Alternative careers for speech pathologists

Before Nicole Spruill opened her own practice as a speech and voice coach, she often saw patients with voice injuries in the North Carolina hospital where she worked as a speech language pathologist (SLP). She taught pastors, teachers, cheerleaders, and singers to heal vocal nodules and properly use their voices without causing more harm.  

“Most of it was just an abuse of the voice,” she said.

Spruill is among the speech pathologists applying their knowledge outside clinical and classroom environments. While most speech language pathologists work in schools or healthcare facilities, there are other therapy settings in which an SLP’s expertise can be useful.

“I can listen to people on the news or even people on the radio or analysts, and I can hear that they’re just misusing their voice. And I can automatically tell where that tension is,” Spruill said. “We are trained to know what it looks like and what it should sound like.”

The sponsored program cards and interview segments featured on this page were last updated in May 2022. For the most current program information, please refer to the official website of the respective school.  

Sponsored online speech pathology programs

Online MS: Pursue SLP Certification. Study FT/PT

Speech@Emerson enables you to earn an MS online and pursue SLP certification in as few as 20 mos. Learn the same curriculum as the on-campus program. Study FT or PT.

• Prepares you to pursue certification as an SLP generalist
• In-person clinical placements at faculty-approved partner sites
• As few as 20 months to complete

Request more info from Emerson College.

info SPONSORED

Want to Become an SLP? Earn an MS Online at NYU

NYU Steinhardt’s online master of science program in Communicative Sciences and Disorders prepares aspiring speech-language pathologists with a comprehensive professional education.

• Prepares students to pursue SLP licensure 
• Accredited by ASHA’s Council on Academic Accreditation 
• As few as six terms to complete 
• Full-time and part-time plans of study

Request more info from New York University.

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In 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimated that jobs for speech language pathologists will grow 19% by 2032, which is much faster than the average for all other occupations.

The need for speech pathologists is driven by a combination of factors including an aging population; increased survival rates for premature infants, trauma victims, and stroke victims; and increased school enrollments and bilingualism, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) market trends report.

“Trends suggest that an increasing amount of work will be available in school-based, bilingual, private-practice, and corporate settings,” according to ASHA.

The majority of SLPs work full time, but part-time and “pro re nata” (as-needed) positions are also available based on an SLP’s desired facility, their flexibility, and other factors, ASHA reports.

ASHA reports that most SLPs work in educational and healthcare settings, but there are also other workplace environments available to SLPs. Some SLPs even travel between different facilities or fill temporary positions for weeks or months in different states or countries.

According the BLS, the percentage of SLPs who worked for various employment sectors in 2022 were as follows:

Traditional settings

Alternative settings

The states that employed the highest numbers of SLPs in 2022 included California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and Florida, as reported by the BLS.

Additional education after speech pathology school is not always necessary for SLPs to make a career change, but it can be helpful to take coursework in specific concentrations of speech language pathology to further professional development.

To maintain their certification with ASHA, SLPs are required to complete 30 hours of Certification Maintenance Hours (CMHs) every three years. Concentrating those professional development courses in a preferred area can help SLPs direct their career path toward areas of interest. Working with mentors and taking on additional work outside their job can also help SLPs transition into new fields where a master’s degree in speech pathology may not be required.

Voice and speech coaches can train actors, executives, and others to modify their accents, adapt new dialects, and heal and prevent voice injuries by using their voices properly. Although no additional education is required to become a voice coach, Spruill suggests taking continuing education courses in voice and speech. Certifications like the Compton PESL (Pronouncing English as a Second Language) can also help coaches specializing in accent modification.

SLPs have a strong understanding of mechanisms of the voice and an edge in working with injured voices, Spruill said.

“A lot of people get vocal nodules because they are misusing their voices. But why are you misusing your voice? What muscles are you using?” Spruill said. “[SLPs] can hear it immediately. Especially those of us who are trained in voice know exactly where that breakdown is.”

Similar to voice coaches, corporate SLPs train executives to communicate more clearly by addressing vocal misuse, improving social skills, and reducing accents. Spruill said she works with a number of executive clients to reduce their accents and adapt regional dialects that make them more relatable to their coworkers and customers.

“The area of corporate speech language pathology is recommended only for SLPs who have several years’ experience and comfort with their clinical skills,” according to The ASHA Leader.

In addition to speech and voice courses, taking business classes can also help SLPs prepare to work in a corporate setting.

Traveling SLPs take on temporary assignments in a range of clinical settings domestically and abroad. Traveling positions often require at least two years of experience working in a permanent clinical setting. Traveling SLPs can work with therapy or medical staffing agencies to secure contracts at hospitals, schools, and other facilities that need to fill SLP positions quickly.

Julia Kuhn, an SLP who has traveled for work during the last decade to destinations including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Texas, California, and Hawaii, said it can be helpful for SLPs to be flexible in their search.

“Be positive, be flexible, and be prepared to hit the ground running and go to work in any situation,” said Kuhn. “Be open to new possibilities. Travelers go where therapists are needed. If you are really stuck on going to one location or working in one specific setting, it may never happen.”

SLPs in academia can teach other prospective speech pathologists and conduct research in the field of speech language pathology.

Unlike other SLP careers, obtaining an academic position often requires a PhD. There’s a need for more PhD-prepared SLPs to fill faculty and scientist positions, according to ASHA.

“Careers as teachers, scholars, and researchers can be pursued at many different types of universities and colleges,” according to the ASHA market trends report. “Individuals with a PhD may also be employed at hospitals or clinics where clinical research is a part of the institution’s mission or in an industry-related organization (e.g., hearing aid manufacturer) for product research and development.”

Interpreters and translators often work closely with SLPs alongside clients who speak other languages, including sign language.

Becoming an interpreter or translator requires fluency in a second language or sign language. Interpreters and translators must also undergo training and obtain certification, such as certification from the American Translators Association.

Sponsored online speech pathology programs

Online MS: Pursue SLP Certification. Study FT/PT

Speech@Emerson enables you to earn an MS online and pursue SLP certification in as few as 20 mos. Learn the same curriculum as the on-campus program. Study FT or PT.

• Prepares you to pursue certification as an SLP generalist
• In-person clinical placements at faculty-approved partner sites
• As few as 20 months to complete

Request more info from Emerson College.

info SPONSORED

Want to Become an SLP? Earn an MS Online at NYU

NYU Steinhardt’s online master of science program in Communicative Sciences and Disorders prepares aspiring speech-language pathologists with a comprehensive professional education.

• Prepares students to pursue SLP licensure 
• Accredited by ASHA’s Council on Academic Accreditation 
• As few as six terms to complete 
• Full-time and part-time plans of study

Request more info from New York University.

info SPONSORED

In addition to alternative careers, SLPs can choose to specialize in particular areas. Specialty certification is not required to practice in any area within the speech language pathology scopes of practice, but board certification in a specialty signifies that an SLP has advanced skills and experience beyond the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) in a specific area of clinical practice.

Last updated December 2023.