Firstly, you need to find a really good school. Check your local phonebook to see what they offer and the price. I know schools have gone up in the past 10 years since it's popularity has grown.

I was at one time interested in becoming one but talked to people who are one and decided not to. I'm in Las Vegas, NV so one of the reasons I decided not to, is that it's hard to establish yourself as a "credible" massage therapist, meaning nothing sexually oriented. Some people think that because you massage in hotel rooms, etc......that your an escort service disquised as a masseuse. (i'm sure there are some of those to, but I wasnt' interested in that)

Also, a friend of mine didn't like the fact of massaging people who didn't bathe, had bad hygiene and so on. Theres' a lot to think of although I think the service is a very important one if you find a good company to work for, attend a good school, and is something your passionate about.

Hope that helps a little! Too many "facts" to list. I graduated with 750 hours of training. And that is classroom hours as well as hands on practical training. Regulations and licensing vary by state, sometimes even by city. There are longer courses and there are shorter courses, just depends what is required and what the schools offer. The prerequisites I tell all prospective massage students is the following:

First, "You gotta have the want to". Meaning that you have to have the inner drive to want to help people. If you are going into it just to make money, look into other types of training, because you will burnout right away, because being an MT isn't your average 9-5 job.