SLPA worth it?

[ninabobina27]

I am going to be receiving my Bachelors in Speech and Language Pathology. I didn't get into any of the graduate schools I applied to in California. I was wondering if doing SLPA is worth it. I want to apply to graduate school again and I have a lot of experience with the elderly, but not so much with children Since I will have a few months of no school, I really want to get experience. I know graduate school really likes the work experience with children. If I volunteered more with children or was even a substitute teacher for elementary ages children, would that be good enough. Or is SLPA the only way that guarantees a spot in graduate school? Because SLPA is very expensive and I have heard that job opportunities for SLPA are not guaranteed.

[Yancey]

Hi. Sorry to hear about grad school, but this will definitely give you an opportunity to strengthen areas of your application. I graduated with my BA from a California school (Fall) and we had an SLPA course that I took that enabled me to gain the 70-100 hours required for my SLPA license. Is there a SLPA course offered at your school? You can also get your SLPA license through a community college program if they offer it or if you are hired or working as an SLPA for nine months you can get a waiver for a license (do not remember the exact requirements but it's available on ASHA). I got into graduate school with a SLPA internship and I also volunteered with students. I also volunteered in my schools clinic with adults. I do not think it is necessary to work as an SLPA, but you would receive great experience that would be geared toward providing therapy (those experiences could strengthen your SOP). When you volunteer/shadow depending on the place/person you may or may not get as in depth or hands on opportunities. It would also allow you to earn extra money and possible get a more personal LOR from your SLP supervisor. Ultimately I think it is important to take the experiences you have (SLPA or just volunteering/shadowing) and really showcase how they strengthen your ability to succeed in that schools master’s program.

Edited May 11, 2014 by Yancey

[Missthang]

I absolutely agree with everything Yancey said above.

 

While it's not easy to say whether or not being an SLPA will improve your chances or not, it is important to use that year (or however along until you submit your next round applications) to improve each area of your application. I was friends with a girl who graduated in 2012 who was denied at all programs she applied to. For the next year she simply resubmitted almost the exact same application again (really didn't add or revise anything) and was denied again. The next year she began to work as a teacher at a school specifically for kids w/ hearing impairments and has done a lot to improve her work and related experiences, yet was denied again. While this is just my opinion, I really think she was still denied bc even though her resume has improved with more experience, she hasn't addressed any of the other areas in her application that may need some tweaking like personal statement/GRE/LOR... I think she's finally realized that redoing her personal statement, maybe retaking the GRE, switching up LOR writers, etc will enhance her overall application like how the relevant working/volunteering experience did.

 

It definitely can't hurt you to become an SLPA, so I would definitely go for it!

[lookwhoslp]

I think they like any experience, although SLPA would be slightly more applicable since you'll see therapy. You'll have to check and see if your state needs certification for SLPAs though, which might require some classes or other things. Over all, I think if you help at a summer camp, daycare, etc... for the summer and into the school year that could help. If you really are worried about experience with kids maybe find an organization that relates to a population SLPs work with (like Autism, Cerebral Palsy...)

 

Like the above posters said, I think its a little less about what experiences you have and more about how you apply those in your statement of purpose. You want to say how those have prepared you to be a grad student and a speech pathologist and what you took away from those.

 

That being said, if you feel that kids aren't your thing and really want to focus on adults... that's fine too! The like diversity and just mention in your statement of purpose that with past experience you feel that adults are more in your area of interest, but you are still open to being around kids  in your clinical placements to solidify that idea. (To back this up you might want to volunteer like 20 hours at a daycare or something to have "proof" you don't like kids) As long as you say you're open to other things but have stronger interests in other things , even if you end up not doing volunteer stuff with kids, that's fine... like I said they want diversity. I think they like people with diverse interests, who are possibly certain of what they want to do but are still open to other experiences.

 

Also, you said you only applied to California schools. Perhaps beefing up your resume in other ways might help too... California is VERY competitive. Those schools are pretty hard to get into. So, maybe consider applying to schools in states near California if you can as they might not be as bad to get into. 

Edited May 11, 2014 by lookwhoslp

[mo~]

Thanks for sharing, I was wondering about this too. Does anyone know how much a California SLPA typically makes?

[dial1010usa]

If SLPA back up plan fails what is next?

 

Volunteer?  Where exactly to volunteer? Schools?

 

Where/what else you can ask for that? Is there any other website beside care.com?

[sayjo]

If SLPA back up plan fails what is next?

 

Volunteer?  Where exactly to volunteer? Schools?

 

Where/what else you can ask for that? Is there any other website beside care.com?

 

I posted this in another thread, but through college I worked for my local park district.  They hired "inclusion" staff, which were basically one-on-one aids for children with disabilities (autism, Down's) to help them through park district activities (swim lessons, camp, etc).  Inclusion staff were specially trained, learned how to use the PEC system, etc. 

 

You could also look into being a Paraprofessional in the school districts.

[laurengreen1]

CA laws for SLPA licensure are very annoying. Either you have a BA or BS where you did your fieldwork as part of the program, you get an AA in SLPA, or you have a BA/BS in the field, plus a post-grad SLPA fieldwork program (only offered by Northridge, UNLESS you graduated from Sac State or Chapman, in which case you can go through them to get your fieldwork). There's also the loophole of 9 mos full time work as a SLPA in a public school instead of going through the SLPA fieldwork program, but no school district will hire you without a certificate, so it's a catch-22. :/

 

I work as an Instructional Aide in a Special Ed preschool class--the pay is super low for having 2 Bachelors' degrees and being a former teacher, but the experience is invaluable. (Also the stress is a lot less than you have as a teacher--no work to take home). All of the kids have speech and language needs, so there's a big language focus throughout the day. I even started doing group speech lessons a couple times a week and the teacher and other staff love it. It's really great experience. Another plus is I have a new, STRONG reference from the SPED teacher. Since you can't really work specifically in Speech/Language without the license, I think IA jobs with SPED are the next best thing, unless you want to move to Oregon where you can be a SLPA with just the BA/BS. For me, I'm just hoping to get into Northridge's SLPA program in the fall so I can get licensed and paid as a SLPA until I get into and finish grad school.

 

Good luck!

[Charlotte C]

@laurengreen1 I know this thread is a bit old but in case you hadn't heard of it, Loma Linda U has an SLPA program that is less expensive and is easy to get into

[laurengreen1]

Thanks! I just finished with my SLPA program at Northridge, but I'm sure the info will be useful to others.

 

@ mo~: It's a bit late, but my clinical supervisor (from my SLPA program) is hiring me @ $25/hr in her clinic. I think school districts pay around $20/hr for new SLPAs and the SLPA pay range in CA (schools and private practice) is around $18-$30/hr depending on years of experience.

[mo~]

Thanks! I just finished with my SLPA program at Northridge, but I'm sure the info will be useful to others.

 

@ mo~: It's a bit late, but my clinical supervisor (from my SLPA program) is hiring me @ $25/hr in her clinic. I think school districts pay around $20/hr for new SLPAs and the SLPA pay range in CA (schools and private practice) is around $18-$30/hr depending on years of experience.

Wow that is definitely encouraging! Thank you for sharing Congratulations!

[SLA]

I am currently working as an SLPA and absolutely love it! I couldn't get into grad school right off the bat so I actually got a masters in SPED and reapplied to grad school for speech for fall 2015. I'm not sure if it will help me or not already having a masters degree but I sure hope so. Either way I love being an SLPA. I work with children and have had the opportunity to work with a variety of different cases and disorders without having to test and write reports. The experience I have gained has been amazing. If I don't get into school this time around I wont be devastated because I love my job. If you can't get into school, give an SLPA position a try. I think that you will love it too. Good Luck!

[takeuwithme]

I am currently working as an SLPA and absolutely love it! I couldn't get into grad school right off the bat so I actually got a masters in SPED and reapplied to grad school for speech for fall 2015. I'm not sure if it will help me or not already having a masters degree but I sure hope so. Either way I love being an SLPA. I work with children and have had the opportunity to work with a variety of different cases and disorders without having to test and write reports. The experience I have gained has been amazing. If I don't get into school this time around I wont be devastated because I love my job. If you can't get into school, give an SLPA position a try. I think that you will love it too. Good Luck!

Wow finally something good that I have read about SLPA.  I am so happy to hear that.  Speech Language Pathology was voted on top ten list of least stressful careers.  Then I've seen forum discussions where people say it's horrible.  Did you get into grad school? I have a bachelor's degree in Sociology/Human Services and minor in Spanish.  I'm not fluent, but I can have a basic conversation in Spanish.  I've been hearing horror stories on how hard it is to get into grad school.  Some people say get a Post-Bac certificate, but I just looked it up and it's TWICE the amount of money as getting my SLPA.  Plus SLPA will give me introductory knowledge on the topic which will better prepare me for grad school.  Are you working part time as SLPA or full time? 

 

Thanks for your encouragement!!!

[takeuwithme]

Hi. Sorry to hear about grad school, but this will definitely give you an opportunity to strengthen areas of your application. I graduated with my BA from a California school (Fall) and we had an SLPA course that I took that enabled me to gain the 70-100 hours required for my SLPA license. Is there a SLPA course offered at your school? You can also get your SLPA license through a community college program if they offer it or if you are hired or working as an SLPA for nine months you can get a waiver for a license (do not remember the exact requirements but it's available on ASHA). I got into graduate school with a SLPA internship and I also volunteered with students. I also volunteered in my schools clinic with adults. I do not think it is necessary to work as an SLPA, but you would receive great experience that would be geared toward providing therapy (those experiences could strengthen your SOP). When you volunteer/shadow depending on the place/person you may or may not get as in depth or hands on opportunities. It would also allow you to earn extra money and possible get a more personal LOR from your SLP supervisor. Ultimately I think it is important to take the experiences you have (SLPA or just volunteering/shadowing) and really showcase how they strengthen your ability to succeed in that schools master’s program.

 

I have a BA in Sociology/Human Services with minor in Spanish.  I volunteered for almost two years tutoring English as a Second Language.   My GPA in college was 3.11.  I am hoping to improve that during my SLPA online program.  Some people are saying get Post-Bac certificate, but I disagree, as SLPA program is much cheaper and it will give me a lot more knowledge and experience than going into grad school with limited knowledge.  I believe I would set myself up to fail by going into advanced grad classes with minimal knowledge, whereas SLPA program would give me intro and intermediate classes on the subject.  Plus, volunteering has no monetary gain whereas getting a part time job as SLPA will help me save for grad school in the long run.  Thank you for encouraging SLPA! I agree!

[annedn]

Hi there,

 

I am in the same boat as you. Best of luck to you when you re-apply to schools! I was considering SLPA as well. ASHA has a FAQ section about SLPA jobs and programs: http://www.asha.org/associates/SLPA-FAQs/. Definitely some pros and cons to consider. One is actually finding a program that will certify you for an SLPA which can take about a year plus the clinical hours needed to finish that program. I found out from my program director for a post BA in SLP that SLPA jobs are not accepted nation-wide. Some states offer it as a job option, but the plan is to slowly transition anyone interested in the SLP field to get an MA, which in our case, can kinda suck!

 

If you want to consider hands on clinical experience, I would recommend applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy. There are a lot of ABA companies in California. Some of the SLP programs had open houses and they spoke highly of applicants working in the ABA field because they worked in similar positions as SLPAs. 

 

Hope that helps and good luck on your endeavors!

 

 

[mr479]

Your SLPA program will not count as prerequisite coursework to get into grad school or to start Masters level coursework. You will have to do a postbac program no matter what. So this will not save you any $ at all. Courses at a community college generally will not count as equivalent coursework when applying to a Masters program.

[MangoSmoothie]

Your SLPA program will not count as prerequisite coursework to get into grad school or to start Masters level coursework. You will have to do a postbac program no matter what. So this will not save you any $ at all. Courses at a community college generally will not count as equivalent coursework when applying to a Masters program.

 

Yeah... No matter what, you will still have to do the basic leveling coursework, even if you get admitted to a master's program right away. They would just extend your stay to 3 years to allow you to complete the leveling coursework in the first year. This could end up being more expensive depending on the tuition of the graduate program for three years versus one year's tuition at a post-bacc program plus two at a different grad program. I won't try to discredit the experience or the job and money you can make as an SLPA, because that's fine if that's what you want or need now in your life. But realistically, you will not be taking any fewer classes in the long run.

 

I suggest you talk to professors in programs you would consider for grad school, or if you can, talk to an advisor at a post-bacc or second bachelor's program. List the coursework you will be taking and compare it to their required prerequisites, and then email the program directors to ask if these are acceptable prerequisites for their classes. I don't think you will have much luck, but if this is the route you want to go to save money, I would be 100% sure these courses will be accepted.

 

I believe I would set myself up to fail by going into advanced grad classes with minimal knowledge, whereas SLPA program would give me intro and intermediate classes on the subject.

 

I don't believe those of us would consider the years (or intensive year) we have put in to preparation for graduate school "minimal knowledge." Undergrad is for learning the necessary background knowledge. Graduate programs focus on clinical work, for which you need that extensive knowledge from undergrad, which you then further and build upon and solidify. You will "fail" when you first do therapy as a graduate student clinician; but that is how you learn. If we walked in to graduate programs succeeding at therapy, we wouldn't need them at all, would we?

 

As a side note to another comment, while what you do when doing ABA is not directly related to SLP, the sheer fact that you're getting experience with kids, learning how to interact with them and how to modify their behavior is priceless. I have friends who did ABA and are finishing up grad school for SLP now, and they talk about how beneficial it was having that experience with kids. That put them ahead of their peers who had had little to no interaction with kids prior to grad school, and I think it's great experience to have under your belt. (I have it as well, and I'm glad I do!)

[Charlotte C]

I did ABA for 2 years before grad school and recently got my SLPA (mainly because I was scared I would not get into grad school and that would be a great backup plan). The SLPA program I was in was only the supervision hours and no classes because I got my second BA at USU. Once I was accepted, the SLPA did seem like kind of a waste of money as I will have little to no time to work during graduate school, but the experience I got was very valuable as well. I got to gain experience with neurologically typical students (vs ASD) who had articulation or language disorders and I feel like I learned so much doing therapy with them.

None of this SLPA stuff was in time for my graduate apps, and I will say that I think the ABA experience was a big part of what got me accepted to competitive schools.

Edited May 8, 2015 by Charlotte C

[coffeeandtea]

Thanks for sharing, I was wondering about this too. Does anyone know how much a California SLPA typically makes?

I go to CSUN and spoke directly to one of the professors on the admissions board. She said SLPA's make about $10/hr... you're better off doing ABA therapy because I got paid $16/hr and got to work directly with autistic children. I even did a little bit of articulation therapy and social interaction activities with my patients. It's much more hands-on, you don't need to pay for a special license beforehand, and it pays a lot more. According to two professors on the admissions board, SLPA doesn't even really increase your chances of getting it. It's just a box they check off. It's a lot more important to have high GRE scores and a high GPA than to have SLPA experience. Most professors urge students to not even work at all and to just focus on their GRE and GPA because that's weighed more heavily than any experience. 

 

Soooooo no SLPA isn't worth it. You don't make much money and you have to pay a lot for the program.

[phinale123]

Hey Nina, I'm in the same boat I started working as a SLPA and I enjoy it the salary range for the job is $40-50k and if you are in California(assuming based where you applied for grad school), you should have no problem finding a SLPA job did you try searching online for jobs I see most of the SLPA jobs are in CA. Also, I wouldnt do a SLPA program or course since it's not needed and it cost more money. I see in CA all you need is a degree in CSD, fingerprint, and 70 hours of field work experience. If you don't have the hours I would reach out to SLPs in your local area to get hours and most are willingly to help and 70 hours can be done in less than 4 weeks. I hope this helps also try to revamp your resume and begin emailing directors to see if they have any positions available.

Edited June 2, 2015 by phinale123

[phinale123]

Schoolspring.com is a great website for SLPApositions in the school system

[Jolie717]

I go to CSUN and spoke directly to one of the professors on the admissions board. She said SLPA's make about $10/hr... you're better off doing ABA therapy because I got paid $16/hr and got to work directly with autistic children. I even did a little bit of articulation therapy and social interaction activities with my patients. It's much more hands-on, you don't need to pay for a special license beforehand, and it pays a lot more. According to two professors on the admissions board, SLPA doesn't even really increase your chances of getting it. It's just a box they check off. It's a lot more important to have high GRE scores and a high GPA than to have SLPA experience. Most professors urge students to not even work at all and to just focus on their GRE and GPA because that's weighed more heavily than any experience.

Soooooo no SLPA isn't worth it. You don't make much money and you have to pay a lot for the program.

I go to CSUN too and would love to know who said that - bcz she is dead wrong, lol. SLPAs in my son's school district (LAUSD) are hired at about $25/hr. That being said if I get hired as an SLPA while in grad school I plan to keep it quiet as I have heard that there are many SLPs and professors out there who seem to take issue with both SLPAs as well as CD grads who work as an SLP while in a Master's program (with some restrictions of course) using a waiver. The fact that they might look down on it is completely understandable if you think about it.

I plan on trying to get some ABA experience myself this summer as I know it will provide me with both a valuable training/learning opportunity and should help boost my apps. But I'm certainly not doing it for the money! I guess those interested might want to look at the cost of going through an SLPA program and time it would take vs simply gaining experience as an ABA. You can get your SLPA without going through an SLPA program if you already have your BA/BS in Communication Disorders AND you can secure your own additional clinical experience hours (either 70 or 100 hours if I remember right). This is true in California at least - I would assume it would be the same in other states as well.

Edited to add: Oops - just realized phinale123 covered what I mentioned in my last two sentences - sorry for the repeat!

Edited June 15, 2015 by Jolie717