Employment prospects for acupuncture and massage majors

The employment prospects of acupuncture and massage majors are a typical "differentiated market" - there is an oversupply of low-level general service practitioners with low income and high labor intensity. There is an obvious gap in the middle-end technical talents who can independently deal with common diseases and the income is stable and exceeds the local average. The supply of high-end comprehensive talents exceeds the demand. It is a practical major with a high lower limit and an extremely high upper limit. It relies entirely on technical ability to realize its profits. There is no possibility of "unemployment upon graduation" or "making money while lying down".

Last week I went to the community health service center downstairs to get cold medicine. When I was passing by the acupuncture department, I happened to meet the head nurse explaining to the family members that the appointments for this week were already full and that I would have to come back next Wednesday for physical therapy. Half of the people in the queue were office workers who had been sitting in front of the computer for a week, rubbing their necks and twisting their shoulders. The other half were aunts with children who had protruding waists and a few children who came with their parents to treat myopia. Believe it or not, the demand for acupuncture has really increased visibly. Especially in the past two years, people have become more accepting of traditional Chinese medicine and have common musculoskeletal sub-health problems. There is no need to worry about the demand side.

Of course, I have also heard many students in this major complain that this industry is "coolie". There was a classmate of mine who was in the same class. After graduation, he found it too troublesome to take the exam to become a practicing doctor, so he went to work in a chain massage parlor. He had to deal with 8 to 10 customers a day and relied entirely on brute force. After working for half a year, he developed a back problem. He only earned five or six thousand a month, and he clamored to change careers every day. If you turn acupuncture into a purely relaxing physical activity, it will indeed be a meal for youth, and you might as well make more money by delivering food.

But if you are willing to calm down and practice your skills solidly, it will be another situation. A junior fellow I taught during the training program graduated from a junior college and became an assistant physician of traditional Chinese medicine. After graduation, he went to the acupuncture department of a traditional Chinese medicine hospital in his hometown in his hometown. He knew how to insert ordinary filiform needles and do moxibustion. He also learned bone setting from an old doctor, and he also learned about common neck, shoulder and waist problems. He can deal with leg pain, facial paralysis, and stiff neck. Now he earns 18,000 yuan a month in the county town, which is half the income of local civil servants. When he is off duty, regular customers come to him for in-home physical therapy. The extra income is enough for his monthly gas money.

Some people say that this industry becomes more and more popular as it gets older, but I don’t think this is entirely true. I have seen many veteran masseuses who have been working for more than ten years, but their techniques are world-famous. When customers complain of lower back pain, they just press the waist. They have no idea whether it is cold and dampness or strain, or whether there is nerve compression. After working for more than ten years, they still charge 60 yuan an hour. I have also seen young people who have just graduated three or four years ago. They specialize in learning sports rehabilitation knowledge, focusing on office injuries of office workers and muscle strains of sports enthusiasts. The studio is opened in an office building and charges 398 a time. Appointments are scheduled half a month later. This industry has never depended on qualifications, but on whether you can really solve problems.

As for those at the top of the pyramid, there is no upper limit on their income. I used to follow a director who made medical visits. After he retired, he was hired by a local high-end private hospital. The special number was 300 per time, and the number was limited to 20 per day. The registration fee alone was 6,000 per day, not counting the cost of acupuncture and bone setting. The people who came to him were all bosses and athletes, and they recognized his techniques. There is also a senior who specializes in postpartum pelvic repair, combining acupuncture and bone-setting techniques. She can do a thousand and two treatments at a time. She is too busy with regular customers and new customers. Last year, she paid a down payment for a house in Hangzhou.

Of course, this does not mean that this industry is all good. There are also many problems now. For example, many people with non-scientific backgrounds only start working after two or three months of training, which makes the market a mixed bag. Many customers think that acupuncture is just a relaxing program that costs tens of dollars. When you first enter the industry and are not well-known, it does take a while to convince customers that you can cure diseases and are willing to pay higher prices. In addition, if you want to enter a public tertiary hospital, you basically need to start with a master's degree. It is difficult for those with junior college or undergraduate degrees to enter a large hospital. Most of them can only go to community health service centers or private institutions. This is also a very realistic threshold.

A fellow student who majored in acupuncture and acupuncture asked me if I wanted to change my major. I told him that if you really like to do things and are willing to concentrate on practicing skills, you can sit in clinics with teachers to learn dialectics and pass the medical certificate examination. Even if your education is not high, after two years of experience, you can open a small physical therapy center in the community. But if you just want to get a diploma and don't want to work hard to practice your craft, then you'd better switch as soon as possible. You really can't get ahead in this industry.

To be honest, there is no absolute good or bad major. The acupuncture industry is like running a restaurant. If you only know how to cook instant noodles, you can only earn hard money by opening a roadside stall. If you have a few special dishes that are good, even if the restaurant is small, you will not have to worry about no one visiting. To put it bluntly, no matter how good the prospects of the industry are, you must have real things in your hands to take it. Otherwise, no matter how good the trend is, it will have nothing to do with you.