Description
Speech pathologists are primarily responsible for diagnosing and treating people with communication disorders. The services they provide are intended to help people with literacy, cognitive-linguistic, speech, fluency, voice, or swallowing disorders caused by neurological diseases, cancer, stroke, seizures, or other underlying medical conditions. They enjoy a lot of flexibility with regard to work environments. Nursing facilities, hospitals, and schools have increasingly recruited speech pathologists, meaning these professionals can easily venture into self-employment and only deal with contract clients.
Education, training and certification
A person planning to practice as a speech pathologist must obtain a degree in speech pathology. You can choose to pursue a degree in a related field such as biology, audiology, and psychology. You also need to have a master’s degree in the same field. Most of the institutions that offer undergraduate courses also offer master’s programs.
While the full program can take up to six years to cover, this always pays off in terms of the earnings a professional receives once they enter the field.
A person must also go through a clinical internship where they can work alongside a professional when taking undergraduate classes in speech pathology. This practical training provides a real experience so that the individual has a good idea of what it can be like to work as a pathologist. Basic training includes basic physiology and anatomy, although there may also be instruction on conditions that lead to speech and swallowing difficulties. Speech therapists who train in professional settings must learn to create speech exercise programs and implement treatment in close contact with psychologists. Therapists are also trained to counsel patients and their families as the treatment plan progresses.
Before becoming a voice pathologist, a certification is required that will subsequently qualify you to provide services to clients. However, the specific requirements for certification and practice vary depending on the region in which a professional chooses to work. It is very important that anyone interested in this career familiarize themselves with the requirements of the practice. Knowing where you plan to work is also essential so that you are really prepared in the course of the training.
Average annual salary
The average annual salary for a speech pathologist is $ 72,730. This is calculated by adding all wages within the occupation and dividing that value by the total number of employees. The lowest 10% of this occupation earn less than $ 44,380 and the top 10% earn more than $ 107,650.
Factors that affect the salary of the voice pathologist
Primarily, the salary of a speech pathologist is highly dependent on the industry specifics of the position, as well as experience. The metropolitan location in which they work also has a significant influence, offering differences of more than $ 50,000. Since most speech pathologists have a similar education, this is not a defining factor in salary, nor is specialization; Most voice pathologists tend to work with a wide variety of speech problems, and the field has no specific specializations beyond the age-related comfort of the pathologist himself.
• Education and specialization: A master’s degree in speech pathology is required, followed by a certification and license as a speech pathologist. This is true in almost all jurisdictions, so educational differences have little to do with the salary of the speech pathologist. A speech pathologist working in the public school system will earn an average of $ 66,440, somewhat below average, while the salary of a speech pathologist in a general hospital is $ 75,700, just above average. While this cannot be attributed to a specific specialization, the choice of people the pathologist wishes to work with is a particular factor.
• Experience and position: Like all fields, experience is a factor that influences the salary of the speech pathologist. However, with differences in geographic location and industry specifics, it is not a major factor. Overall experience and time in a particular position will offer salary increases similar to other positions.
• Industry: Having a large number of potential industries in which a speech pathologist can work, this is one of the factors that most influences salary. As mentioned, schools will be below average, while general hospitals will improve slightly. Childcare positions show a large increase, offering an average salary of $ 87,370. Home health care services improve this, showing an average salary of $ 91,220. However, the highest-paying side of the industry is in other outpatient health care services, with a median salary of $ 105,800, or about $ 30,000 above average.
• Location: Geographic location also has a significant impact on voice pathologist salary, with the highest paying states offering approximately $ 10,000 more than average. Salary offers from the District of Columbia are the highest, at $ 86,220, followed by New Jersey at $ 84,660 and Colorado at $ 83,780. However, a closer look at metropolitan areas reveals even higher earnings, with Sherman-Denison, Texas, topping salary averages by roughly $ 101,530.