slp grad school

[letstravel]

I have a few questions for those currently in grad school, specifically those in slp grad school.

1) Do you have time for a job? If so, is it usually a part time job on the weekend?

2) any job recommendations?

3) Is there time to participate in college events...football games...on -campus events?

4) What is grad school like?

5) Did you find a job easily after gradschool?

6) Which work area do you recommend? Hospital, clinic, schools, etc?

7) How should I pick an area of interest...i like a little bit of everything, as of now?

 

I know every university is different, but i just want  rough overview of what to expect

[jpiccolo]

1) I did not have a job, mainly because I wanted to have something pretty flexible and didn't find much. Some classmates had GAs, others were TAs, some had outside jobs off campus, and others did not work. If you don't have evening classes, you could probably work but keep it mind you'll need time to plan sessions in addition to hw/studying. But if you need to, you can if you have the right job and mindset for getting things done.

2) part-time jobs? the only ones I can think of that classmates had were at the local library, telemarketing surveys, or teaching yoga. Otherwise retail? restaurants? Probably nothing during the day since clinic is scheduled then and we had no say in our client schedule.

3) I went to football games my first fall, a few gymnastics meets, and a couple basketball games later. My main recommendation is that if they overlap with class, do not expect a prof to let you out early or rearrange class just to let you go. I've heard of someone trying that once and the prof did not take it well. We had some grad school socials and I went to a couple for the free food. If you want to be involved in a specific campus group, the schedule may be the toughest to work around, especially if it's a class that is scheduled during the day (like I used to do marching band but knew rehearsals would interfere with either class or clients). 

4) Time consuming and a big lesson in time management. You'll be juggling multiple clients/sessions per week, meetings with supervisors, and classwork. But academically no harder than undergrad. All my cohort felt this way. Some supervisors might be harder to click with. Depends on your personality and learn early to be prepared yet willing to learn and accept feedback. I had mostly positive supervisor experiences but I know others who didn't, with the same exact supervisors. 

5) Yes. But this will depend on the setting you want and where you live. My state is in constant, desperate need to fill jobs and no one in my cohort who is staying in-state has had difficulty with getting job offers. One classmate in Portland though is having a heck of a time in the schools getting an offer or interviews. Too much competition. 

6) This is all up to you. Take advantage of externships and try to get a variety. I had a pediatric outpatient clinic, a middle school, and inpatient rehab/acute hospital. Schools are way easier to get hired in but can be poorly paid and easy to burn out with paperwork. Hospital, depends on if you can handle medically fragile patients and can break into the medical setting (tough right out of grad school unless you had an externship there possibly). Not all my hospital pts were fragile but some of those were tougher with being sick, especially in the acute setting. Luckily, you're never tied into one setting. However, if you spend X years in schools and want to jump at some point to medical, it will be tough to break in because of the lack of experience. So get experience early or transition quickly if you start with peds and want to move to medical. 

7) wait to choose until near the end. Many of my classmates switched interests, some didn't and are totally set into schools or medical, and a few of us like me were interested in multiple settings and haven't chosen one permanently. I'll see once I get a real feel for the job in my CF. I know I don't love voice or dysarthria a ton, but both adults and peds can be interesting to work with. Variety is nice. 

[eggfish]

1) Do you have time for a job? If so, is it usually a part time job on the weekend?

I just finished my first year.  I did not have a job last year, but I am starting a 10 hour a week TA position next Fall.  I really don't feel like I have time for a job, but I need the money and experience. I expect my grades to drop a bit and have decided that I'm okay with that.  

2) any job recommendations? TA, RA, tutor.  Almost everyone in my cohort who has a job is one of those three things.  

3) Is there time to participate in college events...football games...on -campus events? Yes.  

4) What is grad school like? I don't know about you, but in undergrad most of my classes were in this format: lecture, lecture, lecture, multiple choice exam, lecture, lecture, lecture, multiple choice exam.  In grad school, we have a lot more group projects, our projects our larger, and tests are more difficult (usually short answer, essay).  But you also learn a lot more so it's not actually that bad.  Also, clinical placements take up a lot of time.  

5) Did you find a job easily after gradschool?  N/A

6) Which work area do you recommend? Hospital, clinic, schools, etc?  I have only been in a private clinic (autism social skills), preschool (language and articulation), and SNF (language, cognitive, and swallowing disorders, often as a result of stroke).  I thought I would like the SNF and working with adults the most, but I honestly hate the SNF I'm at.  After my experiences, I think I'm still interested in the medical population but would rather work in a hospital - especially a children's hospital.  However, I probably won't actually have experience in a hospital until summer 2018.  

7) How should I pick an area of interest...i like a little bit of everything, as of now?  Almost everyone in my cohort is still in the same boat as you, even after a year.  Few people actually know this until they complete all of their practicums.  Just get experience and do what feels right.