Graduate Programs & CFY
(In this section: Finding a Grad Program, Financial Aid, Starting Your CFY, Tools You'll Need, SLP Facebook Groups, Supervising CFs, Dropping your CCC, Unsolicited Advice from Me Personally!)
FINDING A GRAD PROGRAM
Database of over 300 institutions offering degree programs in audiology, speech-language pathology, and speech, language and hearing sciences.
Locate teaching degree programs. Look under Special Education for schools with programs for Speech-Language Pathology or Communication Disorders.
Improve your odds of being accepted with these inside tips, from ASHA Leader, Nov. 2018.
FINANCIAL AID
Update on new student loan forgiveness plan. Check it out from the U.S. Department of Education HERE. 5/22/2024
From ASHA Foundation scholarships to travel scholarships and more.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs. Get input and answers from others who have gone this route.
What to look for to spot a scam, where to get reputable loans, who qualifies, and more.
Everything you need to know about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
Here's my 2 cents ... Americans had over $1.7 trillion in student loan debt in 2021. Do whatever you can to avoid being one of them. I know you are eager to get your career started, but the cost is too high! Do you want to eventually buy a house, or pay off a never-ending loan? Do you want to sent your kids to college? Do you want to help your aging parents with medical bills? Do you want to travel? Believe me, there are more important things you'll need your money for. Get a full time job doing anything, and take most of your classes part-time as you can afford to pay for them. It is possible. I know, I did it. I have worked with too many people who are putting off retiring until they have paid off their student loans. No kidding. They spent years only paying the minimum payment, so the loan was never paid down. In the long run, they will have paid over a million dollars for that loan. If you MUST take out a loan, make sure to prioritize double payments. Better yet, get a scholarship if you can. Don't depend on student loan forgiveness programs. They have so many loopholes, it's almost impossible to get them to forgive your loan. Yes, I hear you. "It's going to take forever to get my degree that way". Take it one semester at a time, and the time will go faster than you think. Here's what I did ... I worked a full time job for a year and saved enough money to go to school full time for my first year. After that, I kept working and took one class in Fall/Winter term, one class in Spring term, then two over summer breaks. You can do it, especially now with online classes. Not spending hours on the road is a life-saver. Good luck!
STARTING YOUR CFY
A travel contract company accidentally emailed out their internal CF document. It talks about salary (and maximizing their profits) and persuading people away from medical settings. Read this if you are a CF or are considering working for a contract company! They all use pretty much this same B.S. designed to benefit the company and screw you. (This is a post in Facebook).
TOOLS YOU'LL NEED
Improve your search skills so you don't have to ask others for info you can find for yourself.
SLP PROFESSIONAL FACEBOOK GROUPS
(Also look for groups specializing in areas of your interest)
Please note: social media tends to attract people who have negative comments to say, complaints to make, grievances to air. When we are satisfied, we tend not to take the time to post about it. We don't have this feeling that we must "get it off our chest". Don't let this negativity give you a skewed perception of our field! Every job has good points and bad points, and ours are the same. We have a wide variety of settings and locations to work in, bosses/administrators to work for, colleagues to work with. They are not always the right fit for you on your first (or even second or third) placement. That doesn't mean this field is not for you! If you're not happy somewhere, do something about it! Ask for some positive comments in these social media groups. Try to pinpoint what it is about your placement that you don't like. Is it the location, the people you work for, or the people you see as clients? Once you narrow it down, be flexible and relocate. You are the only one who is responsible for making you happy.
How to get started in teletherapy, best products to purchase, new therapy materials available, and lots more.
If you need ideas/materials for working with students online, check out all the help and free materials for using green screens.
Many international SLPs belong to this. One of the few groups that allow posting job openings.
If you work with the littles in any setting, this is a great place for questions, ideas, and support.
These will be your most challenging cases. Try this private group for some advice and support.
Private group for SLPs only, especially those working in preschool. Great resource for materials, ideas, questions, and more.
If you totally understand the link between language and literacy skills, this group is for you.
Private group for SLPs, SLPAs, and SLP students. Lots of great resources.
Private group to share resources specifically for teletherapy.
Great wealth of research results and best practices. Search the files for whatever question you might have.
This private group, supported by EverythingSLP.com.com® will share information, resources, and tools concerning Telepractice.
SUPERVISING CFs
Everything you need to know about getting and keeping your ASHA certification.
Thinking About Dropping Your CCC?
Always thought you MUST keep paying for your CCC every year? Well, maybe not. Join the group discussion, get vital info, listen to helpful podcasts.
My two cents: You never know where life takes you. You might be planning to stay where you are right now forever, but life has a way of changing your plans. You might not need your CCC in your current setting, but in the future you might, and it is a HUGE pain in the backside to re-apply once you have let it go. Should it be cheaper? Definitely! Should ASHA be doing more for us? Of course! But dropping your CCC as a "protest" can come back and bite you where it hurts. Think long and hard before you drop it. Get involved with ASHA to make the improvements needed.
MORE UNSOLICITED ADVICE ...
As you begin your first paying job, I have two pieces of advice:
If your health insurance has an option for additional cancer insurance, TAKE IT! It is only a few dollars, and the chances of making through life without some form of cancer is just about nonexistent these days. Your regular insurance will not cover all of the expenses you will incur for cancer treatment.
2. Start investing in a retirement plan immediately. It takes longer than you think to save enough money to retire on. There are no guarantees that Social Security will be there (or will have any money) when you retire. Then resist the urge to withdraw that money you have saved (or borrow against it) unless it is a life or death situation. You will never get it back. Don't use it to buy or remodel a house. Don't use it for that once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe. Don't use it to send your kids to college. DON'T TOUCH IT! Unless, of course, you like eating cat food. Just saying.