CAREER OUTLOOK

Determining the career outlook for any industry is very challenging. The Spa, Massage, Polarity and Salon industries are particularly hard to identify due to the high degree of self employment in the industry.

The following are useful links although the information only shows part of the story. Since many people work part-time or seasonally, the compensation is distorted. Also, the statistics do not account for tips and product sales. In the case of an aesthetician or cosmetologists, the product sales can represent over 30% of their income in a private setting. Tips for all professions tend to be very high and can account for up to 30% of a persons income, particularly in Massage Therapy.

Another important factor to remember when looking at the data is that it is a summary for the entire state. What you will make in Portland, Maine or Cape Cod or Boston, Massachusetts can be generally different from what you will make in rural Maine, New Hampshire or Massachusetts. The same applies to most states. The large urban centers, resorts and upper income areas pay substantially more and have many more career opportunities than the rural areas.

The NACCAS Job Survey is focused on cosmetology but also has some interesting results for related professions.

The US Department of Labor site has information based primarily on W2 wage reporting which may not take into account those who are self-employed.

The Career Outlook section of the DOL site allows you to search for the profession of choice, the percent and numeric job change information as well as wage projections.

Massachusetts Massage Therapy Career Fact Sheet is provided by Career One Stop

Maine Massage Therapy Career Fact Sheet is provided by Career One Stop

Massachusetts aesthetics Career Fact Sheet is provided by Career One Stop

Maine aesthetics Career Fact Sheet (As you can see, this is still an emerging profession in Maine. It will grow)

Polarity therapy is still too small to show up on the national employment data. However, this is a great advantage. Those who build an industry are usually the ones who benefit the most. It takes a more entrepreneurial person to succeed but if you have what it takes, it’s an exciting ride that can be full of opportunity.