Joel Hamilton

Joel Hamilton graduated from the Part-Time Professional Massage Therapy Program in October of 2002 from the Salt Lake Campus of the UCMT Family of Schools. Soon after graduating, Joel moved to Telluride, Colorado to begin his career as a massage therapist for the prestigious Golden Door Spa at the Wyndham Peaks Resort. Joel recently submitted the following letter describing his success and the process of overcoming self-doubt along with some advice to current students:

"When I first started school I had a pretty bad attitude about finding a job when I graduated from school. I was always hearing [from other students] that it was harder for [male therapists] to get jobs. When hearing this all the time, it started to upset me. So one day Heather [Hans, Career Services Manager of the Salt Lake Campus] printed up some success stories of other male therapists. After reading their stories, I was determined to have a success story of my own. I decided it was time I did something about it.

"So I went and got the [UCMT Family of Schools Classified] Jobs Listing that the school had. I then started sending out my cover letter and resume. By the time I was done, I had sent out nearly 200 cover letters and resumes [before] I had graduated. I also went to almost every job recruiting event that the school held which paid off for me.

"I now work for the Golden Door Spa at the Wyndham Peaks Hotel in Telluride, CO. It is one of the highest ranked spas in the country. The experience that I have gained working at the spa has been incredible.

"The advice I would have to give someone is to definitely take advantage of Career Services. And if you are wanting to work in a spa, I would recommend doing 5 massages each Clinic shift. I never did, but I wish I would of now. In a spa, it is very common to do 5-6 massages a day during the busy season. Also, take advantage of mastering your time management between each massage. At the Golden Door Spa, the therapist has only 10 minutes between each massage. In that 10 minutes you have to escort the client back to the Tea Room, go back to your room and take the dirty sheets off your table and then reset your table, then you have to take your dirty sheets to the laundry shoot, wash your hands, then look on the computer to see who your next client is, and go pick them up in the Tea Room. It can be very challenging at times, but is well worth it.

"So I wish you all the best of luck. There are jobs out there for everybody. You just have to want it bad enough!"