Speech language pathologist vs student clinician

The differences between speech language pathologists and student clinicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a speech language pathologist and a student clinician. Additionally, a speech language pathologist has an average salary of $62,340, which is higher than the $59,506 average annual salary of a student clinician.

The top three skills for a speech language pathologist include patients, SLP and speech-language pathology. The most important skills for a student clinician are language disorders, patients, and autism.

Speech language pathologist vs student clinician overview

	Speech Language Pathologist	Student Clinician
Yearly salary	$62,340	$59,506
Hourly rate	$29.97	$28.61
Growth rate	21%	21%
Number of jobs	25,617	36,281
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	2	2

What does a speech language pathologist do?

A speech-language pathologist specializes in diagnosing disorders in speech, language, and communication among children and adults. They are also responsible for devising and providing suitable treatments and therapeutic solutions that would improve a patient's condition. With each case varying from the rest, a speech-language pathologist must conduct an extensive assessment, research, analysis, and observation. Aside from providing treatments, a speech-language pathologist can also supervise other personnel in the same field, engage in various programs to share expertise, and provide consultations.

What does a student clinician do?

A Student Clinician is a healthcare practitioner who works as caregiver of a patient in a hospital or clinic. They integrate knowledge obtained in courses into the clinical practicum assignments.

Speech language pathologist vs student clinician salary

Speech language pathologists and student clinicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Speech Language Pathologist	Student Clinician
Average salary	$62,340	$59,506
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $89,000	Between $41,000 And $85,000
Highest paying City	Redwood City, CA	-
Highest paying state	California	-
Best paying company	Northeastern University	-
Best paying industry	Professional	-

Differences between speech language pathologist and student clinician education

There are a few differences between a speech language pathologist and a student clinician in terms of educational background:

	Speech Language Pathologist	Student Clinician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common major	Communication Disorders Sciences	Communication Disorders Sciences
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Speech language pathologist vs student clinician demographics

Here are the differences between speech language pathologists' and student clinicians' demographics:

	Speech Language Pathologist	Student Clinician
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 8.9% Female, 91.1%	Male, 16.5% Female, 83.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 4.5% White, 77.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 4.5% White, 76.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between speech language pathologist and student clinician duties and responsibilities

Speech language pathologist example responsibilities.

Plan and provide speech therapy services to preschool and elementary school children with autism, communication disorders and developmental disabilities.
Offer speech therapy services in schools k-12 grade.
Perform tasks prescribe, direct, and supervise by ASHA certify speech language pathologist.
Diagnose, assess and provide treatment in private practice for kids of all ages presenting a language delays.
Act as primary liaison between administrative staff, rehabilitation managers, multidisciplinary team members and SLP staff.
Provide formal evaluation of communication, cognitive-linguistic, and swallowing deficits for both short term rehabilitation patients and long term residents.

Student clinician example responsibilities.

Provide group base intervention for elementary age students who use AAC, with and without communication disorders
Deliver speech therapy in individual and group settings; focuse on improving overall functional communication in patients with non-fluent aphasia.
Evaluate patients in the acute care setting for communication disorders, develop and implement therapy for acute care and rehabilitation patients.
Provide speech and language intervention for a varying population with stuttering, receptive-expressive language delay, aphasia, and articulation deficits.
Addressed concerns such as articulation, augmentative alternative communication, autism-spectrum disorders, pragmatic issues, expressive and receptive language issues.
Provide AAC training utilizing communications book.

Speech language pathologist vs student clinician skills

Common speech language pathologist skills

Patients, 19%
SLP, 17%
Speech-Language Pathology, 13%
Rehabilitation, 10%
Home Health, 8%
Patient Care, 6%

Common student clinician skills

Language Disorders, 19%
Patients, 15%
Autism, 10%
Traumatic Brain Injury, 5%
Group Therapy Sessions, 4%
Aphasia, 3%

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Speech Language Pathologist
Speech Language Pathologist vs Student Clinician

Updated January 8, 2025

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