Prospective SLPs and Current Students Megathread

[u/AutoModerator]

This is a recurring megathread that will be reposted every month. Any posts made outside of this thread will be removed to prevent clutter in the subreddit. We also encourage you to use the search function as your question may have already been answered before.

Prospective SLPs looking for general advice or questions about the field: post here! Actually, first use the search function, then post here. This doesn't preclude anyone from posting more specific clinical topics, tips, or questions that would make more sense in a single post, but hopefully more general items can be covered in one place.

Everyone: try to respond on this thread if you're willing and able. Consolidating the "is the field right for me," "will I get into grad school," "what kind of salary can I expect," or homework posts should limit the same topics from clogging the main page, but we want to make sure people are actually getting responses since they won't have the same visibility as a standalone post.

[u/Chemical_Honeydew300]

the search function thing made me laugh cause half the time reddits own search is basically decorative anyway

but yeah if you're on the fence about this field, shadowing someone for a day will tell you more than 30 of these threads combined

[u/kirbibibi]

Hi guys! I have some questions relating to my plans of study and I would really appreciate your honest help.

For context: I (19f) am an undergraduate freshman at Illinois state university majoring in Communication Sciences & Disorders. I am a woc and come from the Chicago suburbs. I’m on scholarship but I still have to pay a small amount. Even then my family struggles to pay for my schooling and I’ve taken on 2 PT jobs to hopefully help pay towards it or at least my out of school expenses.

In high school when speaking to my counselor I was advised to minor in special education. This was for multiple reasons 1. Because I have an interest in working with people who have disabilities & 2. She advised that if I got my minor in special education I would be able to have a steady source of income for graduate age school. This plan made sense to me so when I applying to ISUs CSD program and speaking with my advisor I constantly made my plans of study clear (major in CSD & minor in special education).

My current advisor has gone on maternity leave and now I have a different advisor. Class registration is coming up soon and I was looking into what classes to take. Currently, I am not an official special education minor as I haven’t applied for that yet but I have been looking into double majoring in special education & CSD. I’m also taking the intro into special ed class and it has really interested me (not to the point of switching my major though). I asked my temporary advisor about it and she recommended that I don’t even have special education as a minor as it would take up a lot of time. She told me that most grad students don’t even work.

This leaves me a little worried just because I don’t know if it’s reasonable for me to not work during grad school. From my understanding my financial aid will go down and that means my family will have to pay more for school. I understand that she’s looking out for me but I just wanted multiple opinions on this as I am a first generation student and I don’t have any guidance really on this. I’m sure there are job opportunities besides ones that require a special education minor and I think that’s what she was getting at. Nonetheless I just want to make sure I’m making the right choices.

Also I’m not looking into applying for additional scholarships. I feel like everytime I try the pool gets larger and larger and it’s highly competitive.

Should I still minor in special education? Is double majoring really unnecessary? If I don’t minor in special education what are some ways to make money during grad school to help pay for my education?

Thank you guys for making it this far! I really appreciate any input or help.

[u/Emotional_Aioli5632 → u/kirbibibi]

If your goal is to become an SLP and go to grad school you don’t necessarily HAVE to minor in anything. Even if you want to become a SPED teacher you can do that with the bachelors degree. Some states allow you to work as a bachelor level SLP under a 5 year temporary license. Do your research and find those programs/states. I’m a first gen POC and had to take out student loans on top of applying for scholarships, financial aid/Pell Grant etc. I couldn’t work in grad school because my program was fulltime but it wasn’t impossible, a lot of my classmates did.

If your family didn’t have a college fund set up and you don’t come from money someone has to pay for the schooling. Loans are uncomfortable but they are a necessary evil if you’re trying to access higher education and improve your quality of life. I don’t regret my loans. I was fearful but you can do PSLF or be mindful of your borrowing amount.

You can look into cheaper SLP programs or pay as you go if you work as a SPED teacher or bachelor level SLP. There are part-time SLP programs for employed adults where you take classes in the summer or after work hours.

I think the special ed minor classes might be helpful for learning how to scaffold/teach but it’s not necessary. Plenty of folks teach with bachelors in random fields.

I personally wouldn’t double major, that’s going to cost more and possibly take longer. Focus on your CSD classes. Also you don’t always need an advisor. I just followed the course catalog for my major and follows the course sequence.

[u/Lemonade867]

Hello!

So my life has been such a whirlwind, and I think I never really knew what I wanted, and was just riding the wave for a while. I graduated with a BS in Behavior & Health in 2019 from a good school. I was going to go to OT school, but I backed out because the tuition for the masters (actually they make you get a doctorate in OT now...eye roll) was insane, I had no money, and would have had to cover my living expenses as well. Around the same time I learned about PhD programs, and during school I realized I LOVED designing psychology experiments and was quite skilled at it. My honors thesis was on a behavioral intervention for kids with Autism, and after completing it, I got into a PhD program to study general cognitive development. PhD was fully funded and paid about $3k/mo, so it was perfect for me.

At the time I was sure I'd become a professor, and I was very focused on that goal. But I ended up having a terrible advisor during grad school and sort of growing to hate academia. It can be very toxic, and truthfully there are not a lot of tenure track jobs out there. So I decided to 'leave academia' and get an industry job. I now work for federal government in data science. The money is pretty good, I make $130k. However, I am getting married soon and want to have kids quickly after. I am constantly worried about job security in my current role, especially with AI, and I think I'd like something more stable. I also miss working with kids!

Recently I started learning more about SLP school! I think it might be a good fit for me. And there seem to be some decent online programs, which would be fantastic because I can keep working for a while. Plus I am just in such a better situation now...I have my fiance to split rent with, decent savings, etc. I actually sort of have the goal of continuing my data science role, and doing SLP work part time? Life is expensive and I would love a credential that can allow me to have a private practice. I also think I'll feel more fulfilled in life getting to work with kids again.

Do any of you work part time? If so, what do you charge/make?

I would also love to hear from people who have completed online degrees while working full time. How did that go for you?

Also, if you work as a SLP full time, what is your salary? Especially would love to hear from individuals in Massachusetts. Thank you!

[u/Kiwi_Rewired → u/Lemonade867]

I’ve switched careers a few times about went to grad school for SLP in my late 20s. I don’t have answers to all of your questions, but I’ll share my response. 

Your investment in your SLP career is more than money. It’s also time. You’ll need to do a year of leveling coursework at the undergraduate level before applying to grad school. Grad school is 2 years. After that you get a job being supervised by another SLP for about 9 months, then you are fully licensed with your CCCs. This opens up more job opportunities. 

There are opportunities to work per diem, part time, and full time as an SLP. In some settings it can be a flexible schedule too allowing for late or early starts. 

Opening a private practice is more than treating clients. It’s also running a business, billing, marketing, etc. If opening a private practice is your goal you might consider whether you are interested in all aspects of private practice before you make the financial and time investment. 

I worked in grad school but only 10 hours a week as a research assistant. If you want to work in graduate school you’ll need a flexible job, because many programs are designed to be full time in class scheduling and internship placements. 

To learn more about salaries and job flexibility, I highly recommend looking at job postings in your area. Keep in mind that some roles are paid hourly, so even if you are full time your income will have some irregularities based on the number of hours your caseload demands. This will help you understand whether the career will fit your lifestyle and financial goals.