Makami College

[polak]

Hey guys,
I was wondering if anyone has any experiences, comments or reviews about Makami College? My girlfriend wants to get into Massage Therapy and this college seems like the quickest and least expensive route for her.

I've never heard of it and a quick google search didn't turn up anything to be weary of so I just wanted to see if anyone on here knew anything about it or had anything they wanted share.

To me it just almost seems too good to be true. 7 months course with work experience and you're done? Why would anyone go through the regular channels (MRU has a program for example) if this is all it's cracked up to be?

Thanks!

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by polak

Hey guys,
I was wondering if anyone has any experiences, comments or reviews about Makami College? My girlfriend wants to get into Massage Therapy and this college seems like the quickest and least expensive route for her.

I've never heard of it and a quick google search didn't turn up anything to be weary of so I just wanted to see if anyone on here knew anything about it or had anything they wanted share.

To me it just almost seems too good to be true. 7 months course with work experience and you're done? Why would anyone go through the regular channels (MRU has a program for example) if this is all it's cracked up to be?

Thanks!

You seem to have answered your questions in your own post.


To me massage is a murky industry/business, in that almost anyone can hang a shingle.

If I was going to go down that career path I would want to ensure I had schooling from a well know and reputable school.

[FFR]

I don't know anything about the school but make sure that she checks into insurance requirements for massage therapists in whatever province she will be working. Alberta insurance companies require a specific minimum of training hours in order for the therapist to be covered. I think it's something like 2200 hours. There are courses that will allow you to become a registered massage therapist with only 1000 or 1200 hours, but then clients can't be covered by their insurance company (like SunLife or Blue Cross).

[dubc80]

I always admired people who were in this profession.
I wonder what the average # of years in the industry is as it is quite physically demanding.

Spending 8 hrs a day giving rub downs on someone else's body would be pretty hard on your own body, I'd think...

[Sliver]

That doesn't seem like the best career to me. That's hard work on the hands all day every day. How's she going to do that in her 40s? 50s? If she's in her early 20s, there are much better education options that will provide way more opportunities in life. If she's in her 30s or older, then yeah, it's time to find a job and stick with it.

Being mindful of the cost of post-secondary education is important, but she also has to keep in mind it's an investment. Of course a seven-month course is going to be cheap, but a two-year SAIT diploma will give her a better life if she doesn't want to commit to a four-year degree (everybody seems to drag it out to five, anyway). Completing a SAIT or UC program will pay for itself many times over, so she should be less concerned about the immediate cost of education and look much longer term in her life planning.

Another problem I see with these courses that pigeonhole you into one activity for the rest of your life is what if you get tired of it or don't like it? That kind of training isn't transferable to another industry or field. You can give massages. That's it. It goes beyond career limiting; that's life limiting. Tell her to think bigger, yo.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by dubc80

I always admired people who were in this profession.
I wonder what the average # of years in the industry is as it is quite physically demanding.

Spending 8 hrs a day giving rub downs on someone else's body would be pretty hard on your own body, I'd think...

Admire? Really? It's not like they're sacrificing something of themselves for the greater good. It's a tough, ####ty job that doesn't pay that great. It's an honest day's work, for sure, but I don't know that it's an admirable role.

[Nyah]

Originally Posted by dubc80

I always admired people who were in this profession.
I wonder what the average # of years in the industry is as it is quite physically demanding.

Spending 8 hrs a day giving rub downs on someone else's body would be pretty hard on your own body, I'd think...

It certainly is. My sister-in-law did it for five years and had to give it up because it was so physically exhausting. To anyone thinking of doing it as a career, I'd tell them to really look into it and talk to people who do it for a living. It's definitely not for everyone.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Admire? Really? It's not like they're sacrificing something of themselves for the greater good. It's a tough, ####ty job that doesn't pay that great. It's an honest day's work, for sure, but I don't know that it's an admirable role.

Dude you never, ever fail to come through......

[dubc80]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Admire? Really? It's not like they're sacrificing something of themselves for the greater good. It's a tough, ####ty job that doesn't pay that great. It's an honest day's work, for sure, but I don't know that it's an admirable role.

Sure they are.
Their jobs are to make others feel better. I think that is admirable.

Ask any of the players on the Flames. I bet they love the team massage therapists.

[sworkhard]

If your going into massage therapy, go to the best school you can. There are a lot of different techniques that work, but some are much more demanding on the body than others.

I've had massage therapists that were in the business for over 20 years without issue, but they took care of themselves, were always trying to learn new things, and used techniques that were effective but didn't destroy their own body. There are others that left the business within a couple years due to wear and tear.

As such, if it's something she wants to do for a long time, she should invest in a school that has a good reputation and turns out graduates that stay in the industry for a longer than average amount of time as opposed to the school that is the fastest. I don't know where to go to find stats like this, or even if they exist, but it's worth looking into.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by polak

Why would anyone go through the regular channels (MRU has a program for example) if this is all it's cracked up to be?

It's not.

As FFR mentioned, generally speaking RMTs need the 2200 hour course to be covered through insurance, which is a vast majority of your clientele.

MRU had an 1100 hour course that my ex took. It was a massive PITA for her to get grandfathered so she can still submit claims through the major insurance companies. And I have my doubts that anyone doing the program now with the new regs in place would even have that as an option.

So long story short, if she does the 7 month course, she shouldn't expect a very good job after. If she's going to take it do the 2200 hour course through MRU or find another career path.

Any specific questions feel free to post or PM.

[polak]

Thanks guys. I knew it was too good to be true.

I'm going to forward this to her. I'll post an update or if she has questions.

[polak]

So just an update, she met with the admissions dept. today.

Apparently I misunderstood and she would be signing up for the 3000 hour program which also has a work placement. She is super excited about it.

[vtec260]

My wife's RMT told her that hourly pay could range anywhere from $25-50/hour, depending who you work for. If you work for a large chains, less wage, but has more flexible schedule since there are more staff to trade shifts, etc.

[taco.vidal]

I'll add a few points from my perspective. Ive got a friend who runs a sports injury clinic that employs massage therapists, Ive got a friend who was a massage therapist, and as an active person I use massage quite often.

Edit: most of my knowledge is from a sports massage/ deep tissue massage perspective rather than spa type relaxation or rejuvenation massages. Thats probably a whole different ballgame in terms of work environment and clientele.
-I can't speak for the larger chains, but for independent clinics the pay structure is usually a payout of about 50% of billing. Right now the downtown clinics that I use most frequently, an hour massage averages about $90. Usually the structure is that your self-employed and that 50% goes to paying for space and admin services like the reception. I don't think its uncommon for clinics that run on this structure to offer no employee benefits either.
-When starting out you may need to build a client base. Maybe at the larger chains they have enough clientele to send your way that you will be busy but I know that at smaller clinics it can be slow for you when starting out.
-It seems a few people are able to make a longer career out of it but Ive seen quite a few people last only a few years. I don't know the reasons for this. It is a physically tough job. I know that my friend always complained of being physically sore and tired after a days work.
-It can also be mentally tough. Especially for a woman. You can deal with a lot of creepy guys. My friend had a ton of stories of guys approaching the line of inappropriate behaviour. There's also a lot of weird people out there and even just people with bad hygiene that you'll end up dealing with.

-Polak, one thing Id add is checkout the hands of massage therapist that has been in the business for 5 years or so. Using your hands daily builds muscle especially with the thumbs that are used to get out knots.

Edit to add that I think this is an important profession and definitely helps improve my quality of life by helping me fix injuries as well as preventing injuries before they get worse.

Originally Posted by vtec260

My wife's RMT told her that hourly pay could range anywhere from $25-50/hour, depending who you work for. If you work for a large chains, less wage, but has more flexible schedule since there are more staff to trade shifts, etc.