How to Become a Speech Therapist: A Complete Career Guide (With Salary Insights)

Speech therapists earn $89,290 annually or $42.93 per hour as of April 2024 – an impressive figure that might surprise you!

The attractive salary is just one reason to think over a career as a speech therapist. The field shows remarkable growth potential, with employment expected to grow 18-21% between 2023 and 2033. This growth rate is substantially higher than most other occupations. The next decade will likely see 13,200 to 13,700 new openings for speech-language pathologists each year.

Speech language pathology rewards you both financially and personally with opportunities to transform people’s lives. This career path requires you to understand speech pathologist education requirements, daily responsibilities, and the steps to earn your speech therapist degree.

This detailed guide takes you through every step to become a certified speech therapist. You’ll learn about choosing undergraduate programs, completing clinical fellowships, and getting proper certifications to launch your career in this growing healthcare profession. Let’s discover how you can build a fulfilling career in speech therapy.

Step 1: Get a Relevant Bachelor’s Degree

The path to becoming a speech-language pathologist starts with picking the right undergraduate degree. You’ll need a master’s degree to practice professionally, and your bachelor’s degree builds a vital foundation for advanced studies.

Recommended majors for aspiring speech therapists

Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) offers the most direct route to graduate programs in speech-language pathology. More than 270 undergraduate CSD programs exist across the United States, making this specialized major available to more people.

All the same, several other undergraduate majors can help you prepare for a speech therapy career:

• Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
• Psychology
• Education
• Linguistics
• English
• Language Development

Don’t worry if your school doesn’t offer a CSD major. Many graduate programs accept students with degrees from other fields as long as you finish specific prerequisite courses. A CSD-related degree makes the transition to graduate studies smoother since you won’t need extra leveling courses.

Key prerequisite courses to complete

Whatever major you choose, you’ll need certain basic courses to become a speech pathologist. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) lists these requirements:

• Statistics (stand-alone course)
• Biological sciences (anatomy, biology, neurobiology, physiology)
• Physical sciences (specifically physics or chemistry)
• Social/behavioral sciences

Most speech pathology programs also need specialized courses like:

• Phonetics
• Anatomy and physiology of the speech mechanism
• Normal language development
• Speech science
• Introduction to audiology
• Introduction to communication disorders

Note that you must complete all prerequisites at accredited schools, and they need to show up on your official transcript. High school courses don’t count, but Advanced Placement (AP) credits on college transcripts might work.

How to prepare for graduate school early

Getting ready for graduate school during your undergraduate years can boost your chances of getting into competitive speech-language pathology programs.

Keep your GPA high—many graduate programs want at least a 3.0, and selective ones often look for 3.6 or higher. Look for schools that offer both undergraduate and graduate speech pathology programs to create a smooth educational path.

Some schools offer accelerated 5-year programs that combine bachelor’s and master’s degrees. These programs can save you time and money by letting you finish both degrees faster than traditional programs.

Start using online resources for speech-language pathology early. Having SLP blogs, websites, and educational materials bookmarked gives you great reference points throughout your studies.

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is worth preparing for well before application deadlines, as many graduate programs need this standardized test. But some programs no longer require the GRE, so check what your target schools want.

Step 2: Earn a Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology

You’ll need to earn a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology after your bachelor’s. This graduate education builds your clinical skills and specialized knowledge. It’s a vital requirement for professional practice.

Choosing an accredited SLP program

The Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) accreditation plays a vital role in picking your graduate program. The United States has 330 Speech-Language Pathology master’s programs. Among these, 288 programs have full accreditation and 42 are in candidate status. Your degree from an accredited program will meet ASHA certification and state licensure requirements.

The CAA looks at six main areas to rate programs:

• Administrative structure and governance
• Faculty qualifications and expertise
• Curriculum design and implementation
• Student admission and support services
• Assessment protocols
• Program resources and facilities

Look at Praxis examination pass rates while researching programs. These rates show how well graduates do on certification exams. The best programs usually have pass rates above 90%, and many achieve 95-100% success rates year after year.

What to expect in your coursework

A master’s in speech-language pathology needs 60-72 credit hours. Students usually finish in two to three years of full-time study. The program mixes academic work with clinical practice to prepare you for your career.

Your core courses will cover advanced topics like:

• Speech sound disorders
• Language development and disorders across the lifespan
• Neurogenic communication disorders
• Voice and resonance disorders
• Fluency disorders
• Swallowing disorders
• Research methods and evidence-based practice

Programs often let you pick specialized electives or concentrations. You can focus on specific areas like pediatrics, adult rehabilitation, or educational settings. These specializations will boost your job prospects after graduation.

Clinical practicum and observation hours

Clinical practicum experience stands as the cornerstone of your graduate education. ASHA certification needs a minimum of 400 clock hours of supervised clinical experience. Here’s how these hours break down:

• 25 hours of guided clinical observation
• 375 hours of direct client/patient contact

You must complete at least 325 of these direct contact hours during graduate school. The other 50 hours can come from your undergraduate work if you documented them properly.

Your clinical work must include time with patients of all ages and various communication disorders. ASHA-certified speech-language pathologists need to supervise at least 25% of your work with each client in real-time.

Most programs start with on-campus practicums under faculty supervision. Later, you’ll head over to off-campus locations like hospitals, schools, and rehabilitation centers. Programs usually need you to work in at least two different off-campus settings.

After finishing your master’s program, you can start your clinical fellowship and work toward ASHA certification. These steps will lead you to professional practice as a speech-language pathologist.

Step 3: Complete Your Clinical Fellowship

Your clinical fellowship represents a significant shift from academic studies to hands-on professional practice in speech pathology. This supervised experience comes right after your master’s degree completion. It serves as the final step before you can get certified and licensed as a speech-language pathologist.

What is a clinical fellowship?

A clinical fellowship (CF) starts only after you complete all academic coursework and clinical practicum requirements. This fellowship helps you move from being a student to becoming an independent provider of speech-language pathology services.

The main goals of the CF are to:

• Put your academic knowledge to work in real-life practice
• Know your clinical strengths and areas needing improvement
• Build and polish skills that match the speech-language pathology scope
• Progress from supervised work to independent practice

The CF gives you more freedom than your graduate clinical practicum while keeping appropriate supervision. You’ll apply what you learned to actual cases and get valuable guidance from seasoned professionals.

Finding a certified mentor

A qualified mentor plays a vital role in your clinical fellowship success. Your CF mentor needs these ASHA qualifications:

• A current Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP)
• At least 9 months of full-time clinical experience (or part-time equivalent) after getting their CCC-SLP
• 2 hours minimum of professional development in supervision after earning their CCC-SLP

You need to verify your mentor’s credentials as a Clinical Fellow. Check their certification status before you start, at each segment’s beginning, before feedback sessions, and when submitting your certification application.

Your mentor will provide direct observation and indirect supervision throughout your fellowship. They’ll evaluate your clinical skills using the Clinical Fellowship Skills Inventory (CFSI). This covers evaluation, treatment, management, and interaction skills.

Meeting the 1,260-hour requirement

ASHA has set specific time and hour requirements for the clinical fellowship. You must complete:

• 1,260 hours of professional experience
• A minimum of 36 weeks of work (this stays the same even if you work more than 35 hours weekly)
• At least 5 hours per week to count toward the requirement

The CF experience splits into three equal segments. Your mentor must complete 6 hours of direct observation and 6 hours of indirect supervision in each segment. This adds up to 18 hours each of direct and indirect supervision during your fellowship.

Direct clinical contact should make up 80% of your CF hours. This means evaluating and treating people with speech and language disorders. Your tasks will include screening, assessment, treatment, writing reports, family consultation, and IEP meetings.

You can spend up to 20% of your time on other professional activities like attending in-services or giving trainings. Remember that lunch breaks, travel time, holidays, vacations, and other time off don’t count toward your weekly hours.

After finishing your clinical fellowship, you’ll be ready to get your state license and ASHA certification. These are the final steps to become a fully qualified speech-language pathologist.

Step 4: Pass the Praxis Exam and Get Certified

Your path to becoming a certified speech therapist includes two vital steps: completing your clinical fellowship and passing the Praxis examination. The Praxis exam shows you’re ready to work independently as a speech-language pathologist.

Overview of the Praxis exam

The Praxis Examination in Speech-Language Pathology (5331) is a detailed assessment that ASHA commissions and ETS administers. You’ll need to answer 132 multiple-choice questions in 150 minutes on this computer-based test. ASHA certification requires a passing score of 162 on a 100-200 scale.

The test equally divides into three main areas:

• Foundations and professional practice
• Screening, assessment, evaluation, and diagnosis
• Planning, implementation, and evaluation of treatment

You’ll be tested on your knowledge from all types of practice settings – schools, hospitals, clinics, and private practices. Most states use this exam for both ASHA certification and state licensure.

Tips to prepare and pass

Success on the Praxis exam requires solid preparation. Give yourself 8-12 weeks before the test date to review everything. Practice tests are a great way to get ready – ETS provides official practice exams that match the real test format.

These commonly tested areas need your attention:

• ASHA Code of Ethics and applicable laws
• Motor speech disorders (apraxia vs. dysarthria)
• Aphasia and right hemisphere disorders
• Developmental milestones for speech and language
• Cranial nerves and muscles related to speech and swallowing

Time management skills improve with timed practice tests. Since only correct answers count, guessing makes more sense than leaving questions blank. Students with test anxiety should take extra practice tests under timed conditions.

Applying for CCC-SLP certification

A passing Praxis score means you can apply for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP). This ASHA credential verifies your qualifications as a speech-language pathologist.

Your certification application must include:

• Your passing Praxis exam scores (sent directly to ASHA from ETS using code R5031)
• Official graduate program transcripts
• Documentation of your completed clinical fellowship

The application review usually takes about 6 weeks. Getting certified means you’ve met this vital requirement to practice as a speech-language pathologist and can move forward with state licensing.

Note that your Praxis results must be no more than 5 years old when you submit your certification application. You can retake the exam after 28 days if you don’t pass the first time.

Step 5: Get Licensed and Start Your Career

Getting your state license is the final step in your path to become a speech therapist. Your completion of all previous requirements means you can now start your professional career.

State-specific licensing requirements

All 50 states and the District of Columbia require speech-language pathologists to be licensed. A master’s degree from an accredited program, supervised clinical experience, and a passing score on the Praxis exam are standard requirements. Your state’s medical or health licensure board can provide specific regulations.

The CCC-SLP certification from ASHA meets some or all licensing requirements in many states. Most states need continuing education credits to renew licenses. To cite an instance, Georgia requires 20 clock hours (2.0 CEUs) per biennium. Of course, some states give exemptions in specific settings, like SLPs working in public educational institutions.

Where speech therapists work

Speech therapists find opportunities in a variety of work settings. Educational institutions lead the employment statistics – about 56% of all SLPs work in education, with 53% choosing schools and 3% opting for colleges and universities.

Healthcare settings attract around 39% of speech-language pathologists, with this breakdown:

• 16% in nonresidential healthcare facilities
• 13% in hospitals
• 10% in residential healthcare facilities

Private practice appeals to nearly one-fifth (19%) of SLPs who work either full or part-time. Corporate settings, governmental organizations, and research positions offer additional career paths.

Speech pathologist salary expectations

Speech therapists enjoy strong earning potential. The median annual wage reached $89,290 in 2023. Experience, education, work setting, and location play key roles in determining actual salaries.

School-based positions offer median salaries between $71,000 and $83,000, while healthcare settings typically pay around $82,000. Administrative or supervisory roles command higher pay at $113,000 median salary.

Civic and social organizations top the pay scale at $130,620, followed by home health care services at $121,410, and management positions at $112,110. New Jersey leads state-wise compensation at $106,636, with New Hampshire close behind at $106,615, and Connecticut offering $102,320.

Next Steps

A career as a speech therapist brings personal satisfaction and great career prospects. This piece has shown you five key steps to enter this rewarding field—from picking the right undergraduate degree to getting your state license.

The experience needs commitment, of course, but the career benefits make it all worth it. Speech-language pathology ranks among the most promising healthcare careers today, with a median annual salary of $89,290 and projected job growth of 18-21% through 2033.

Certified speech therapists can work in many different settings. Most SLPs work in schools, but hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and private practices provide plenty of opportunities too. Your salary could be substantially higher than the median, especially when you have specialized healthcare roles.

Each step builds on what comes before it. Your bachelor’s degree gets you ready for graduate studies. The master’s program builds your clinical skills. Your fellowship helps you become an independent practitioner, and certification confirms your expertise. Take each phase one at a time, knowing it adds to your success.

Speech therapy blends scientific knowledge with caring support. You can make real differences in people’s lives every day. Your work will improve your clients’ quality of life and communication abilities, whether you’re helping children with developmental speech challenges or adults recovering from strokes.

The path might seem long at first, but these manageable steps make the experience clearer and more achievable. As you start this career path, focus on each milestone while keeping your end goal in mind—becoming a qualified professional who helps others find their voice.