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Speech Pathologist Job Outlook: Fastest Growing Career Choice

The speech-language pathologist job outlook can change depending on how you view it.

There’s optimism if you focus on the potential salary. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, speech-language pathologists earned an average of $77,510 per year and $37.26 per hour in 2018. But if you look at the student loan debt associated with obtaining the advanced degree required for the profession, there is cause for concern.

Speech-language pathologists who have worked with Student Loan Planner® typically have around $118,000 in student loan debt.

Let’s take a closer look at the speech-language pathologist job outlook by evaluating both the possible salary and student debt.

Speech-language pathologist job outlook

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there are many positives aspects of the job outlook for speech-language pathologists. The BLS reports high earnings and growing opportunity.

Speech-language pathologist median annual salary by speciality

As of May 2018, the medial annual wage for speech-language pathologist was $77,510. The lowest 10% in the profession earned less than $48,690, but the highest 10% earned more than $120,060.

Here are the median annual salaries for speech-language pathologists working in the profession’s top industries:

ProfessionMedian salary
Nursing and residential care facility workers$94,680
Physical, occupational and speech therapists, audiologist office workers$84,390
State, local and private hospital workers$83,970
State, local and private educational service works$68,270

A speech-language pathologist’s median salary can vary. You can increase your chances of winding up on the higher end of the salary scale if you can find work in one of the above-listed specialties or types of roles.

Expected job growth for speech-language pathologists

According to the BLS, speech-language pathologists’ employment is expected to grow 27% from 2018 to 2028 — faster than the average for any occupation.

The rapid projected job growth is due to the demand in two markets: baby boomers and young children. The chances of health conditions like strokes or dementia increase as the baby boomer generation ages.

Both strokes and dementia can result in speech or language impairments, leading to the demand for speech-language pathologists.

Growing awareness of speech and language disorders

In addition, there is more awareness surrounding speech and language disorders, such as stuttering in young children.

There is a growing need for speech-language pathologists who specialize in treating young children, as well as in helping children who have autism improve their socialization and communication skills.

The growing survival rate of premature infants and victims of trauma and stroke has also increased the demand for speech-language pathologists. These patients often require therapy or other treatment from speech-language pathologists.

“Overall job opportunities for speech-language pathologists are expected to be good,” according to the BLS. “Generally, speech-language pathologists who are willing to relocate will have the best job opportunities.”

Speech-language pathologist student loan debt

The speech-language pathologist job outlook appears promising, but looking at more than just projected career earnings can help you get a clearer picture of your financial prospects in this field.

There’s a significant amount of schooling required for this profession, which could lead to high amounts of student loan debt that eats into that attractive potential salary.

Speech-language pathologist education requirements

Certificates of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) require graduate degrees, clinical experience and national examinations. If you want to work in research, private practice or at the college level, you might also have to earn a PhD.

Here’s how long you should expect each educational level to take you to become a speech-language pathologist:

Level of studyAverage time to degree
Undergraduate, Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD)4 years
Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology2 years
Clinical Doctoral Degree in Speech-Language Pathology (CScD, SLPD)2 to 3 years beyond master's degree
Doctoral Degree in Audiology (AuD)3 to 4 years of full-time study
Research Doctoral Degree (PhD) in CSD3 to 5 years following a master’s degree in speech-language pathology or 2 to 3 years following a clinical doctoral degree

Graduates must also complete requirements to guarantee their training meets nationally established standards.

How much does it cost to become a speech pathologist?

Speech-language pathologist tuition costs will vary by school. To give you an idea, let’s look at University of Iowa and Vanderbilt University’s speech-language pathologist graduate degree programs, which U.S. News and World Report ranked No. 1 in the U.S in 2016.

University of Iowa’s estimated annual cost of attendance for its graduate program is $28,728.50 ($47,883.50 for nonresidents). Meanwhile, Vanderbilt’s speech-language pathologist program’s annual cost of attendance is $76,709 (12 months) and $53,914 (nine months).

These are just the cost of attendance for  two highly ranked speech-language pathology programs. Your cost could be higher or lower depending on where you go to school and what kind of financial aid you receive.

Speech-language pathologist salary versus student loan debt

Student Loan Planner® speech-language pathologist clients reported student loan balances from $41,422 to $187,911. And their average student loan debt was $121,721.

Only one of those 12 clients earned a six-figure salary. In fact, none of the other clients reported annual salaries over $60,000. The client with the highest student loan debt of $187,911 earned a salary of less than $20,000. All of them said they expect to earn at least $65,000 one to five years, however.

High debt and low starting salaries of speech pathologists

As you can see, a number of Student Loan Planner®’s speech-language pathologist clients currently have large amounts of student loan debt.

And you can also see that most of their salaries are less than the median speech-language pathologist salary that the BLS reported.

Why is that? Well, location determines a lot of the salaries in this profession.

How location factors into speech pathologist starting salaries

Higher salaries that lead to a positive speech-language pathologist job outlook tend to be found in coastal states, with a few exceptions. Here are the top-paying states in the U.S. for speech-language pathologists:

LocationAnnual median wage
New Jersey$95,000
Washington, D.C.$93,570
California$93,510
Connecticut$92,280
Colorado$90,980

Oklahoma was the only non-coastal state besides Colorado to fall into the $81,440 to $95,000 annual mean salary range.

These numbers align with the BLS “Annual mean wage of speech-language pathologist, by area (May 2018)” data, which listed the Tulsa, Okla., area as the fifth-highest paying area in the country at $102,680.

The Napa, Calif., area ranked highest ($106,620), but the Jackson, Miss., metro area finished second, proving that coastal-area living is not required to earn a high salary as a speech-language pathologist, though it certainly helps.

Does the positive job outlook outweigh potential student loan debt burden?

If you’re considering a career as a speech-language pathologist, you should consider not just the potential student loan debt but the combination of the future salary and student loan debt you could amass as you earn your speech-language pathologist degrees.

If you secure a job that pays a high five-figure to six-figure salary right out of school, you have the potential to pay off your student loan debt faster and, thus, the job outlook stays good.

On the other hand, if your salary is on the lower end of the scale and you have a six-figure student loan bill, the positive job outlook doesn’t look very good anymore.

Here’s what will determine the speech-pathologist job outlook for you

The speech-language pathologist job outlook comes down to three factors:

  1. Your salary
  2. How much student loan debt you’ve accumulated
  3. Where you live

If you work in one of the highest-paying areas, you have a great opportunity to earn a healthy salary and be able to tackle your student loan debt effectively.

If you know you want to work and live in an area that doesn’t pay speech-language pathologists particularly well compared to other locations, then the career is probably not worth the student loan debt you’ll accrue to enter this profession.

Do you currently have student loan debt?

If you are a speech-language pathologist with student loan debt — or you have medical school debt — Student Loan Planner® has a team of experienced consultants who are ready to help you design a plan tailored to your needs so you can tackle your debt.

Additionally, if you’re just starting to consider pursuing a medical degree, our experts can help you design a plan to get ahead of managing your student debt so that it is less of a long-term burden.

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