Speech-Language Pathologist job description
107 verified openings in Speech-Language Pathologists
A preschooler who cannot yet produce certain sounds and an adult recovering from a stroke can share one speech-language pathologist's week. The job is assessing and treating disorders of speech, language, voice, and fluency, plus trouble swallowing, and the Handbook notes that many people call these clinicians speech therapists. BLS put the median annual wage at $97,870 in May 2025, or $47.05 an hour, with $62,900 at the tenth percentile and $134,160 at the ninetieth. Pay depends on where the work is done: the median was $83,080 in grade schools and high schools and $103,160 in general hospitals.
Core Duties and Responsibilities
Most cases open with an evaluation. Speech and language tests, read alongside barium swallow studies and the client's medical history, lead to a diagnosis. A treatment plan follows, built for stuttering, delayed language, swallowing problems, or a harsh or badly pitched voice, and it is adjusted as the client progresses. Therapy can mean strengthening the tongue, jaw, face, and breathing muscles, or teaching sign language, lip reading, or an alternative communication system. Documentation never stops, from evaluations to discharge and Medicaid billing. O*NET's core tasks also include reports for individualized education planning meetings and advising teachers and medical staff.
Common Skills and Technologies
O*NET rates reading comprehension, active listening, critical thinking, and social perceptiveness highest, with writing, speaking, and learning strategies close behind. Learning strategies earns its place in a job whose core tasks include teaching clients and their families how to communicate. Postings name eClinicalWorks for health records and Microsoft Word, Excel, and Office for reports, and O*NET's broader categories add voice recognition and computer based training software.
Education, Training, and Career Path
This is a Job Zone Five occupation. In O*NET's survey, 88.5 percent listed a master's degree as required and 11.5 percent a post-master's certificate. The Handbook describes the master's as about two years of graduate study with supervised clinical work built in. Every state licenses speech-language pathologists. The national Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) adds a degree from an accredited program, a score of 162 on the Praxis speech-language pathology exam, and a clinical fellowship of at least 36 weeks and 1,260 hours. School jobs may also call for a teaching certification. BLS projects 17 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,500 openings each year.
Sources: O*NET 30.0, 29-1127.00 Speech-Language Pathologists, https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1127.00. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, 29-1127, https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/speech-language-pathologists.htm. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, https://www.asha.org/certification/clinical-fellowship/.