If you're a school based therapist...

amother

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 12:34 pm

amother Oldlace wrote:

100k in debt? Why so much?

My student loans are about 95k. I didnt get into touro or TTI I went to a new program
How much do you think loans are?

ETA: lemme edit my post. I meant student loans. BH no debt!

amother

Indigo

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 12:35 pm

amother OP wrote:

Got it. Thanks for replying
How does billing the DOE work? Do you have to create your own LLC to do this?
What about session notes?

You do not have to create an LLC. You bill through Vendor Portal and enter session notes in SESIS. Both take some time to figure out, but once you get it it's pretty smooth.

amother

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 12:36 pm

amother Indigo wrote:

You do not have to create an LLC. You bill through Vendor Portal and enter session notes in SESIS. Both take some time to figure out, but once you get it it's pretty smooth.

Thanks so much I appreciate your help!
Are finding RSA jobs hard?

amother

Indigo

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 12:41 pm

amother Oldlace wrote:

100k in Sdebt? Why so much?

A speech master's is very, very expensive. Many girls don't realize this when they start their BA. Or they are convinced that it will be "worth it."

So here is my PSA-- it's NOT worth it.

If you are willing to spend that much on a Master's degree, there are other fields that are much more lucrative, and have much higher starting salaries and potential.

(and YES I know that they can work in public schools. But it makes no sense to go into a field that only has one decent option of employment. And many girls do not have the skills/personality to work in medical settings like nursing homes and hospitals. And if they move out of NYC the whole PS situation is different and not as lucrative. Did I cover it all?)

mha3484

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 12:42 pm

amother OP wrote:

My student loans are about 95k. I didnt get into touro or TTI I went to a new program
How much do you think loans are?

ETA: lemme edit my post. I meant student loans. BH no debt!

I responded and then deleted but not everyone goes to private college. Its a luxury for many many people when you can go to state school instead.

writinggirl

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 12:48 pm

mha3484 wrote:

I responded and then deleted but not everyone goes to private college. Its a luxury for many many people when you can go to state school instead.

.
State school graduate programs can be very difficult to get into. Many private colleges have higher acceptance rates.

amother

Indigo

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 12:50 pm

amother OP wrote:

Thanks so much I appreciate your help!
Are finding RSA jobs hard?

It wasn't for me. I usually have more RSA offers than I can reasonably accept. There is a big shortage of therapists, and many parents are desperate.

I also work with HS students who don't have therapists in school.

amother

Indigo

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 12:55 pm

Also, I just want to warn that you will probably get very burned out from working in the evenings and on Sundays. We're not robots who can churn out a million sessions. It's very hard to do sessions all day in school, and then during evenings and on Sundays. It also leaves very little time for prep work, paperwork, and parent contact, and it's overwhelming to have such a large caseload.

I'll be honest- my fiirst and foremost priority is to make a living for my family. If that means I need to do 60-70 therapy sessions a week, then Ill do it. But it's an inversely proportional relationship-the more sessions I do, the lower the quality of my therapy. I only have so much mental energy for my job, and the more students it's divided between, the less each one gets (and I'm not even gonna talk about how little I have left for my own children).

amother

Oldlace

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 12:59 pm

I thought a masters cost about 50k. The BA usually much much cheaper and/or you can get pell for some of it.

Oy that's really fristerating to have so much debt most of your salary goes to paying off the interest!

My masters now is costing 27k about. It was the cheapest program I could find and that's basically why I chose it.

amother

Indigo

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 1:02 pm

amother Oldlace wrote:

Maybe about 10 years ago it cost 50k. But the tuition has been going up and up and up, and the salaries have not budged. So it's just common sense that it's really not a great idea to go into this field (unless you absolutely love speech and dreamed your whole life of doing this and feel it's your life's calling. But that's not the case for most of our 19 year old girls.)

mha3484

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 1:24 pm

For fun I went on my state colleges website in state tuition for a masters in speech is 13k a year. As as grad student you would pay your own housing but still a lot more reasonable then private colleges.

Where I live, that may not be ideal for your average frum person but I cant imagine that other states don't have a public option with some proximity to a frum community.

I went to private college and it was the dumbest thing I ever did. I would never tell my kids to do what I did.

amother

Crystal

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 1:38 pm

I worked for the DOE after doing my CFY. I left the DOE because of the hours it entailed. You have to make sure your husband is on board to take over the morning routine with your kids. Any of the teachers/therapists I worked with who stayed in the DOE, had their husbands home in the morning helping.

amother

Valerian

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 1:46 pm

amother Crystal wrote:

This. If you have little kids either your husband need to be flexible or you need full time help for mornings, Fridays, half days, erev Yom tov etc...

amother

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 3:58 pm

mha3484 wrote:

Your post is rubbing me the wrong way.
I didnt get accepted into other programs and most programs are over 70k. If youre not a SLP you are not in a position to comment on how "dumb" it was that I attended a private program. It wasnt by choice.

amother

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 3:59 pm

amother Crystal wrote:

Thanks for writing in
Where was your public school located?
Where do you work now? Agency?

amother

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 3:59 pm

amother Indigo wrote:

Wow. How are you hearing about these RSA cases thats my question

amother

Oldlace

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 4:19 pm

amother Indigo wrote:

Yes I agree. Seems like a very poor choice to get a degree that will not pay for itself. You want your starting salary to be about double the cost of the degree at least.

amother

Buttercup

Fri, Sep 16 2022, 4:32 pm

amother Indigo wrote:

This has been discussed before, but it is wrong to justify the agencies' low pay because of the "flexibility." Flexibility doesn't mean that you should be taken advantage of. And most therapists that I know don't use the "flexibility" that often. We actually do more sessions per week than the PS therapists. And it is horrifying how low our paychecks end up, even with all that.

There is ZERO justifications to have zero raises ever, from the day you start till the day you retire (unless you are lucky enough to get a 1 dollar raise per hour if you have connections and really beg). Name me one other profession that has no raises ever. I challenge you.

There is ZERO justification to have no paid time off at all. At the beginning of the school year, we get a calendar with a list of days we are not allowed to work (usually it's Jewish holidays). I always felt that at the minimum we should be paid for those days. Name me one other master's level job that has ZERO paid time off.

The biggest proof is that P'3s/SETTs are currently making significantly more than OT and SLP. And their schooling is easier and less expensive. So clearly there is something wrong with the way therapists are treated.

Any that’s per diem.