Working during grad school?

[SLPFaith]

Hi everyone!

I'm not sure if there's already a board with this topic...but I hope you can help me out!
Now, I know that 99.9% of all SLP grad programs will be rigorous and will require much time-management between classes, studying, observation hours, etc...but has anyone ever heard of grad students working part time throughout grad school? I'll be getting my SLPA license soon and was wondering if it's possible to work as a SLPA while attending grad school. I've met a couple people attending schools on the west coast who are doing this and they say it's not a problem at all...

I'm wondering if this is common with schools specifically on the east coast? Any NY schools?  Boston U?

[thespeechblog.com]

I´ve heard from several people that they worked part-time during grad school - not specifically as an SLPA though. I´m sure its manageable if your employer is willing to work with your school schedule and you´re disciplined enough to manage your time well. 

I worked 3 different jobs during undergrad (often at the same time). During grad school I´ve already got a GA spot (10hrs per week), and I´m probably going to find some flexible online tutoring jobs for extra work. 

 

[Crimson Wife]

I think it would depend on the scheduling. A lot of SLPA jobs are in the schools and require morning-to-early afternoon hours. That would be difficult with an in-person master's program. But my daughter briefly saw a SLPA at a private clinic that offered evening hours (my daughter's appointment was 6-6:30 P.M.) I would think that would be do-able with grad school.

NYU now has a distance master's, but it is pricey.

[futureSpeechLP]

This is why online programs are enticing. You can work and fit school around your schedule. 

[SouthernDrawl]

12 minutes ago, futureSpeechLP said:

This is why online programs are enticing. You can work and fit school around your schedule. 

Just a note on this: Some online programs are asynchronous, but the school I chose for the fall has synchronous content delivery, meaning there are digital class meeting times like a more traditional brick and mortar program. For my program anyway, these are evening meeting times, which works wonderfully for me but may not be ideal if you worked in the hospitality industry or another sector where evening shifts were needed. This may get more problematic if you account for differences in time zones.

[futureSpeechLP]

On 6/3/2016 at 8:57 AM, SouthernDrawl said:

Just a note on this: Some online programs are asynchronous, but the school I chose for the fall has synchronous content delivery, meaning there are digital class meeting times like a more traditional brick and mortar program. For my program anyway, these are evening meeting times, which works wonderfully for me but may not be ideal if you worked in the hospitality industry or another sector where evening shifts were needed. This may get more problematic if you account for differences in time zones.

 

Good insight. I hadn't thought of that. What program are you enrolled in?

[SouthernDrawl]

On June 9, 2016 at 8:23 PM, futureSpeechLP said:

Good insight. I hadn't thought of that. What program are you enrolled in?

I begin Western Kentucky University's full-time distance program in the fall! I got into another online program that was more self-paced (UNCO) but I had been doing asynchronous prerequisites at USU and, while I enjoyed them, I was really wanting to get back to live lectures and interacting with my professors and classmates. However, I have a large amount of temporal flexibility, and I know that isn't always the case for many people deciding between asynchronous and synchronous!

[delete-account]

Yes, it is possible. A few girls in my program (in Dallas) are working part-time as SLPAs and using some of those hours toward their clinical experience requirement. Contact the programs you're interested in and ask what their students can do.