Massage Therapist
What the work is
Performs therapeutic massage and administers body treatments for relaxation, health and general wellbeing.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Assesses clients' needs and preferences for massage therapy
- Consults with clients to determine the most appropriate massage therapies
- Massages the soft tissues of the body such as muscles, tendons and ligaments, to assist healing
- Applies therapeutic massages to the soft tissues of the body to promote relaxation, relieve muscle tension and improve circulation
- Provides advice to clients on relaxation techniques and stretching exercises
- May perform other techniques to augment therapies, such as acupressure, infrared therapy, wet and heat compresses, essential oils, and herbal and mineral therapies
- May administer body treatments such as exfoliation, wraps and hydrotherapy
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a small clinic with two treatment rooms, offering remedial massage and myotherapy. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A client who arrived hunched over leaves standing straight and smiling
- A treatment plan you put together works, and the client sends you a thank you note
- A regular tells you they slept through the night for the first time in weeks
Hard days
- A full day of treatments with sore hands and a client who wants one more session
- A client who does not do the exercises and wonders why nothing improves
- Having to tell someone that what they are hoping for is not realistic
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 441231, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.