Speech Pathologist

I'm not personally familiar with this field although I have heard from teacher friends and family that this is a highly sought after career path. One teacher friend told me that most schools have speech pathologists on staff working with the children. My daughter need the aid of a speech pathologist through the Easter Seals and that individual told me that they have "lots of work". Thought this might be useful to you. Good Luck!

Two of my college roommates were Speech Pathology majors. The only thing I would warn you of is the challenge of the major. They spent countless hours studying, and it takes the average person 6 years, going full time to get the degree (meaning it would probably take you 4 since you have a BA, but need a B.S.). I am not trying to discourage you, as I know that they both love the field that they are in, but they studied a lot and spent a lot of time in school. If you are willing to commit the time, it is a very rewarding career!

If you are truly interested, you need to learn American Sign Language. You cannot learn this beautiful language from a book. You will need to find somone who is certified. But you would have many hard of hearing and deaf patients and their families. ASL is a must for you to succeed. GL

I am an audiologist. My BS was in Comunication Science and Disorders (Speech Pathology and Audiology). I liked both fields, but ultimatley choose to get a clinical doctorate in audiology because I liked the technical aspect of working with hearing aids. Speech Pathology is an interesting, rewarding, and diverse field. You can work at a hospital with people who have difficulty swallowing (ie after a stroke), schools with children, or in speech therapy (ie after vocal cord surgery or singers). Important personal qualities of a speech patholgist include patience, desire to help others, creativity, and good interpersonal skills.

Course topics include: Anatomy, child language development, phonetics, audiology, and clinical placements

The masters degree takes about 2.5 years (including summers). When applying to grad schools I noticed that the yearly tuition did not factor in summer courses (by credit). These add up fast! Make sure you check into it.

The field is great because it is so flexible (full time, part time, and so many different settings). I work with a lot of speech pathologists who love their jobs. If you haven't done so already check out: www.asha.org

Please ask if you have any specific questions!

I am a speech therapist and have loved the field. You would be "out of field" when you apply for admission to graduate school. This just means that you will need to take some prerequisite undergraduate courses. I went into speech therapy after teaching for 2 years, so I was also "out of field."

There are many different areas of work. I have personally worked in subacute, acute hospital, inpatient rehab & elementary school. I currently stay home with my boys and work PRN (as needed) at a local hospital on the weekend. I have never regretted changing careers.

The graduate work consists of more than just attending classes. You will have a lot of clinical time required so take that into consideration. Contact a local program to get an idea of the current program curriculum.

Also, you don't have to know ASL. Very few speech jobs require sign language and the ones that do are VERY specialized. I've never come across a job that even preferred an applicant who knew ASL.

Good luck!