Degree, Degree, Degree!

by Lynsey
(England)

Here in the UK there are hundreds of courses run both during the day and at night school all offering a diploma in massage, I first completed one of these and at the time thought it was fantastic, that was until I tried to apply for jobs.

A diploma isn't awarded a grade, just a certificate. You could have been the most fantastic in your class getting top grades all the time yet when you qualify you are give the same qualification as someone in your class who could be completely useless and who just managed to scrape through!

I found that a diploma does not give you the true recognition of your abilities and as everyone else has them it can be quite difficult getting a job. I decided to enroll on a degree course in holistic therapies where one of the three main subjects was massage.

Not only did it give me a more in depth knowledge on the subject but it made me feel more confident in myself and I certainly noticed a difference with just my family and friends started to view me when I told them i was completing a degree and not just a diploma. They all started to take my new career choice as seriously as me.

As not many institutes in my area provide this type of degree and as it's a fairly new thing in our area there were only twelve people on the course, this meant that after three years we I was only one of 6 people who actually completed the course ensuring that I definitely stood out from other candidates when applying for a job!

That said after I have completed my degree and been offered two jobs one in a salon and one back at the school to teach I decided that I was going it alone and set up my own business, something which I don't believe I would have been able to do had I just stuck with my diploma!

However a degree is extremely hard work and demands a lot of commitment and dedication on your part, if the thought of all that work and exams puts you off and you're only interested in massage as a part time job to do on family and friends then a diploma will satisfy your needs!