Speech-language pathologist

Pay

Getting in

Typical entry education

Master's degree

On-the-job training

Internship/residency

Prior experience

None

Calculate your switch to speech-language pathologist

What the work is like

Core tasks

• Evaluate hearing or speech and language test results, barium swallow results, or medical or background information to diagnose and plan treatment for speech, language, fluency, voice, or swallowing disorders.
• Write reports and maintain proper documentation of information, such as client Medicaid or billing records or caseload activities, including the initial evaluation, treatment, progress, and discharge of clients.
• Monitor patients' progress and adjust treatments accordingly.
• Develop or implement treatment plans for problems such as stuttering, delayed language, swallowing disorders, or inappropriate pitch or harsh voice problems, based on own assessments and recommendations of physicians, psychologists, or social workers.
• Administer hearing or speech and language evaluations, tests, or examinations to patients to collect information on type and degree of impairments, using written or oral tests or special instruments.
• Educate patients and family members about various topics, such as communication techniques or strategies to cope with or to avoid personal misunderstandings.
• Supervise or collaborate with therapy team.
• Participate in and write reports for meetings regarding patients' progress, such as individualized educational planning (IEP) meetings, in-service meetings, or intervention assistance team meetings.

Also called: Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist (Bilingual SLP) · Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist (Pediatric SLP) · Speech and Language Clinician · Speech and Language Specialist · Speech and Language Teacher · Speech and Language Therapist · Speech Clinician · Speech Pathologist

Outlook and AI

Speech-language pathologists held 193,400 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 225,500 by 2035 (+17%, much faster than average; all jobs: +3.5%).

Demand change - share increases as an aging population; growing awareness of the importance of identifying speech and language impairments early; and increasing special education needs in schools raise demand for speech-language pathology services.

Compare with

• Speech-language pathologist vs. Healthcare support workers, all other
• Speech-language pathologist vs. Occupational therapist
• Speech-language pathologist vs. Occupational therapy assistant
• Speech-language pathologist vs. Audiologist
• Speech-language pathologist vs. Occupational therapy aide
• Speech-language pathologist vs. Recreational therapist
• Speech-language pathologist vs. Clinical psychologist
• Speech-language pathologist vs. Registered nurse
• Speech-language pathologist vs. Physical therapist