Determining the career outlook for any industry is very challenging. The Spa, Massage, Polarity and Salon industries are particularly hard to identify due to the high degree of self employment in the industry.

The following are useful links although the information only shows part of the story. Since many people work part-time or seasonally, the compensation is distorted. For instance, many full-time cosmetologists with several years experience can make six figure incomes. However, with the majority of cosmetologists working part-time, their annual earnings are much lower. Also, the statistics do not account for tips and product sales. In the case of an aesthetician or cosmetologists, the product sales can represent over 30% of their income in a private setting. Tips for all professions tend to be very high and can account for up to 30% of a persons income, particularly in Massage Therapy.

Another important factor to remember when looking at the data is that it is a summary for the entire state. What you will make in Portland is very different from what you will make in areas like East Milinocket or Stratton. The same applies to Massachusetts and most states. The large urban centers pay substantially more and have many more career opportunities than the rural areas.

The NACCAS Job Survey is focused on cosmetology but also has some interesting results for related professions.

The US Department of Labor site has great information although it is typically very understated in the spa and salon sector.

The Career Outlook section of the DOL site allows you to search for the profession of choice, the percent and numeric job change information as well as wage projections.

Massage Therapy Career Fact Sheet is provided by the American Massage Therapy Association.

Massachusetts Aesthetics Career Fact Sheet is provided by Caerer One Stop

Maine Aesthetics Career Fact Sheet (As you can see, this is still an emerging profession in Maine. It will grow)

Polarity therapy is still too small to show up on the national employment data. However, this is a great advantage. Those who build and industry are usually the ones who benefit the most. It takes a more entrepreneurial person to succeed but if you have what it takes, it's an exciting ride.