Hello-
Massage Therapist chiming in here. I have been an MT for 20 years and have always done the gig part-time.
I work as an independent contractor and operate as my own business. I average around $80/hour and have a solid group of regular clients that see me.
I know $80/hr looks appealing, but there are several things you should know before looking into this career. I have to deduct taxes, health insurance, retirement, supplies, rent, continuing education, license fees and so on from this hourly amount.
Here is the one thing I tell anyone looking into this career: You need to do it because you love working one-on-one with people, you have a desire to heal people and make them feel better and enjoy learning about the human body, anatomy and physiology. You will not get rich from massage therapy, you do enjoy some flexibility but be prepared for "no-show" or canceled appts (which is lost income) and your income will vary from week to week.
I believe the AMTA research states full-time therapists burn-out in 3-5 years, it is a physical job and sometimes means working through your own physical aches/pains to help others (no work, means no pay for yourself...there are no paid sick days as an MT, neither is there paid vacation). These are all things you need to account for in your hourly wage.
I have known MTs that work for the retail outlets: low pay, not as much flexibility. Many of the retail outlets try to entice new MTs with health insurance, etc. but you will receive low wages.
Physically: you will never be able to do 8 massages a day....realistically 4 is ideal, in my opinion anything over that amount you as a therapist will not be able to churn out quality to your client...we're human too.
I have several massage therapists as close friends and all of us agree...the most successful therapists are go-getters with a solid head for business combined with solid massage therapy skills and a positive, pleasant personality.
Honesetly, I think being an MT is a GREAT side-gig. You can make good money in a short-span of time if you are a good therapist. As a side-gig you can make your own hours and weather the storm of varying income because you will still have your day job in whatever field you are in.
A full-time MT will have many challenges and keep in mind building up a clientele takes a while...sometimes years to do. If you are a male pursuing this career...it's even MORE challenging (doable...but challenging).
Feel free to PM me any questions you have, I have been in the field for a long time and know MTs who work in a variety of different venues.