any audiologists out there that can answer some questions?

Question

I am a transfer student with an AS in liberal arts and I am sacraficing my deam of becomming a pilot for a job that may have some better security. I was thinking about enrolling in Northeastern University's Speech Pathology/Audiology program. I dont know much about it, but my younger brother is deaf and we have been to many before. Any information on salary? If you enjoy it? Also, what kind of courses do you take, like do i have to take many science labs? They are not always my strong point (I barely passed anatomy & physiology) Also, can you be an audiologist without being a speech pathologist? For some reason every program offered at a college has them grouped together. Any insight would be so awesome.

Answer 1

"Crazy" is just what her name implies-- crazy.
Becoming a pilot will cost you over $100,000 just for the training and you will need to pay for many more flight hours once you get all of your ratings in order to land an airline job. Once you land the job, not only are you on the bottom of the heap in seniority and risk long periods of furlough, but the pay really sucks as a first officer (roughly $35,000/year). It takes lots of years to become a captain.
If you go the military route, you will need a bachelor's degree, go through Officer Candidate School (a 3 month thing, and it's no picnic), have 6 months of basic flight training (no matter how many civilian ratings you have), and 9 months of advanced. Once you get your wings, you owe them 8 more years of your life. Once you get out, you will still have to endure years as a first officer with an airline.
Audiologists, while it takes a clinical doctorate (AudD), will take you about 2 years to get your BA/BS ( because you already have an associate's); it is a general degree which includes some basic speech pathology courses. The bachelors degree program is identical for speech pathologists and audiology students; specialization begins in the master's program. It'll take up to 2 years for your master's (I did mine in 18 months by going to summer school). Once the master's is over, you will be required to do a "CFY" (clinical fellowship year) which is 9 months full-time. You should be able to work after your CFY is over, as you will be eligible for licensure in most states. You can work on your AudD while you are working. I would choose an AudD over a PhD simply because it takes 1/2 the time and a huge research project isn't necessary.
If Northeastern is a private university, it'll cost you an arm and a leg. UMass (Amherst) has an excellent program that's much less pricey.
The science labs will usually only be part of your clinical courses, which will include learning to perform tests with an audiometer and other equipment (such as the devices used for testing balance and inner ear function), testing throughout the lifespan, intraoperative audiologic monitoring in the OR (not widely performed, but you'll need to know it), and learning how to identify the site of lesion throughout the hearing mechanism.
Check out Salary.com for pay levels.
The job outlook is good, considering the graying of the Boomer generation and the veterans returning from service with acquired hearing loss. The VA is a great place for an audiologist to train and work. Private practice gives you lots of options, too. You'll be able to fly your own plane!
Good luck.
It's a great field.

Answer 2

Yes, you can become an audiologist without being a speech therapist. They are sperate feilds, but very related. People usually major in both speech pathology and audiology for thier BA degree, then go on to grad school. The BA degree insludes classes in anatomy, language development, sound, basic audiology, claft palatte, language sampling, and testing techniques. The reason they are grouped together is because they are very similar fields. To be a speech therapist, you would need a master's in speech therapy (in most states). To be an audiologist you need to have a doctorate degree in audiology. If you have an interest in deaf culture, you might also consider deaf education. With this degree, you could be a teacher for the deaf. You would take a lot of the same classes as the speech and audiology students, but would also take teaching classes and special education classes.

I got as far as completing my BA degree in Audiology and speech, and realized I did not want to go to grad school for either profession. This isn't for everyone, but many people do enjoy it. I decided to move to one of the only places in the country where you can work in speech therapy without a master's- Arizona. I was rather bored with working in the field and realized the profession was just not for me. I had kids who had no interest in learning to speak correctly, and parents who had no interest in bringing their kids to school for longer than enough to qualify for government assistance. Still, I got in trouble if my kids didn't reach their goals. There is also a mountain of paperwork. I made 32k, but if you pursue your masters, you could make 40k-55k. I am now going back to school to become a nurse.

As far as audiology, this field requires a good knowledge of anatomy and the physics of sound, and is heavier on the science than speech therapy. You fit people with hearing aids and program them, and will also test hearing. Audiologists make 55k-70k. You could make more than that if you are in hearing aide sales.

On another note, please don't sacrifice your dream. I did the same thing. I have always wanted to be a nurse, but started to go the speech-therapy route, because it was easier to get in to that than nursing school. I drove myself bonkers. Don't do the same to yourself. Follow your dream, and get you pilot's liscense. If you have to have another job to make end meet untill you start making a good living, then that's what you have to do, but don't go to school for something you don't have a passion for. It just leads to a headache and debt for a degree you regret getting.

Answer 3

Why sacrifice your dream? You may regret it.