Speech therapists and college

amother

Snowflake

Mon, Jan 16 2023, 10:13 pm

I went to Landers in the city and did my BA in 3 ish years, then I went to grad school for 2 years.

Please, please do not go into this field. I finished my CFY 2 years ago and I hate this job.
Its underpaid, the burnout is ridiculously high and the paperwork is intense (and you don't get paid for it). I only recommend this job if you plan on going to the DOE (public school) system. There is no way to make money in this field. And don't let people convince you otherwise.. one poster said she made 200k and shes been in the field 4 years. I find that very hard to believe.

In order to make THAT type of money, you have to specialize and be REALLY good at what you do, why else would people pay to come to you privately?

I work for an agency and I hope to switch to DOE ASAP when a position opens up.

amother

Snowflake

Mon, Jan 16 2023, 10:15 pm

I didnt find grad school so intense, there were lots of tests and studying, but you should be used to that from undergrad and even HS/seminary. The non jews in my program had a harder time with the studying I think.

Also, student loans for the MS is very very high, and you don't make nearly as much a year to cover it. So essentially you will be paying this for the rest of your life

amother

Cerulean

Mon, Jan 16 2023, 10:18 pm

For me the hardest part was the clinical placements. Working a clinical placement is much more stressful than a regular job. There's much more preparation, and you must be at the top of your game every minute of every work day, with a supervisor ready and waiting to nitpick every session. Obviously that's the learning experience, but for a working mother having her first kid, it was really challenging.

amother

Snowflake

Mon, Jan 16 2023, 10:23 pm

amother Cerulean wrote:

Yes this too!
They placed me at this intense outpatient rehabilitation center my first externship placement. It was my first semester and it was me as the sole graduate clinician with a man who had CP + trached. He had intense oral motor dysfunction (drooling) and dysarthria. He also had severe cognitive impairments and was barely verbal. I had to work with him all semester with a tough supervisor who nitpicked everything I did.
its not an easy degree, but it is interesting...

amother

Lavender

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 2:53 am

Please do your own research and don’t listen to people who tell you they’re severely underpaid if they’re working for frum schools in Brooklyn. They’re working very part time and off in the summer and there are other jobs out there if you’re willing to step out of your ‘daled amos’.
In NY, there are so many board of Ed services, so it’s harder to have a private practice.
Everywhere else that isn’t true.
I work part time privately (17.5 hours plus prep time) and make about $130k, which includes Yomim tovim off and being on my kids’s school schedule. I take off about a month in the summer.
Agency jobs where I live start about $75 hourly.
It’s a good job out of NY, and in NY, if you’re willing to work in the DOE or in a medical setting you’ll make much more.
The schooling was intense but doable. I started with two kids and had my third kid while in my prerequisites.
Took me 1 year of undergrad (on top of my seminary and lots of other credits), and my master took nearly three years.
So about 4 years altogether, give or take.
Good luck with your decision.

amother

Seagreen

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 8:57 am

amother Lavender wrote:

Please stop with the lies that agency therapists work part time!! I work a full school day, plus extra sessions in the evenings nd on sundays (all through agency). And by tax time when I get my w2 and see what my annual salary is (its hard to keep track of it from month to month), I just want to cry. You don't realize how much you lose out by working in school
Also I work every summer (except.fpr.the summer I had a baby and was eligible for.paid leave)
Stop portraying agency therapist as these lazy people!! I actually do MORE seasons per day than public school or private therapists!! And I am far from the only one. In the school I work in, there are three other therapists who go work in a clinic in the evenings after school.
Oh and don't tell me to switch to public school. I know I can do that. The point is to STOP bashing agency therapists!! And DO NOT give OP a false sense of the field. This is a huge undertaking and its very unlikely she is going to make even HALF of 130k.

amother

Seagreen

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 9:02 am

amother OP wrote:

The intense part is the papers or exams?

You're nitpicking. Its not specifically about exams or papers. Overall it's a hard degree (as are all the other therapies). Whether you go to a Jewish place or not. They all have the same asha and state requirements.
Everything about it is intense. Each class has exams and papers and presentations. Plus Touro requires a research project (a real one that can be presented at national conventions) plus another longitudinal study that takes the entire grad school to complete.

Also the internships are hard. You need to come fully prepared for sessions, and a lot of the paperwork and report writing will fall on you. Seriously I was doing insurance paperwork in one my clinical placements.

Just make sure your dh is fully on board because A LOT is going to fall on him

Also be aware of the prices. Currently it is about 85k (heard from a grad student currently in her last semester). You need to figure it if it is really really worth it for you. If you're gonna go the agency route its not. If you'll go to public school or medical setting it might be.

amother

Seagreen

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 9:05 am

amother Lavender wrote:

I have to say I find it beyond ironic that speech became a good job out of NY and not in NY. I was literally told the opposite by the people who brainwashed me to go for speech
I wish you could share your location because I really want to know where the going rate is 75. Unheard of in NY. Maybe I'll move there. We need to move somewhere to buy a house anyway so it may as well be somewhere with great earning potential for me

amother

Lavender

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 9:18 am

amother Seagreen wrote:

What lies? YOU work more full time than most agency therapists. The ones I know work max 20 hours per week, off with their kids, and off at least half the summer. And are making about 50k for part time.
I’m truly sorry you work so hard and make so little.
Where are you located?
There has to be a better option for you!

amother

Lavender

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 9:26 am

amother Seagreen wrote:

Lakewood, NJ
starting rate (but after you have CCCs) now hourly is $75 in most agencies. My friend just got a job at $75 hourly with most clients back to back, and $20 travel time for 15 min of travel if she has to travel between schools (max once per day).
If you specialize in something in Lakewood, the market is HUGE. But you have to be really good.

amother

Seagreen

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 9:37 am

amother Lavender wrote:

Wow that's amazing. And I'm happy for my speech therapy friends in lkwd that they are making what they deserve and not the peanuts we get here.
That said, we can't move to lkwd because we can"t afford a house there either Sad

and we wouldnt be able to get our kids into school

amother

Caramel

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 9:42 am

amother Seagreen wrote:

What do you consider working a full day