English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

Hi Everyone!

I am new to this site and have my first question. I am 22 and I attend St. Joseph's College. I still can't decide what I want to finish up with for my degree.

I am presently an English major, (secondary education) but I am really interested in Speech Pathology. A few of my family members are SP and the job seems so interesting.

I have 71 credits, mostly a lot of my core classes and lots of English. I will be living here on LI and I know how hard it is to get a teaching job, so I am trying to see what my options are.

I also thought the English program was going to be different, I didn't realize that although it's for teaching HS, most of the colllege work is nothing of what I will be teaching. I can either stay in the English program, which I don't really enjoy....or switch to Speech for my BA and then get my MA in Speech Pathology.

Anyways, sorry for rambling on but if anyone could give me some sort of opinions to help weigh my decision I would be greatful! I know no matter what I do I will enjoy it because all I want to do is work with kids and I have wanted to be a teacher all my life, so any pros or cons is what I am looking for.

Thanks!

Jenna

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

I know nothing about SP. but my BA is in English and my Masters is in Secondary Education. I taught Language Arts for three years , if you have any specific questions I would be happy to answer them!

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

I think job-wise, it will be easier to get an English teacher job. My high school has 14 English teachers and one speech pathologist who is split between 2 schools.

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

i think speech is a great career choice. you can work for a school or work for an agency, do evaluations or even work from home. i am thinking about going back for my masters in speech path.

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

i'm a speech pathologist and i work in schools... there are TONS of jobs out there.. .we're really in demand right now becasue many speech programs at colleges are closing dow, so there aren't enough SLPs coming into the work force. All this while more kids are getting classified with speech/language problems, and more older people are having strokes, etc that need speech therapy.
. i love it! i have only 2-3 kids at a time rather than a whole class full, which allows me to do some really fun stuff with the kids.
ALSO, you will have WAAY more options with speech- you can work in early intervention with the preschool age, you can work in a hospital with stroke patients, at a nursing home with stroke patients, and so on... there are TONS of jobs! you could even open a private practice- some private practices get $75 an hour!! definitely worth looking into more!

Message edited 5/25/2007 4:04:55 PM.

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

I agree with the PP. I just graduated with my M.S. in speech pathology and when I was interviewing for jobs, it felt like I was interviewing THEM.. Everywhere I went they were practically begging me to sign a contract- and putting their money where their mouth was.

Speech is SUCH a broad field- if you don't like working in the schools, then you can go work in a hospital or rehab facility. With the baby boomers aging, the need for rehab and hospital based SLPs are growing as well (and the $$$ is wonderful). The graduate program is somewhat grueling- but TOTALLY worth it.

It's so comforting knowing I am much needed in my field.....

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

I think speech pathologist. This was my original major in college and I changed and I am sorry I did. There are too many english teachers and not enough jobs on LI. Speech pathologist you can work in a school, private practice, in a dr's office, there are a lot more options.

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

You can do more with a Speech Pathologist. That is my BA degree.
I didnt go further because I got my Masters in Special Ed.
SP....a lot of work for your masters

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

I think it is much easier to get a speech job then an english job. There are more options for it - lots of people have an english degree!

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

I have my BS in Speech...I think its a great career choice and you will have more job options in speech, b/c you can work in any setting.
However, the program is very demanding, so if you do decide to persue speech be prepared for a ton of work.

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

Can I teach and still do the required practicum for speech?

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

I wonder about NY

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

i know in NJ you can work in schools while you're still in grad school.. .they call it " emergency certification"... LOL which should tell you something about the need for speech paths
i did it, but not till the end of my grad program, so i was already done all of the practicum hours i needed.... i started working at a school at the beginning of april, and graduated from grad school in may..... then i kept working at the school till june. i think it would be tough to do while you're trying to do all of your clinical hours- because the clinical hours need to be in different settings, you can't just count the hours you work at a school as your clinical hours.
its a lot of work, but definitely worth it because there are soo many carrerr options and job opportunities out there. you are pretty much guaranteed a job once you're done school- you can't say that for a lot of other career options.

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

I guess I am out of luck .. I really wanted to go for this too!

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????

Re: English - Secondary Ed/ OR Speech Pathology????