As a massage therapist you will be expected to, simply put, handle people's bodies. You'll have clients of all ages, physical types, levels of fitness, and personality. A massage therapist who works at a resort in New England says you must be prepared for all kinds of situations:

"If you have any thoughts at all that you don't want to work on old people or the disabled . . . well, you don't get that option. You take them as they come. You've got to be willing to work on everybody and you've got to be willing to work every day."

Often as a massage therapist at a resort you will be working as an independent contractor rather than an employee. A massage therapist who has worked at ski resorts says sometimes that can be a challenge:

"One of the disadvantages is that you don't really have any control over the client flow. You have to make sure they can provide what they say they're going to provide. It was very easy to get behind financially. If I was ever to do it again in a resort setting I would make sure they can provide what they say they can."

The very nature of working at a resort implies a seasonal schedule.

Newcomers must be prepared to pick up and move on a regular basis in order to keep up with the ebb and flow of demand. Some massage therapists solve this problem in part by working at a resort during its peak season, then building a clientele of private clients during the off season.

In the words of a massage therapist who has worked at tropical resorts in the Virgin Islands and ski resorts in Utah:

"Resort work is the best; that's where you can really make money. But you have to be willing to move around because it is seasonal. That can be a good thing, too. I can pretty much pick up and go anywhere I want."

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