Too Old For a Career Change to SLP?

Hi. I am a 51-year old woman who is considering a career change into SLP. Because of the pre-req courses I would need, I am looking at starting the program in Fall 2013 at 53. So I won't finish until 2015 at age 55. Yikes! My concern is, would I even get hired at that age? Two things: I do look a lot younger than my age. I also work at a college so all the pre-req courses would be free. Please be honest! I would especially like to hear from hiring personnel as to whether you would hesitate to hire a newbie in their mid-50s. Thanks!!!

speakeasy in Cleveland, Ohio said: Hi. I am a 51-year old woman who is considering a career change into SLP. Because of the pre-req courses I would need, I am looking at starting the program in Fall 2013 at 53. So I won't finish until 2015 at age 55. Yikes! My concern is, would I even get hired at that age? Two things: I do look a lot younger than my age. I also work at a college so all the pre-req courses would be free. Please be honest! I would especially like to hear from hiring personnel as to whether you would hesitate to hire a newbie in their mid-50s. Thanks!!!

speakeasy, i am an older person also considering this career change. i'm wondering also if the hiring practices vary from state to state?

slp girl in Compton, California said: speakeasy, i am an older person also considering this career change. i'm wondering also if the hiring practices vary from state to state?

Well, I suppose it comes down to supply and demand. If there is an abundant supply of SLPs in a given area then I would think the competition would be fierce. However, if one is in an area where jobs outnumber applicants then the chances of an older applicant getting hired would be better. Oh, and one more thing....it also depends on the age of the person hiring you ;)

I am 51 and I am thinking of going in to SLP as a career change also. I have a bachelor's in communicative disorders. I have been laid off as a teacher and can't stand the constant threats of losing my job every March because of the lack of money. It is so competitive getting into grad school and some of the school's SLP departments are so snooty. I had a really tough time at CSUN. After I got my degree, the dean of the master's program denied me entrance into the SLP program because, as he said, "There is nothing special about you. You don't even speak a second language...go get your masters in special ed and then reapply."
I also heard a young SLP program student's mother, say," they put my daughter through hell and back at CSUN to get her degree... I don't know if all of this is worth it." To bad CSUN is the only CA school that has an online program. I have met speech teachers in my school district that keep saying that there is a great need for SLPs. How can these universities make getting a Master's degree in SLP so difficult? They tell me how they could work 24/7 if they wanted to; that they are constantly getting offers to work-not only in the schools,but in the hospitals or clinical settings. One particular speech teacher said that she got her SLP license in her late 30's. She is now in her 60's, and she is working all the time. Does anybody have any suggestions on really good SLP master options besides CSUN?

Hi there, I just completed my masters in SLP at Washington State University and it was ... interesting. Considering the field is all about communication, the staff had some of the worst communication skills of all! However, anywhere you go I believe there is going to be difficult circumstances. I had two friends who had complaints about expectations at the Universities of Oregon and Washington. However, another friend was pleased with her experiences at University of Redlands. I am not sure if this is an option for you location wise. However, it may be a good idea to request a tour of the campus clinic/student work room, and meet some of the faculty and current students at any universities you are considering. It is pretty easy to get a vibe about a place based on quick interactions with the faculty students. If they deny you a tour, that might be a good indicator that the university is not somewhere you want to attend!

speakeasy in Cleveland, Ohio said: Hi. I am a 51-year old woman who is considering a career change into SLP. Because of the pre-req courses I would need, I am looking at starting the program in Fall 2013 at 53. So I won't finish until 2015 at age 55. Yikes! My concern is, would I even get hired at that age? Two things: I do look a lot younger than my age. I also work at a college so all the pre-req courses would be free. Please be honest! I would especially like to hear from hiring personnel as to whether you would hesitate to hire a newbie in their mid-50s. Thanks!!!

Speakeasy,
You give me hope. I'll be 49 this year and am also looking to completely change careers. I've been looking into SLP, though know I will need to do a fair amount of prereqs first. I received a BFA from Ohio State (after a misspent youth at Cleveland State, incidentally), but I'm hoping enough of my classes will count toward maybe only a year of doing the targeted undergrad classes. Still need to figure out how to continue working while doing this, so I'm looking at the online option. I also looked into getting my Masters in Education for Middle (Science and Reading/Language Arts track). I can complete all prereqs in a year and then the M.Ed is 30 weeks. However, at our age, we need to consider job probability AND the ability to continue in the field for a very long time.

Good luck to you and keep us posted.
Tim

I know at CSU the minimum number of prereq courses that must be complete before one can even apply is 5. Only a few of the prereqs are online and the in-person courses are during the day (at Cleveland State). Ohio State offers all prereqs (they are the same for most schools) online through their Continuing Education department. Check with whatever school you are interested in to see if they accept the online OSU courses.

Yep, I considered Education, too. As I am sure you know, the teaching outlook for newbies is not good right now. But I notice you said Science. If you can teach Science or Math then you have one up on others. Do you have enough Math that you can teach 4-9 Science/Math? That would add even a couple more points to your profile. Plus, you are a male -- another score for you. I think teaching is something one can do through their 60s so you would definitely make it worthy of your time.

I suppose the difference between the two is that you have 25 kids at a time or one child at a time. I think the pay would be comparable between the two although you would probably start out higher as an SLP.

Hope this helps. Let us know how things go.

No,

There are several women in my program who have changed their careers in their 50s. Plan on living a long-long time. :)

Hi just wondering if any of the above folks who replied has made a decision on whether to delve into an SLP program? This summer, I am taking two pre-req courses and plan on applying in next year for the Grad Program. Yeah, at 52 I am certainly the oldest in my courses but, what the heck, they'll all be my age someday. It is really interesting so far. Tim, have you decided on which program you would enter?

speakeas in Cleveland, Ohio said: Hi just wondering if any of the above folks who replied has made a decision on whether to delve into an SLP program? This summer, I am taking two pre-req courses and plan on applying in next year for the Grad Program. Yeah, at 52 I am certainly the oldest in my courses but, what the heck, they'll all be my age someday. It is really interesting so far. Tim, have you decided on which program you would enter?

Hi. Since my post, I completed an intro Bio course as a general prereq and am about to complete my first leveling class (Anatomy & Physiology of the Speech Mechanism) through the Univ of Cincinnati on-line program. I'm signed up to take my 2nd leveling class (Language Acquisition) on-line through Univ of Akron. Univ of Akron & Cincinnati have a collaborative on-line program and there are 4 leveling classes that you must take if you do not have a Speech & Hearing undergrad degree. You do not need to complete all 4 before entering the program, but I felt it best to begin them in order to prove to myself and to the program that I can do the work. I still need to take my GRE. Unfortunately, working more than full time already, I just can't handle 2 classes (Having been out of school for so long, I feel that I definitely need to do a Kaplan-like course before taking the GRE) so won't be able to take the GRE in time to apply for Fall 2013. This means 2014 for me.

The on-line program requires AT LEAST 400 clinical hours in a variety of settings. Unless I can find places to do clinical hours in the evenings or on weekends, this will likely mean that I'll need to quit my job and find a part time while I do the clinicals and coursework - which will also mean trying to find ways to save as much cash now as possible. I currently do volunteer work at the Columbus Speech & Hearing Center one evening a week and will be talking to them about doing some clinical hours there.

**************IF ANYONE HAS ANY

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*****************IF ANYONE HAS ANY SUGGESTIONS AS TO PLACES TO GET CLINICAL HOURS IN ON WEEKENDS OR EVENINGS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW****************

How about you?

Best,
Tim