As of 2009, 42 states and the District of Columbia had laws regulating massage therapy. Most states require the completion of a formal education program in massage and the passage of an exam. As of 2009, Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Oklahoma, Vermont and Wyoming did not require licensure, though some may at the local level.
After earning a high school diploma, those wishing to be massage therapists must attend an accredited massage school. There you'll study anatomy, kinseology and physiology. Students learn hands-on massage techniques, receive hands-on training and complete a certain amount of professional hours, which can vary by state. Some can require 500 hours or more to complete.
Professional massage training schools must have accreditation. Usually this is done by a state certifying board, though it may also be done by an independent regulatory agency. In states regulating massage, graduation from an accredited school is usually required to practice.
In states regulating massage, a person must pass a massage course and then pass a licensing exam to practice massage. The exam may be a state exam, or it could follow one of two national accredited tests--the National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCETMB) and the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx).
A massage therapist's education is never done. The average person with a massage career completes 25 hours of continuing education per year.
More than 1,000 schools offer professional massage training, and that number continues to rise. This trend follows an increase in practicing massage therapists. The American Massage Therapy Association estimates that the number of people with massage careers in the U.S. is between 250,000 and 300,000.
Jobs for massage therapists are expected to increase by 19 percent over the next decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many of these jobs are part-time work. The median hourly wage for massage careers was $16.78 in 2008.