5 Advantages and 5 Disadvantages of being a Speech Pathologist That You Need To Know About (Before Choosing It As A Career)

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This post is about Disadvantages of Being A Speech Pathologist

Advantages and Disadvantages of being a speech language pathologist. You can find more helpful speech therapy resources at ⁠GinaBritt.com ⁠

Here are 5 pros and 5 cons of being an SLP

Disadvantages of being a speech pathologist

#1 You won't get rich*

I am going to put an asterick next to this one because this is what I used to tell myself about the profession. However, there are ways to maximize your profits and live below your means to accumulate wealth. You will need to work REALLY hard at it though.
For help with budgeting a finances, you can start with Dave Ramsey, podcasts, books, hire a financial advisor, speak with the retirement team at your current workplace (usually a 3rd party that offers free consultations) and learn how to manage your money from the get-go.

#2 High Caseloads

This part is SO annoying. There is no other way to put it. Sometimes they will try to put 80+ kids on your caseload and this is when you need to step in or STEP OUT. Seriously, please don't let them do this to you because it hurts all of us : (

#3 Healthcare Scares

This is not what it sounds like. Hopefully you won't have healthcare scares due to the profession. I mean in the field while working as a medical SLP you will have plenty of scares. Oops, did they just aspirate on that sip of liquid? Are they presenting fine but silently aspirating? Are they choking?
Did I use evidence based treatment correctly? Is this person having a stroke before my eyes (false alarm for me two times. One time it was hydrocephalus acting up and it mimicked a stroke and the other time was a stroke patient who had such severe right sided neglect they thought they had lost their arm and panicked. I did too a little inside because I did not know what was happening)

#4 Hard to work your way up

How do you go up from being a speech therapist without starting your own company or becoming a manager? It feels like there is no easy way up to the "next level." The salary range has maintained the same over the past 15 years I have been in the field. Certainly some states and positions pay a lot more or less but you are typically capped within a certain range; unless you can REALLY think outside the box (side hustles, selling digital products, working multiple jobs at once).

#5 Requires a lot of school

This profession requires A LOT of school. I went to four years undergrad and three years for my master's degree. Thats a total of 7 years! Imagine the debt you can build up in that time. If you want to learn more about how I handled financial costs of school I can speak about that in a later post/podcast.

Advantages of being a speech pathologist

#1 Switching fields

The flexibility in this field is UNMATCHED! You can go from working with children, to adults, to a school, to a hospital to working from home on your bed.
There are so many different settings to choose from: hospitals, acute rehabiliation center, post-acute rehabilitation center, private practices, schools, early intervention programs, signing with babies, nursing homes, in home therapy

#2 Job Stability

This is the job that keeps on giving. There are always more clients, more opportunities and options available
If you are tired of one position or population, there are more options out there!

#3 Traveling Opportunities

There are so many opportunities to travel as an SLP.
There are companies that will pay you a non-taxable per diem, help you with housing (although you can typically find cheaper housing on your own) and will find you a short term contract in another city. This is a great way to get out there and explore. Keep in mind the cities that need you will likely be smaller, so plan on having a big city nearby to go to on the weekends

#4 Self-sufficient

Although the salaries are somewhat capped, you can make a decent living and be self-sufficient as an SLP. I think the salaries need to go up as they have not increased in over a decade! With the rise of inflation this is not good! Also, companies often times take a chunk out to pay themselves. However, if you are financially literate and willing to take a risk with new positions you can make more than enough!

#5 Meeting other SLPs

This is one of my favorite parts of being an SLP! There are so many amazing people to meet in the field. I always love meeting other SLPs and have made many dear friends through the profession.