Just that it belongs to the field of medicine, the average salary figures for pediatric speech pathologists are overwhelming. Know how can you take a hefty salary home, in the following article.
Call them speech pathologists, speech language pathologists, or speech therapists, they’re dedicated to improve communication, pronunciation, and eating abilities. Now, for the purpose of this article, we’d be dealing with those speech pathologists who are dedicated to children. Speech pathologists who diagnose, analyze, and treat vocal communication problems in children are called pediatric speech pathologists. Their treatment methods include vocal exercises and physical therapies, and in severe cases, surgeries.
Medical conditions such as stuttering, deafness, and autism, require special care and treatment, so that children can communicate properly and without hassles when they grow up. Most speech problems are also associated with swallowing as a result of past injury, and ineffective communication. Hence, it is for the treatment of speech problems of the little ones that pediatric speech pathologists work hard, and help them get rid of speech troubles. Before we understand how much do they make on an annual basis in the United States of America, let us find out what it takes to make this noble career yours. Have a look at the following section.
How to Become a Pediatric Speech Pathologist
To start with, your educational qualifications must be above average, and you need to have at least a bachelor’s degree in Speech Pathology. A master’s degree in the same is definitely an added advantage. After you have fetched your degree, you can either apply for an internship in a speech pathology center, or can enroll for a vocational course in pediatric speech pathology, where you will gain hands-on experience in this field.
Moreover, you can take speech communication classes in colleges, wherein you will be able to effectively communicate with children and their families, and will get an opportunity to serve more people. One of the most important parts of becoming a pediatric speech pathologist is to gain the necessary certification. Certification will help you display your achievements in a better way, and will ensure that you get placed in a recognized medical institution. After you pass the certification exam held by the certifying body in you region, you can apply for a job in medical institutions dedicated to speech pathology.
Pay Scale
For a speech pathologist in the field of pediatrics, the annual salary range in the US lies somewhere between $35,000 – $100,000, where the lower limit denotes the average starting salary of a speech pathologist serving in pediatrics, while the upper limit depicts the salary figures after a speech pathologist has gained a good amount of relevant work experience. New York, being the land of opportunities, pays the most to them, while Pennsylvania, on the other hand, pays them somewhere around $75,000 annually.
Note that your annual salary range is highly driven by the geographical region you choose to work in, the workplace you want to serve in, and the number of years of relevant experience you possess. All these factors will define your annual salary in the United States of America. With that being said, following is a list of the average salaries in the US, after the pediatric speech pathologists have gained relevant experience, in accordance with all the major states.
- California – $90,000
- Texas – $80,000
- New York – $100,000
- Florida – $80,000
- Illinois – $90,000
- Pennsylvania – $75,000
- Ohio – $80,000
- Michigan – $80,000
- Georgia – $85,000
- New Jersey – $85,000
- Virginia – $85,000
- Washington DC – $95,000
The job of a pediatric speech pathologist is one of the noblest jobs in the world, and considering the increasing disabilities in newborn babies these days, the need for speech pathologists is ever-increasing. A career in speech pathology will not only help you take an enviable salary home, but will also ensure a safe future, for it belongs to the field of medicine which is the most lucrative of all. If you’re up for some serious hard work, this field awaits you with arms wide open.