does massage therapy give you a heads up to Physical Therapy? or should I start out physical therapy aide?

A certified massage therapist makes very good money. Having this skill before going into school for Physical therapy can help you pay your way through school. Also, Physical Therapists who have training in massage therapy, get paid better and it is easier to get a job because prospective employeers would be getting two skills for the price of one.

I would go for the PTA first, there are more job opportunities for PT than for massage. Health insurance will pay for PT more readily than for massage. I’m a massage therapist, work for a chiropractor and the health insurance companies give a hard time about paying for massage, even though it’s a listed benefit. I make good money as an LMT, but I only get part time hours because of the payment struggles. The PT I work with gets full time hours, he does massage as well. So he has double the skills.
Go for the massage training AFTER the PT training.

Currently, there is a shortage for Physical Therapists so hit the books. Massage therapy limits your income because physically your hands can only work on so many people per day. It is more wearing on YOUR body. Pysical therapy is an health necessity and massage therapy is not.

Most massage therapists start their own business -that is how you can make more money. If you get a job in massage you start at $15-$20 an hour but can make a little more with time but the thing is that you can’t usually physically do more than 20-25 massages a week without burning out and also you only get paid that when you have a massage. If there is no massage client you usually have to clean and only get paid min. wage.

It is a good idea if you are good at selling yourself and valuing your work and ask for more money and prove your worth to potential employers.

Other than the fact that you could earn money in your spare time, there is no advantage to becoming a massage therapist prior to becoming a PT. The level of anatomy offered at most MT schools is substandard to the gross human anatomy required by PT programs. PTs are hardly using massage anymore, and any techniques you really need to know as a PT take only a few hours to learn. Most employers would not consider having your MT and PT to be of any further asset.

Becoming an assistant isn’t worth the effort either. It would take you two years to get the degree and then you would find out that you have to start all over again to become a PT.

Becoming an aide is possible, as it requires no formal experience. But it is not necessary to become an aide prior to becoming a PT. It’s a good experience, but it pays very little.

If you are serious about becoming a PT, I would start completing your prerequisites first.

If you are in need of cash while you go to school, I would actually consider being a personal trainer. You’ll learn more about exercise physiology and the time required to become a personal trainer is relatively little as compared to the MT (ie, you can start earning cash sooner). The start up costs for becoming a personal trainer can be significantly less than that of an MT.

My two cents

Choosing between physical therapy and massage therapy really boils down to where your interests lie. I think the only area that these two careers are very close is the medical massage career track. What kind of career are looking for? That would be the question I would ask myself.

Go to massage therapy school first if your overall goal is to eventually become a PT. It will serve you no additional marketability if you become a PTA, then go on to become a PT. You will have been schooled by the same school of thought. PTs often think they are schooled well enough to offer massage. Some are, but the fact is the majority typically are not. If you truly want to offer your patients a well-rounded approach to manual therapy, then you would benefit by being taught by different approaches to bodywork. MT schooling will get you started with understanding the body and how to comfortably work with people. The PT schooling will then solidify your understanding of anatomy, physiology, manual therapy, injury recovery and re-training. Having a MT license and a PT license will set you apart from the rest of the pack.