Overview
1. Automation Risk
2. User Poll
3. Growth
4. Wages
5. Volume
Decription
Resources
Comments

Massage Therapists

AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
22%
risk level
POLLING
30%
Based on 180 votes
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
20.0%
by year 2032
WAGES
$49,860
or $23.97 per hour
Volume
86,270
as of 2022
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
7.0/10

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Comments (18)

Automation risk

22% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): Jobs in this level have a limited risk of automation, as they demand a mix of technical and human-centric skills.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some very important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Assisting and Caring for Others

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Manual Dexterity

  • Social Perceptiveness

  • Finger Dexterity

User poll

30% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 22% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Massage Therapists will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?






Sentiment

The following graph(s) are included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Very fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Massage Therapists' job openings is expected to rise 20.0% by 2032

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031
Updated projections are due 09-2023.

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2022, the median annual wage for 'Massage Therapists' was $49,860, or $23 per hour

'Massage Therapists' were paid 7.7% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $46,310

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Moderate range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2022 there were 86,270 people employed as 'Massage Therapists' within the United States.

This represents around 0.06% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 1 thousand people are employed as 'Massage Therapists'.

Job description

Perform therapeutic massages of soft tissues and joints. May assist in the assessment of range of motion and muscle strength, or propose client therapy plans.

SOC Code: 31-9011.00

Resources

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Comments

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Sagedreamz (Uncertain) says
Nothing is Greater than human touch human connection we are vibrational beings not data input output HDMI pugs. Our download is Reiki Energy healing from one human to the other the connection comes in a cycle of giver and receiver. No AI machine would ever transmit that.
Feb 03, 2024 at 06:21 PM
Tiffini (Low) says
This job requires the ability to accurately read and interpret the nuances of what it takes to make a human comfortable across different personality types and cultural differences. There is a mysterious element of manipulating energy, acute awareness and ability to change tactics to match the needs of each individual that I very much doubt a robot could emulate. A machine massage is ok but a human massage seems irreplaceable.
Apr 25, 2023 at 07:05 PM
Dex (No chance) says
The massage robots I’ve seen simply roll different tools back and forth over the body… which in no way comes close to what a skilled massage therapist does. Plus many clients seek massage specifically because they are craving HUMAN contact.
Sep 18, 2022 at 10:52 PM
Kristine (No chance) says
It's customized and complicated for each person and personality. No way a robot could be proficient in it.
May 04, 2022 at 10:51 AM
Noel Masip says
The reason why robots can't do this job?


The first fundamental rules of the robots:
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

There are the "Hard massages", when people want to feel the pain to feel better

Hard massages, Ventusa, Thai massage, Scrubs and others, do "pain" to feel better later.

And also, there are people who when you do the massage, want it harder, in that moment the robot, will blow up and fail to do the massage to the customer.

Unless AI is very well developed, but not in this century...
Sep 22, 2021 at 10:55 AM
anika (No chance) says
becauseeeee how is steel and metal going to make massages feel good
Dec 28, 2020 at 08:46 AM
Greg Dahlen (No chance) says
think people want the interaction with another human
Oct 08, 2020 at 02:27 PM
Greg Dahlen says
Don't know if robots can do the tiny changes in hand movement that make a good massage
Oct 08, 2020 at 02:25 PM
Elle says
Robots could absolutely do this job. It would feel the same as regular fingers, pressure could be adjusted by voice requests, and as an added bonus it could likely analyze data while performing the massage to make medical recommendations such as how someone should stretch, moles they should have checked, or other health analysis to check for various conditions.
Mar 24, 2020 at 04:16 PM
Phil (Low) says
The human body works off of emotion and continual feedback to shape it. Even if a machine were to precisely target muscle tension and release it, it does not account for the mind-body influence. Maybe in the far future a direct electric connection to the brain might be possible, but not in the next 20 years. Even then, a robot does not offer the social support that is instrumental in the body's reaction.
Feb 12, 2020 at 08:23 PM
Monica League says
Massage therapies work is about human touch. Its make you feel more comfortable. Am not in the favor of robotics touch as its make your body more tired. Robots don't have feeling and they don't know anything about human touch.
Aug 02, 2019 at 09:17 AM
Sarah (No chance) says
Massage therapy would never be done by robots. So this job should never be taken over by robots or artificial intelligence.
Jul 02, 2019 at 03:00 AM
Vernon Burgess says
No robot will understand how to rehabilitate muscles, tendons, connective tissues, mitigate injuries. No way a robot will ever achieve that.
May 08, 2019 at 04:02 PM
Tony Giglio says
I disagree, they can learn ANYTHING.... they are already making cancer surgeries instead of surgeons and have better ways to indentify cancers.... and this is just the beginning...
May 09, 2019 at 05:55 PM
Mike says
Robotic massage will have some niches. We already have massage chairs of varying levels of sophistication, but they lack the human touch, the skin on skin contact that can also release endorphins and satisfy a primal urge to be groomed.
Mar 30, 2019 at 08:59 PM
Aleksi Korhonen says
There will always be demand for massage therapists and sex workers etc. You can't make skin-to-skin contact and pheromones artificially.
Mar 20, 2019 at 07:13 PM
Matthew Watson says
This occupation requires the human touch. A person would have to help others relax. While some tasks can be automated. Most of it will require someone to do the work
Mar 19, 2019 at 04:33 AM

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