If you're a physician, nurse practitioner, PA, or registered nurse looking to break into aesthetic medicine, working for an established med spa is one of the smartest first moves you can make. It gives you clinical mentorship, a built-in patient flow, and income from day one — without the financial risk of opening your own practice. But landing the right position and negotiating a fair deal requires preparation that most practitioners never receive in their clinical training.
Empire Medical Training has trained over 175,000 healthcare professionals since 1998, and we've seen firsthand what separates injectors who thrive in med spa environments from those who struggle. This course gives you the insider knowledge you need to get hired, negotiate effectively, and build a successful career as an employed aesthetic injector.
Building an aesthetic resume that stands out. Your clinical resume isn't enough. Med spa owners want to see aesthetic-specific experience, injection training credentials, a professional online presence, and evidence that you understand the business side of aesthetics. We'll show you how to reframe your existing clinical experience — whether that's ER nursing, family medicine, or dental practice — into a compelling aesthetic resume that gets callbacks. You'll learn how to build a professional Instagram presence, create a before-and-after portfolio (even before your first paying patient), and position yourself as a serious candidate.
Acing the med spa interview. Interviews at med spas are fundamentally different from hospital or clinic interviews. Owners want to know: Can you sell? Can you retain patients? Do you have an aesthetic eye? Will you contribute to our brand? This course prepares you for the questions you'll actually be asked, including clinical scenario questions, consultation role-plays, and business-oriented inquiries about how you plan to build your chair. We cover what to wear, what to bring, and the critical first impression signals that med spa owners evaluate within the first 60 seconds.
Understanding compensation models. This is where most new injectors make costly mistakes. Compensation structures in med spas vary dramatically, and understanding the math behind each model is essential to evaluating offers. The most common models include:
- Hourly pay ($40-$75/hr): Predictable income, common for newer injectors. Your annual earnings at 40 hours/week range from roughly $83,000-$156,000 before taxes.
- Commission-based (15-25% of treatment revenue): Income scales with volume. An injector generating $30,000/month in treatment revenue at 20% commission earns $6,000/month ($72,000/year). At $60,000/month, that jumps to $144,000/year.
- Revenue split (40-60%): Typically reserved for experienced injectors who bring their own patient following. You receive a larger percentage of the revenue you generate, but may be responsible for your own supplies or malpractice insurance.
- Hybrid models: Many med spas offer a base salary plus commission above a threshold, or tiered commission rates that increase as you hit volume targets.
Red flags in employment contracts. Not all med spa contracts are created equal. We'll teach you to identify and negotiate around the most common pitfalls: overly broad non-compete clauses that could prevent you from working anywhere in your city for two years, non-solicitation agreements that claim your patients belong to the practice, training repayment clauses that lock you in with financial penalties, and vague termination provisions that leave you unprotected. You'll receive a contract review checklist that covers every critical provision.
Performance expectations and the typical day. What does a day in the life of a med spa injector actually look like? Depending on the practice, you may see 8-15 patients per day, rotate between injectables, laser treatments, and skin care consultations, contribute to social media content, and participate in marketing events. We cover realistic productivity expectations, the metrics owners use to evaluate your performance (revenue per hour, patient retention rate, average ticket), and how to exceed expectations without burning out.
Building toward your long-term goals. Working for a med spa isn't just a job — it's a strategic stepping stone. Whether you plan to stay employed long-term, eventually open your own practice, or build a mobile aesthetics business, the experience and patient relationships you develop as an employed injector are invaluable. We'll show you how to use your time as an employee to build skills, confidence, and a patient following that positions you for whatever comes next.
This is Course 5 of the Practitioner Transition Bootcamp — a 10-course program designed to take you from career planning to a thriving aesthetic practice. If you haven't yet mapped your career path, start with Course 1: The Aesthetic Career Transition. When you're ready to think about growth and leadership, Course 10: Scaling Your Aesthetic Practice covers hiring, expansion, and building a multi-provider operation.
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