Speech Pathologist Schools and Career Info

Things you need to know, but nobody tells you

I was surprised at how some professors you were unclear of the outside profession. I was surprised at how Central Michigan University could give you such a great...[full comment]

As a speech pathologist, its important that I stay abreast in my field and try to help it progressively move forward. I was surprised by how much research is involved...[full comment]

I was surprised at the ratio of women to men in this field. There is about 8 women for every 1 man. It's surprising due to the need of qualified...[full comment]

How much paperwork is involved. I thought that the job would just be therapy with some report writing. The state requires way more paperwork that I was prepared for. ...[full comment]

One of the best parts of my job is interacting my students. It's very rewarding to help a child make progress, whatever that progress consists of: be it with following...[full comment]

1.Observe! Go and observe people working in the setting in which you think you want to work. Graduate school is very demanding in terms of time, money, and energy, and...[full comment]

Some of the best parts of the job involve working with the students, and helping them to achieve their goals and perform better in school. What can be very difficult...[full comment]

The master's program for Speech is very intensive and contains a lot of credits and coursework. I found it to be very helpful to have real-life experience in between getting...[full comment]

I love working with kids. It makes me feel younger to work with kids everyday. It is also nice to know that I make an impact on these kids and...[full comment]

It is essential that you take as many courses as possible in anatomy and treatment techniques. In addition, it is important to get involved in activities related to the field...[full comment]

The best part of the job is the day-to-day therapy with the children and the collaboration with other specialists such as occupational therapists and augmentative communication specialists. I particularly love...[full comment]

1. It takes much longer to start a career in speech language pathology if you do not get your BA in Communication Disorders first. If you only decide to become...[full comment]

 
 

School and Career Surprises: Tips From People on the Job

Each comment from a speech pathologist includes their career and school ratings.

Career: "As a speech pathologist, its important that I stay abreast in my field and try to help it progressively move forward. I was surprised by how much research is involved in my field. Whether it be with a specific client or if it's a professional doing it own their own accord. I talked to some of my co-workers and they are all involved in some type of research. I also went back to my school and found out that some of my professors were currently doing research as well. One of them is even about to release a book on some of his findings."

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School: Studied Communication Disorders at University Of Central Florida in Florida; completed Master degree in 2010
Career: Speech Pathology, male, 2 years of experience, currently based in Florida

Career: "I was surprised at the ratio of women to men in this field. There is about 8 women for every 1 man. It's surprising due to the need of qualified SLPs in both educational and medical settings."

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School: Studied Communication Sciences And Disorders at University Of New Hampshire in New Hampshire; completed Master degree in 2010
Career: Speech-Language Pathologist, male, 3 years of experience, currently based in New Hampshire

School: "I was surprised at how some professors you were unclear of the outside profession. I was surprised at how Central Michigan University could give you such a great clinical experience"

Career: "How much paperwork is involved. I thought that the job would just be therapy with some report writing. The state requires way more paperwork that I was prepared for. It surprises me how much drama can happen within the educational setting."

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School: Studied Communication Disorders at Central Michigan University in Michigan; completed Master degree in 2006
Career: Speech Therapist, female, 6 years of experience, currently based in Michigan

Best & Worst Things About This Career

As reported by people currently doing the job

"One of the best parts of my job is interacting my students. It's very rewarding to help a child make progress, whatever that progress consists of: be it with following directions, making grammatical sentences, or making an "s" that doesn't sound funny. I work with wonderful teachers and am part of a large school system, so I have great benefits. The worst part of my job is that the paperwork frequently changes; as soon as you figure out how the district wants paperwork done, they change it! Also, sometimes my schedule is really busy, and I don't have as much planning time as I would prefer. In the school systems, speech language pathologist often have very high caseloads (i.e., lots of kids to serve)."

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School : MA, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Career: Speech Language Pathologist, currently based in North Carolina;

"The best part of the job is the day-to-day therapy with the children and the collaboration with other specialists such as occupational therapists and augmentative communication specialists. I particularly love the challenges and rewards associated with working with children on the autism spectrum. The most difficult part of the job is keeping up with the paperwork demands. Screening, assessing, and developing annual education plans known as IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) can be very time-consuming and take away from the time that you have to devote to helping your clients."

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School : BA, English and Special Education, Boston College MS, Speech Language Pathology, University of the Pacific
Career: Speech Pathologist, currently based in California;

Tips for Succeeding in This Career

Helpful info from insiders

"1.Observe! Go and observe people working in the setting in which you think you want to work. Graduate school is very demanding in terms of time, money, and energy, and you want to be certain that you are going to end up somewhere you want to be. 2. Choose your intern sites carefully; this is where you'll really get what comes closest to "on the job training." 3. Write down your intervention ideas whenever they come to you. There is no owner's manual for therapy. But that's the good news in away. It means there's a lot of space for creativity. However, it also means that sometimes you may not feel so creative, but must come up with a therapy plan anyway. It's helpful to have a list of ideas handy. 4. Always remember that your clients are human beings, not just slots in your therapy schedule. Always treat all of them with respect."

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School : MA, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Career: Speech Language Pathologist, currently based in North Carolina;

"1. It takes much longer to start a career in speech language pathology if you do not get your BA in Communication Disorders first. If you only decide to become an SLP after getting your bachelor's, it may take you up to four years full-time to complete your master's degree. 2. Consider pursuing an internship in a medical setting as it is easier to move from a medical setting to a school down the road than it is to do the opposite. 3. Complete internships in a wide variety of settings so that you are familiar with all that the field has to offer. You'd be surprised how many people end up liking working in a setting that they had initially been dead set against."

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School : BA, English and Special Education, Boston College MS, Speech Language Pathology, University of the Pacific
Career: Speech Pathologist, currently based in California;