Is a degree in foreign languages relevant enough to this field? (Could I fit in? Do my reasons for wanting an SLP degree make sense?)

I went in to SLP because I love language and also enjoyed tutoring college students in writing. I thought I could work with older, higher functioning individuals as an SLP and obtained my Master's degree because I thought SLP positions would be intellectually challenging. I know found out that I was wrong and that I made a huge mistake. If you are going to pursue a PhD with the end objective of teaching or doing research, then a degree in SLP might make sense, though.

I would just caution you against getting too excited about the idea of working one-on-one with high level clients (as you did as a tutor for your college) and expecting to derive a lot of intellectual satisfaction from SLP, because there are no full-time SLP jobs that entail working with college-aged, similarly high-functioning clientele. I have searched high and low for a position like that as an SLP, but they do not exist unless you want to spend the time to get a degree in SLP only to maybe have a few hours' a week worth of high level, highly motivated private practice clients.

All clinical SLP positions entail work with significantly lower functioning clientele (as compared to college students). I did not go in to SLP to work with low functioning pediatric clients. That is where the bulk of the clinical jobs are. If you want an intellectually challenging job, I don't think you will find it playing on the floor with kindergarteners. I certainly did not. If you are okay with temporarily working with low-functioning children, or struggling/moving to find a SNF or hospital position until you can get a job teaching at the college level, then SLP may be a viable choice for you.

/r/slp Thread