If you are looking to work in San Diego, CA!

If you are looking to work for Massage Envy in San Diego, Ca make sure the clinic isn't owned by Dennis Conklin or his daughter Doni Snyder! All that is important to them is the money. Anything that will save them a buck...they will do!
They shouldn't be in the wellness industry. They should go back to telemarketing.

Thanks for the warning! Sounds like they should not be in the healing arts profession.

Do they own the Mira Mesa site?

No Name in Oceanside, California said: If you are looking to work for Massage Envy in San Diego, Ca make sure the clinic isn't owned by Dennis Conklin or his daughter Doni Snyder! All that is important to them is the money. Anything that will save them a buck...they will do!
They shouldn't be in the wellness industry. They should go back to telemarketing.

Sounds like these ME owners are real winners!

No Name in Poway, California said: Do they own the Mira Mesa site?

They own San Marcos and Carlsbad locations.

Thank God I didn't find out the hard way. I went to the interview at ME and was hired on the spot. I went to school for my 500 hours and paid a lot of money and time for my education. To work for a place that pays $15.00 a massage OR min. wage, which ever is greater, was an insult to me as a massage therapist. How sad to be over worked and under paid. A waitress would make more than a massage therapist at Massage Envy and we have an education. That business won't last long, the people working will get a few paycheck and then there red flag will go up when they don't have enough money to eat or pay for gas.

I'm not saying that $15.00 per hour is great pay for a massage therapist, but with bonuses and tips we do much better than that.

I just wanted to point out that the daughter of a friend of mine has a BA in Nursing and works at Duke University Hospital. She makes $22.00 per hour. She put in 4 years of schooling to get her degree and spent a lot more money for it than it costs for an MT education.

SueWest in Charlotte, North Carolina said: I'm not saying that $15.00 per hour is great pay for a massage therapist, but with bonuses and tips we do much better than that.

I just wanted to point out that the daughter of a friend of mine has a BA in Nursing and works at Duke University Hospital. She makes $22.00 per hour. She put in 4 years of schooling to get her degree and spent a lot more money for it than it costs for an MT education.

Yeah, but she gets paid per hour that she's at work, not per hour that she sees patients or minimum wage, whichever's higher.

Good point, but she is given a high ratio of patients and says that it is almost impossible to keep up with all that is needed by them.

I bet the daughter of a friend on her down time at work doesn't make min. wage either. OR, whatever is greater in the two weeks of work. The daughter would laugh and move on. The going rate for massage is $85.00 - $95.00 an hour plus tips out here. We shouldn't be getting $7.50 OR $15.00 and hour. They are having problems hiring people and keeping people if they hire them. They will change things soon to keep the business open.

Of course, you're right. She doesn't get paid minimum wage for down time at work...she doesn't have any down time. She runs (not walks...her words, not mine) from patient to patient her entire shift, except for lunch break (no pay there).

I only pointed out that she has a much better and more expensive education that we do as massage therapists, she works at an excellent hospital, but is paid $22 per hour. I posted my comment in response to one that stated massage therapists should make excellent money because of our education.

SueWest in Charlotte, North Carolina said: Of course, you're right. She doesn't get paid minimum wage for down time at work...she doesn't have any down time. She runs (not walks...her words, not mine) from patient to patient her entire shift, except for lunch break (no pay there).

I only pointed out that she has a much better and more expensive education that we do as massage therapists, she works at an excellent hospital, but is paid $22 per hour. I posted my comment in response to one that stated massage therapists should make excellent money because of our education.

Why are you splitting hairs over this? The bottom line is that you are beating a dead horse! ME's shameful & meager pay in indefensible.

You can't compare a nurse's pay structure to that of a massage therapist's because they are compensated completely differently. A nurse can easily work 40 or more hours weekly, where as a massage therapist couldn't possibly work that much week in and week out.

The schooling is not the only factor by which someone is or should be compensted. I have clients who trade commodities for a living and many have made millions of dollars over the years. There is no degee or schooling of any kind needed to trade and yet many of these traders are multi-millionaires.

This is just one example of why your argument has no merit. Nice try to twist the issue again and further defend the indefensible!

SueWest in Charlotte, North Carolina said: Of course, you're right. She doesn't get paid minimum wage for down time at work...she doesn't have any down time. She runs (not walks...her words, not mine) from patient to patient her entire shift, except for lunch break (no pay there).

I only pointed out that she has a much better and more expensive education that we do as massage therapists, she works at an excellent hospital, but is paid $22 per hour. I posted my comment in response to one that stated massage therapists should make excellent money because of our education.

I worked in corporate america for many years making good money under employed. By that I mean I have several degrees and they were paying me to do mostly administrative work. All my education was going no where which is partly why I got out of corporate america. Much of my time was spent sitting on my butt doing nothing and believe me I wasn't the only one who was sitting around with nothing to do. Many were getting paid to take naps and for extra long lunches. We were paid the same for out time regardless what we were doing.

That is how hourly wages typically work. I really don't agree with ME's policy of paying you hourly when it suits them and for the service when it suits them.

Do you honestly think paying someone 7.50 for a 50 min massage and pocketing the other 31.50 the client paid is right? Essentially if a therapist only massages 3 people in a day s/he will be paid 7.50 for each of those massages. Maybe that's great money in Thailand but in California (and most other places in the US) that's not going to put food on the table or even keep a roof over your head.

You all seem to forget that they only charge $39.00 for the hour massage...and they pay all the overhead, make schedules, etc. Percentage-wise they make a lot more than most HMO doctors. Sure places like Huntington Beach Spa charge $140 for a hour massage...the therapist??they get $5-10 per massage, plus tips...seems that ME is being a lot fairer to the therapist, and gives the average joe the chance to have a massage at an available time and an affordable rate.

everybody is stuck on the 39.00 thing. I think it is important to also point out the fact with memberships. THey cahrge the 49.00 a month and even if the client does not come in that month to get bodywork done they still collect the 49.00. so they are making alot of money

Shannon in Santee, California said: Thank God I didn't find out the hard way. I went to the interview at ME and was hired on the spot. I went to school for my 500 hours and paid a lot of money and time for my education. To work for a place that pays $15.00 a massage OR min. wage, which ever is greater, was an insult to me as a massage therapist. How sad to be over worked and under paid. A waitress would make more than a massage therapist at Massage Envy and we have an education. That business won't last long, the people working will get a few paycheck and then there red flag will go up when they don't have enough money to eat or pay for gas.

Hi Shannon, Did you find a fair paying massage job yet? ME pays pretty fair compared to what I have researched. I know of a well known spa in Orange County that pays $ 20.00 per service and one dollar extra if you do deep tissue.Massages run over $90.00 for a 50 min service.( now that is a scam)Many high end spas don't pay you fairly. Yes you can make more doing private clients,but good luck with the consistency. Hope you had some luck!

No massage therapist should work for that little, When I first started out fresh out of school and worked for a chiropractor and was building my skills and didn't know better I worked for under $25 an hour, then I worked for a dayspa that charged $50 per hour and I got $20 of that with this owner owning 5 spas like this with 7-10 therapists each she was making a ton! I got smart and now rent space and charge what I want, the payoff is so much better and if you're good and people like you they will pay you $75+ per hour for a massage and they will be regulars. I built up an amazing clientele in just over a year as an Orange County massage therapist and have been going strong. I think it's horrible that ME would pay so little and worse that therapists would work so hard for such little money, this isn't thailand.

It's amazing how little most private business owners pay professionals. I guess in So Cal they think everybody is willing to work for illegal alien wages. Look at all the business here that employ them. It's slave labor we are no better than asian countries. With the cost of living so high here in the OC it's amazing these people can afford living here. It's awful how the rich exploit.

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Good luck to all of you :)

Hi everyone! I just found this site and was really interested in the wage discussion. I'm getting ready to open a business in Orange County for lower leg message and foot massage only. I want to know how to pay a therapist. What is fair and what would you think is a GREAT opportunity. The therapist is THE most important part of this business. I want to keep turn over low and loyalty high. I plan to pay full medical benefits as well. Do you think salary, hourly, by appointment all these of course plus gratuity. Any advice is GREATLY appreciated. Also if your looking for work let me know! Planning to open this spring!

I agree with you!

Also make sure is not owned by Doug Busse.-Santee
Very bad Management!
Do not waste your time and money starting to work for them!

"Also make sure is not owned?" Maybe you didn't like working there because you're uneducated and can't construct a proper sentence. Take an English class."Very bad Management!" You know as much about management as you do the Enlish language. What money did you waste being hired by him? You've probably capped out at min wage for your education level, so don't worry about it.

The national average for nurses is 40+ an hour. There is a huge disparity between talent and wages. I know musicians that are virtuosos that have thousands of hours of experience and practice and can't make but a few hundred dollars a week. Wages peaked in 1973, and the value of the dollar has decreased faster than wages have increased. We are in a high dollar service and to be a good therapist it requires a certain set of characteristics, when you have a company that is exploiting employees they must be banned, boycotted. Just because they pay minimum wages does not mean we have to accept it.