with my desire to help people and my strong marketing skills I will do well quickly.

 

[Freeze Frame]

Congratulations to you, Diana!
I'm envious! Our school has a strict policy of no work for pay while in school. I had the itch to get a massage job after the first 6 months, but was warned that I could be expelled if word got out. It wasn't worth the risk.
Hands on work is where you get real experience, and what better time to do it than when you are in school, surrounded by people who can answer your questions and help you deal with things as they come up.
That's my opinion, anyway.
Oh, and fyi, our booths at school are probably about 6 x 12. It is a small space, but manageable.

 

[golden sindy]

Hey great for you then Diane! I hope all works out for you! Let us know how it goes!