• Work in hospitals, clinics, private practice, schools and universities, nursing homes, research laboratories.
• Identify and evaluate speech and language disorders.
• Help those with speech rhythm and fluency problems, such as stuttering.
• Help people who have had strokes or experienced brain trauma to regain lost language and speech.
• Help those with voice quality problems, such as inappropriate pitch or harsh voice.
• Work with those who have oral motor problems that cause eating and swallowing difficulties.
• Use written and oral tests, as well as special instruments, to diagnose the nature and extent of speech impairment, and to record and analyze speech, language and swallowing problems.
• Based on their diagnosis and analysis, develop individualized treatment plans that target each patient’s needs.

Education/Training

• College prep courses in high school, including science, math, English and speech. 
• Students typically obtain an undergraduate degree in communication sciences and disorders.
• A master’s degree in speech-language pathology is the entry-level degree for most jobs.
• Most states require licensing, for which they require a master’s degree, 300 to 375 hours of supervised clinical experience, a passing score on a national examination, and nine months of postgraduate professional experience.

Salary

• $30,720 - $69,980

More Information

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
  10801 Rockville Pike
  Rockville, MD 20852
  800-498-2071 (professionals and students)
  800-638-8255 (public)
  http://www.asha.org