Career Change to SLP

[Dr. Kimchi]

Hi everyone. I would like to ask for some advice, please. I am considering making a career change to SLP. I am a teacher and have been in the teaching profession for more than ten years now. I really loved education and have continuously strived to better myself professionally. In doing so I managed to get my BA, MA, and Ed.D. However, I am deeply depressed about my profession. The field of education is no longer what it used to be. I no longer feel like a professional who can exercise his craft. Rather I feel like a mindless drone that has to pretend that kids are receiving an education. I no longer find meaning in what I do, and I really want to change that. I have always been fascinated with language and how the human brain works with regard to language acquisition, hence why I got an MA in TESOL.

I love the idea of SLP and being able to make a difference in kids' lives again. However, I am scared of falling into another trap. Is it worth it in 2023 to become an SLP? I am not looking for wishy-washy university brochure answers. What is the reality in the field?

 

Kind regards

Dr. Kimchi

[meadymalarkey]

I think it depends on the district you end up in a lot of the time. I love being an SLP in education, but I am in my clinical fellowship year. I am aware that burnout is high in our field and it can be very frustrating depending on how you fit into the school culture/how you're seen by admin and other educators. 

I'd recommend checking out the r/slp forum on reddit to get a better idea of actually working SLPs. Note that it has a lot of complaints, which may not be as reflective of people's experiences on the whole, but it will give you an idea of what people tend to have issues with (both in education and in medical spaces).

Personally, making a difference in student lives is a huge draw, but I don't think it's enough to go into speech pathology on top of all of the credentials you already have, as the complaints you've listed are also true of SLPs. Being a linguistics nerd is a good start. Do you also enjoy writing lots of reports and tricking kids into completing assessments in a fun way? Do you thrive when falling ass-backward into one-on-one and/or small group instructional situations and somehow manage, more often than not, to make them meaningful for who you're working with? What else do you think you'll get out of it?