Speech Pathologist

October 30, 2016

Speech Pathologist Job Description

Speech Pathologist Salary Statistics as of 2015

Average annual salary for a Speech Pathologist is $64160 based on statistics in the U.S. as of 2015. The highest salary recorded was $101411. The lowest salary reported was $41523. These figures will vary on a state to state basis as these are averages across all 50 states.

How To Become a Speech Pathologist

There’s no undergraduate program for speech therapy. This doesn’t mean that those interested in the career don’t stand a chance at it. One has to enroll for a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders since speech therapy focuses on speech, language and hearing. Once you have acquired the bachelor’s degree, you need to gain acceptance for a master’s program to specialize in speech pathology. It takes between 2-3 years to complete the program. During or immediately after the master’s degree program, you have to find acceptance as a student in a program for you to get hands on experience in the real practice of speech pathology.

A successful internship completion certificate and a passed praxis exam are required in order for you to get official certification and license recognition as a speech pathology. This license will allow you to work anywhere you wish as a fully qualified speech pathologist. The license is obtained from the department of state health services where you have to submit a proof of bachelor’s degree certificates and at least 375 hours of clinical experience, completed as part of your master’s degree curriculum. All pathologists must be licensed by their home state and certified by the proper authorities.

Job Outlook

Speech pathologists are very much in demand as there are a number of people who are in need of these special services to correct their speech disabilities. Their main duty is to establish speech problems and come up with corrective measures for it. It’s an interesting and quite rewarding career.

Gender Statistics

Related Jobs

95%

Based on our stats gathered across the U.S. 95% of Speech Pathologists were males while 5% were females. These numbers are based on averages across all states combined. Some individual states may have a much different ratio however.

Past Jobs

Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP)
$40,118 – $90,903
Senior Speech Pathologist
$58,814 – $108,425
Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA)
$23,937 – $60,048

Future Jobs