Advantages of Becoming a Speech Pathology Professional

Speech pathology or speech language pathology is a medical field that focuses on identifying and treating various speech defects and disorders. Although it is a fairly new field, it is growing and many individuals are making it their career.

Speech pathologists or speech pathology professionals are licensed medical professionals who diagnose and treat various speech disorders that impede speech and communication. It is usually good to have a master’s degree and then obtain a license to practice. The licensing regulations vary from state to state. Speech pathologists can get jobs in medical organizations and schools.

If you are interested in speech pathology as a career option, there are few things you must know. This article talks about the advantages of becoming a speech pathology professional.

Here are four major advantages:

1. When getting into speech pathology as a professional, you will be following a flexible and stable career path. Some professionals work as general practitioners while others specialize in specific conditions and disorders.

Many find work in schools and hospitals helping treat childhood discrepancies in language and communication development. Autism and other related disorders have the greatest need for speech pathologists.

These pathologists also work with adults helping them regain normal speech after brain injuries, strokes, hearing loss, etc.

2. Generally speech pathologists work in collaboration with a medical team while diagnosing and treating disorders. Sometimes speech related disorders occur as a result of neurological causes, while other times they are associated with physical reasons. Defects arising from brain injuries and strokes occur because the brain signals that direct communication are affected. In such cases, pathologists collaborate with neurologists to come up with a proper treatment plan. Other medical professionals they may work with are physical and occupational therapists to treat physical injuries that affect the cognitive, physical, and speech functions.

3. Another advantage is that a speech pathologist earns a very good income. According to recent statistics, as of 2011, they earned an average annual salary of $66,000.

4. A speech pathologist’s job is very important. Speech and communication is a vital part of an individual’s life. It is what helps in building and maintaining professional and personal relationships. Helping a stroke patient regain his ability to speak and improving the communication skills of an autistic child brings joy and fulfilment to a speech pathologist, as his therapeutic work is critical to a person living a normal and happy life.

Becoming a pathologist you can get a job in various places. Most renowned hospitals have speech pathology as a special branch. You can also set up your own practice and work privately. Other places where speech pathology professionals are needed are universities, schools, colleges, and so on. Such services are only for the benefit of the students studying in those particular institutions. Hospices, nursing facilities, and geriatric facilities also employ the services of such professionals.

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What Should a Reference Page Look Like?

There are multiple documents involved in the job-search process: your résumé, your cover letter and your follow-up or thank-you letter. If you haven’t done so already, consider adding one more item to your application package: a reference page. Since prospective employers almost always ask for references, it’s smart to have a list immediately available for them to look over.Employers use a number of strategies to get to know job candidates and make a determination about the candidate’s suitability for employment. Contacting references is a key part of the process. However, listing references on your résumé is a bad idea. It’s better to use every inch of your résumé to showcase your skills and education; putting references down could appear as filler. The best way to share your references is by showcasing them on their own page.A reference page is much simpler to write than a résumé or cover letter, but don’t overlook its importance. This step requires nearly as much thought and analysis. You must use care, thoughtfulness and communicate openly with the people you’ve chosen as your references. More than one person has lost out on a position for failing to properly vet references. While you don’t want to be portrayed as a saint without imperfections, you want to make sure your references share your goal of helping you find new employment, and keep that in mind when speaking to potential employers.The accepted standard is three professional references, such as supervisors and co-workers, and three personal references. Personal references, which allow prospective employers to see another side of you, can be people you know from volunteer activities, church, or school. Avoid choosing personal references that are too personal, like spouses and parents.Once you’ve contacted your references, obtained their approval, and collected their information, you need to create your reference page. Don’t simply type out the information; remember you’re creating a package of documents to represent you to your employer. The same level of care you put into your résumé and cover letter should go into your reference sheet. As a résumé writer, I give the reference page the same heading as the résumé, and use the same font. I use bold text and italicized text sparingly, to emphasize job titles or places of employment, and follow the same format for each reference:NameTitleOrganizationAddressE-mailPhone/FaxAs with your other job-search documents, you want to make sure you proofread, focusing on the contact information for each reference. A misused letter or number could result in missed communication, causing embarrassment for you along with a possibly missed opportunity.Try to view the reference page as one more item to represent you to employers, and give it the same care and attention you give the rest of your application package.

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