why do audiologist make literally nothing compared to every other profession. I dont get it. It is a doctor.
Are audiologists going to be making more money?
- Thread starter jcp5383
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This is a very hot button issue in our field.
The AuD used to be a Masters and has only recently switched. I think another things is that we are not the only field that can do hearing tests and sell hearing aids....granted we have way more education and our expertise goes farther than pushing buttons on an audiometer, we are often seen as just that.
However, it is what you make of it. There has be a shift, albeit incredibly slow, from audiologists taking whatever is offered salary wise and requesting more money for our expertise and knowledge. I think the other thing that is important to note is that the average salary is not representative of what you can make....it is exactly that, an average. I think the average is somewhere around 65k, there are those is various practices and settings that make more than that.
As there are more and more AuDs out there who will not take a low starting salary, I think that eventually you will see a shift in our income. But, as long as there are those out there willing to take the first offer it will stay low because there is no reason for employers to raise it.
As a side note, I have seen a rise in balance centers which employ audiologists as well as other therapists and physicians. In some of these, there are no hearing aid sales and as such there is no commission for hearing aids and the starting salary is raised compared to a traditional audiologists salary.
These are strictly my observations, and Im being a bad scientist by not having any evidence but thats what I got
The AuD used to be a Masters and has only recently switched. I think another things is that we are not the only field that can do hearing tests and sell hearing aids....granted we have way more education and our expertise goes farther than pushing buttons on an audiometer, we are often seen as just that.
However, it is what you make of it. There has be a shift, albeit incredibly slow, from audiologists taking whatever is offered salary wise and requesting more money for our expertise and knowledge. I think the other thing that is important to note is that the average salary is not representative of what you can make....it is exactly that, an average. I think the average is somewhere around 65k, there are those is various practices and settings that make more than that.
As there are more and more AuDs out there who will not take a low starting salary, I think that eventually you will see a shift in our income. But, as long as there are those out there willing to take the first offer it will stay low because there is no reason for employers to raise it.
As a side note, I have seen a rise in balance centers which employ audiologists as well as other therapists and physicians. In some of these, there are no hearing aid sales and as such there is no commission for hearing aids and the starting salary is raised compared to a traditional audiologists salary.
These are strictly my observations, and Im being a bad scientist by not having any evidence but thats what I got
I'd also like to add that audiology is a female-dominated field (although not as much as SLP) and women are less likely to negotiate a higher salary than are men. I think there's a thread on this in the archives; I remember discussing it with Dustbug.
It's unfortunate that women still make less, but there are things we can do to improve our working conditions: like demand better pay! Highly-skilled and passionate graduates have the right to demand a higher salary... it all plays into hiring costs. I heard a bit about it on NPR yesterday (through Boise State Radio). In hiring, one must consider that an accounting farm (a school that only trains CPAs) will put out many skilled, knowledgeable CPAs but they are more likely to burn out quickly. However, the initial cost of hiring someone less skilled/trained will pay off because their breadth of knowledge will make them more useful than a CPA who knows one thing very well and not much about other things.
An audiologist who is passionate and willing/eager to learn and take CEUs seriously is worth more than an audiologist who just got their AuD because the SLP programs were full (Sorry, Dusty! I know there's more to you than that.
) It's a serious bargaining chip that audiologists who have those qualities should start using.Female has nothing to do with it, most Rn's/crna's/nurses are female, they get paid a ton, speech is 96% female they get paid alot, this is NOT about any other issue than BILLABLE services, audiologists have almost nothing they can bill for, this issue is greatly exacerbated by the addition of the AuD degree which increases the education time by 2 years with no added billable services (and greatly increased debt and time for students). You are at the mercy of your hearing aid sales or the ENT/company you work for who determine your worth. Also increased competition from HIS and online hearing aid sites. If you are doing AuD expecting to get rich, get out now. There is big money to be made, but it is few and far between, not consistent cross regions or setting. I am not bashing the profession by any means, AuD are experts at hearing loss and vestibular issues, and are extremely qualified. I considered AuD for around 3 years before I changed my mind, the pros did not outweigh the cons at all.
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Are hearing instrument specialists legally allowed to claim that they specialize in or practice audiology??
I heard about this and didn't know what to think:
http://www.knoblachhearingcare.com/staff.html
I wonder how widespread this is...
I heard about this and didn't know what to think:
http://www.knoblachhearingcare.com/staff.html
I wonder how widespread this is...
Are hearing instrument specialists legally allowed to claim that they specialize in or practice audiology??
I heard about this and didn't know what to think:
http://www.knoblachhearingcare.com/staff.html
I wonder how widespread this is...
the way he is portraying it, its just a another term/synonymous for hearing sciences, as long as he is not claiming that he is an audiologist, it is completely fine
on another note IOM (Intra Operative Monitoring) is a great way to make more money, it take a high level of knowledge and skill, this is something i was extremely interested in. The problem is there are currently fewer than 200 members of ABMN, the certifying body for IOM, it is stupid hard to get experience in IOM to point where you can even be certified in it. There are only a handful of AuD programs that have this speciality built in or that have ways to get hours in it.
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did u even read the post? = billable services
you can laugh at whoever, first you said female gender, now you say lobbying organization, what are you gonna say next?
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You said the pay discrepancy is BECAUSE of billable services, but you didn't explain where you got the information that there IS a significant discrepancy. That's what my question was asking.
I'm saying it's all of those things in conjunction with one another. There is no single factor, and I think it's silly to insinuate such a thing.
