How to become a speech language pathologist assistant

Speech pathologist assistants work directly under licensed speech pathologists, aiding them in their daily responsibilities. They work in numerous settings, including schools, hospitals, clinics, and long-term health care facilities. They can perform many tasks delegated by speech pathologists and be of research assistance and aid in the creation and maintenance of public relations programs.

Speech pathologist assistants assist the speech-language pathologists during the assessment of patients and deliver a variety of other services. Moreover, they also provide administrative support, such as clerical duties and others, and are responsible for prevention and advocacy. While there is no standard degree requirement for a position as a speech pathology assistant, the ASHA recommends completing at least an associate's degree program. Typical coursework covers communication disorders, normal communication processes, and workplace behaviors. Requirements can also differ state-wise. Some require a bachelor's degree whereas others graduate level courses.

The average hourly salary for the position is $27.74, which amounts to $57,707 annually. The career is expected to grow 27% in the following years to come and will likely result in new opportunities emerging across the United States.

What Does a Speech Pathologist Assistant Do

There are certain skills that many speech pathologist assistants have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, communication skills and compassion.

Learn more about what a Speech Pathologist Assistant does

How To Become a Speech Pathologist Assistant

If you're interested in becoming a speech pathologist assistant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 81.0% of speech pathologist assistants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.9% of speech pathologist assistants have master's degrees. Even though most speech pathologist assistants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

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Top Speech Pathologist Assistant Jobs Near You

Speech Pathologist Assistant Career Paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of speech language pathologist you might progress to a role such as therapy program manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title therapy program manager.

Speech Pathologist Assistant

Top Careers Before Speech Pathologist Assistant

Top Careers After Speech Pathologist Assistant

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Average Salary for a Speech Pathologist Assistant

Speech Pathologist Assistants in America make an average salary of $58,474 per year or $28 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $88,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $38,000 per year.

Average Speech Pathologist Assistant Salary

$58,474 Yearly

$28.11 hourly

What Am I Worth?

How to become a speech language pathologist assistant

Number Of Speech Pathologist Assistant Jobs By State

Speech Pathologist Assistant Education

Speech Pathologist Assistant Majors

Speech Pathologist Assistant Degrees

Top Colleges for Speech Pathologist Assistants

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

2. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

3. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

4. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

5. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

6. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

7. University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX • Private

8. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

9. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

10. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

Top Skills For a Speech Pathologist Assistant

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 19.5% of speech pathologist assistants listed patients on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.

Speech Pathologist Assistant Demographics

Speech Pathologist Assistant Gender Distribution

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among speech pathologist assistants, 89.9% of them are women, while 10.1% are men.
  • The most common race/ethnicity among speech pathologist assistants is White, which makes up 53.3% of all speech pathologist assistants.
  • The most common foreign language among speech pathologist assistants is Spanish at 75.8%.

Online Courses For Speech Pathologist Assistant That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure  The courses listed below are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the course, we may receive a commission.

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Best States For a Speech Pathologist Assistant

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a speech pathologist assistant. The best states for people in this position are Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Kansas. Speech pathologist assistants make the most in Nevada with an average salary of $87,794. Whereas in New Jersey and New York, they would average $84,463 and $82,846, respectively. While speech pathologist assistants would only make an average of $80,626 in Kansas, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

How Do Speech Pathologist Assistant Rate Their Jobs?

How to become a speech language pathologist assistant

Speech Language Pathology AssistantApril 2021

What do you like the most about working as Speech Pathologist Assistant?

Creative therapy technique freedom, working with all types of disorders and disabilities; continuous change, never stagnant. Show More

What do you NOT like?

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Top Speech Pathologist Assistant Employers

Are SLPA in demand?

SCHOOL SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST AND SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST ASSISTANT JOBS AND CAREER OVERVIEW. Nationwide, school-based speech language pathologists (SLPs) and speech language pathology assistants (SLPAs) are in high demand.

How do I become a speech PA?

How to Become a Speech-Language Pathologist.
Know Yourself. ... .
Start with a Bachelor's Degree. ... .
Earn Your Master's Degree. ... .
Complete a Clinical Fellowship. ... .
Rock the Praxis Exam. ... .
Obtain a Certificate of Clinical Competence. ... .
And You're Done!.

How do you become a SLPA in NJ?

Hold a minimum of a Master's Degree or a Master's Equivalency..
Hold or be eligible for the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) Speech-Language Specialist Certificate (SLS).
Meet the requirement for continuing education according to the New Jersey Department of Education (i.e., 100 hours over a 5 year period).

How do I get a SLPA license in Arizona?

Individuals seeking to practice as a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant must be licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services. To be licensed as a SLPA, an individual must have a minimum of 60 units of college coursework with at least 20 units of this coursework specific to speech- language pathology.