Could Use Some Input

[lauraashley]

Hi,
I'm an undergrad SLHS major. In high school I thought I wanted to be an SLP. However, in my first undergrad SLHS class my professor told us that we should look at other careers if we wanted to make money. So, I did as my professor told us and I looked into physician assistant, optometry, and dentistry. I've been taking pre-reqs for those programs but recently decided that my heart is not into any of those professions to dedicate the time and money. I'm taking "Hearing Measurement and Disorders" this semester and am really interested in the subject matter. I took "Hearing Science"last spring and really enjoyed that class as well. Due to taking a math class and organic chemistry this semester, my GPA is pretty low..about 3.3. I am going to graduate in 1 year and I'll have a Spanish minor and hopefully bring my GPA back up to about 3.4.
I was wondering how did you decide between SLP and Audiology?
I was also wondering how realistic is finding a job in audiology and being able to pay off 8 years of student loans on about a 50k salary? That's a huge fear of mine and what is making me unsure. I know finding a job in SLP is pretty easy.

I hope you guys aren't sick of these kind of questions

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[DrumHead]

Hi Laura!
Let me see if I can address your questions:

"I was wondering how did you decide between SLP and Audiology?"
I didn't. I chose audiology right off the bat. But that's because I knew I didn't want to do speech therapy. In school it was interesting to see that most 'speechies' I encountered did not much care for audiology matters and most 'audies' did not much care for SLP matters. If you find yourself enjoying more audiology topics than SLP topics, you might be an 'audie' (apologies to Jeff Foxworthy).

'I was also wondering how realistic is finding a job in audiology and being able to pay off 8 years of student loans on about a 50k salary?'
Audiology jobs are aplenty so long as you are open to relocating. You can find myriad threads on average salary on these forums so I won't get into that, but your estimate could be a little higher. As far as paying off student loans on an audiologist's salary: I reckon that depends on the total debt, but there's plenty of money to be made in this profession. I see audiologists in private-practice every day clearing over the six-figure mark. OWN that practice and you can see way more than that (hard work is involved). Sure there are lower paying positions, but no one is forcing you to take those jobs.

With all of that said, if you are in it just for the money, you may consider another profession. However, if you feel like your heart is in the communication sciences, then I encourage you to pursue a career in SLP or audiology - preferably audiology

I hope that helps!

-DH

 

[cmc271]

I definitely agree with Drumhead's advice. The money is not mindblowing in either profession to start out at but is definitely a comfortable living salary, and as stated, if private practice is where you desire to be, the sky is truly the limit. If you are concerned about total student loan debt, pay attention to programs within your state where you would be able to receive in state tuition and/or look for programs with GA positions available. They can have a huge impact on the amount of student loans you will want or need for graduate school.

Regarding choosing between SLP and AuD, I heard it best described as if you enjoy working based on a more theoretical plane and making a diagnosis/assessment as you treat, you tend more toward the SLP side of the spectrum, but if you prefer to work in a more linear, if A then B style Audiology may be more up your alley. Audiology is typically, at least in a diagnostic sense, providing more instant gratification than to an SLP, in my opinion.

 

[lauraashley]

Hi Laura!
Let me see if I can address your questions:

"I was wondering how did you decide between SLP and Audiology?"
I didn't. I chose audiology right off the bat. But that's because I knew I didn't want to do speech therapy. In school it was interesting to see that most 'speechies' I encountered did not much care for audiology matters and most 'audies' did not much care for SLP matters. If you find yourself enjoying more audiology topics than SLP topics, you might be an 'audie' (apologies to Jeff Foxworthy).

'I was also wondering how realistic is finding a job in audiology and being able to pay off 8 years of student loans on about a 50k salary?'
Audiology jobs are aplenty so long as you are open to relocating. You can find myriad threads on average salary on these forums so I won't get into that, but your estimate could be a little higher. As far as paying off student loans on an audiologist's salary: I reckon that depends on the total debt, but there's plenty of money to be made in this profession. I see audiologists in private-practice every day clearing over the six-figure mark. OWN that practice and you can see way more than that (hard work is involved). Sure there are lower paying positions, but no one is forcing you to take those jobs.

With all of that said, if you are in it just for the money, you may consider another profession. However, if you feel like your heart is in the communication sciences, then I encourage you to pursue a career in SLP or audiology - preferably audiology

I hope that helps!

-DH

You've helped Thanks for your input. I'm not in it just for the money, I was just worried that I would be in over my head in debt.

I definitely agree with Drumhead's advice. The money is not mindblowing in either profession to start out at but is definitely a comfortable living salary, and as stated, if private practice is where you desire to be, the sky is truly the limit. If you are concerned about total student loan debt, pay attention to programs within your state where you would be able to receive in state tuition and/or look for programs with GA positions available. They can have a huge impact on the amount of student loans you will want or need for graduate school.

Regarding choosing between SLP and AuD, I heard it best described as if you enjoy working based on a more theoretical plane and making a diagnosis/assessment as you treat, you tend more toward the SLP side of the spectrum, but if you prefer to work in a more linear, if A then B style Audiology may be more up your alley. Audiology is typically, at least in a diagnostic sense, providing more instant gratification than to an SLP, in my opinion.

Thanks so much for your advice! I think I will shadow both an Aud and an SLP