Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) job description

The pathologist writes the treatment plan, and the assistant carries much of it out, session by session. Speech-language pathology assistants run speech and language programs that a licensed pathologist designs and directs, help with screenings and assessments, and watch how clients use alternative communication devices. BLS publishes no wage line for the job itself. It counts SLPAs in 31-9099, healthcare support workers, all other, a catch-all whose median was $48,430 in May 2025, with $34,770 at the tenth percentile and $71,470 at the ninetieth. Within that same catch-all, the median was $50,500 in K-12 schools and $56,470 in offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists, and audiologists. Every one of those figures describes the whole group, not assistants alone.

Core Duties and Responsibilities

Documentation heads O*NET's task list: recording each client's progress against the objectives the pathologist set. Close behind come carrying out treatment plans and protocols as directed, and collecting data on client performance and program quality. Assistants choose and prepare instructional materials, keep records and supplies in order, and schedule sessions. They help the pathologist screen or assess language, voice, fluency, articulation, and hearing, and they turn a client's results into charts and graphs. Supplemental tasks include testing equipment, leading family or community education sessions, and helping with research projects.

Common Skills and Technologies

Active listening tops O*NET's skills list for the job, followed by reading comprehension and speaking, then social perceptiveness and monitoring. Service orientation and complex problem solving also rank. Postings for the job name Microsoft Windows and Office, especially Word and Excel. O*NET's wider technology categories for the occupation add text to speech conversion software, music or sound editing software, and medical software.

Education, Training, and Career Path

O*NET puts the job in Job Zone Three. On the education the job requires, 57.7 percent of those surveyed chose an associate's degree, 23.3 percent a bachelor's, and 14.1 percent a post-baccalaureate certificate. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Certified Speech-Language Pathology Assistant standards took effect July 1, 2020. They ask for one of three degree routes, an hour each of coursework in ethics, universal safety precautions, and client confidentiality, at least 80 hours of direct and 20 hours of indirect supervised service, and a passing score on a national exam. States regulate assistants in different ways, so the state rule decides who can be hired. Moving up to speech-language pathologist takes a master's degree and a state license.

Sources: O*NET 30.0, 31-9099.01 Speech-Language Pathology Assistants, https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/31-9099.01. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, 31-9099 Healthcare Support Workers, All Other, https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, https://www.asha.org/certification/2020-slpa-certification-standards/.