Dear Lauriann,
Initially I chose a part-time massage career because of the physical strain of this type of work, but now I feel that I must either choose to work full time at massage or leave the profession altogether, I am reluctant to make this decision hastily as I invested thousands of dollars in my massage education and two-and-a-half years in work experience. I would appreciate any opinions or suggestions you can provide.
Peggy

Dear Peggy,
You are indeed in a difficult situation. I'm glad to hear that you considered the physical strain of a career in massage in choosing your work options. As you accurately noted, giving massage full time is hard on the body. To avoid injury, one has to make a commitment to working out and staying in top physical shape, and even those who do that can get injured (just as any athlete can get injured). Anyone who isn't sure she can make that commitment is wise to think of alternatives to a full-time career in massage.  A part-time massage career is a great idea; unfortunately, making it work financially and practically is not easy, as you are finding out. 

The challenges and frustrations you are experiencing - competition from other practitioners, low pay from employers, lack of peer support and isolation - are shared by many professional massage therapists.  In a part-time career, these challenges are even greater. The competition is fiercer when you have less time to take clients and can't invest the same amount of time in marketing as full-time therapists; low pay means you may need another job to make ends meet; and isolation from colleagues and lack of peer support inhibit the exchange of ideas that would enable you to learn from the experiences of others in your field. 

Certainly dividing your time, energy and attention between two totally unrelated fields (massage and administration) could be difficult and wearing. Massage can be a great career, but it can also be a difficult one. Here are some suggestions to help you stay in the field:

Contact a local, or state/provincial professional massage association chapter; there you will find colleagues with an active interest in the profession and in providing peer support.

Explore whether an almost-full-time or full-time massage career can work for you. If you make a commitment to good body mechanics, working out, and optimizing your work schedule and environment, you might be able to handle a full-time career without getting injured (you can read my book, Save Your Hands!, for more guidelines and suggestions on preventing injury in your massage career).

Take a massage-related second job instead of an administrative job. You could try teaching massage. Or you could train in a bodywork technique that is less stressful to the body than Swedish or deep-tissue massage, like Reiki, Feldenkrais® or Trager® work. Offering spa modalities like aromatherapy or hydrotherapy can also greatly enhance your income and bring in enough clients to boost your income to a full-time level.

You really have a good number of options left to explore. If, after looking into and/or trying some of these alternatives, you still feel it's time to leave the massage profession, you will feel that you gave it your best shot.
Good luck!

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Lauriann Greene is a massage therapist and the author of Save Your Hands! Injury Prevention for Massage Therapists which is used by massage schools in North America and in five other countries; and by physical therapists, chiropractors, and other manual therapists to help prevent injury.  She has also taught "Save Your Hands" workshops in numerous locations across America.