Speech Pathologists

ANZSCO ID 252712

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
7,300
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
56%
Female Share
97%
Average age
34

Summary

Speech Pathologists provide diagnostic assessment and management of disorders of communication and swallowing through direct intervention, education, consultancy, advocacy, or a combination of these approaches.

Tasks

  • Administers tests and observes patients to determine nature and extent of disorders.

  • Plans and conducts programs of remedial exercises to correct disorders such as stuttering and abnormal articulation.

  • Administers individual and group therapy for rehabilitation of patients with communication problems caused by defective hearing, cerebral palsy, surgery and injury.

  • Advises on treatment for children with difficulties in learning to speak.

  • Counsels and guides language-handicapped individuals, their families, teachers and employers.

Characteristics

Job Type
Professionals
Skill Level
Very high skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
Unemployment Rate
n/a
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
Interests
  • Analytical
  • Creative
  • Helping
Physical Demand
  • Sedentary

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. Employment projections data are only produced for occupations at the broad four digit Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) level. While data are not available for this occupation, projections data are available for the parent occupation, Audiologists and Speech Pathologists, under the outlook section.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 56% of people employed as Speech Pathologists work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 10 percentage points below the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 41 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Sources:Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average.


Industries

Main industries

1
Health Care and Social Assistance
75.3%
2
Education and Training
16.7%
3
Public Administration and Safety
6.0%
4
Other Services
1.0%
5
Other industries
0.4%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

30.1% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

26.7% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

20.4% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

8.1% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

10.9% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

2.0% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.5% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.3% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Speech Pathologists All Jobs Average
NSW 30.1 31.6
VIC 26.7 25.6
QLD 20.4 20.0
SA 8.1 7.0
WA 10.9 10.8
TAS 2.0 2.0
NT 0.5 1.0
ACT 1.3 1.9



Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
34
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
97%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Speech Pathologists is 34 years. This is younger than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 25 to 34 years.

    Females make up 97% of the workforce. This is 49 percentage points above the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Speech Pathologists All Jobs Average
15-19 0.0 5.0
20-24 10.9 9.3
25-34 41.1 22.9
35-44 25.4 22.0
45-54 14.4 21.6
55-59 4.8 9.0
60-64 2.4 6.0
65 and Over 1.0 4.2
Median Age 34 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

An accredited bachelor or masters degree in speech-language pathology is needed to work as a Speech Pathologist.

Registration with Speech Pathology Australia is required.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Speech Pathologists All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 27.2 10.1
Bachelor degree 71.8 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 0.3 11.6
Certificate III/IV 0.0 21.1
Year 12 0.6 18.1
Year 11 0.0 4.8
Year 10 and below 0.0 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Audiologists and Speech Pathologists who are caring and empathetic and can work well in a team, with the ability to communicate with a diverse range of people.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 64%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 61%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 61%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 59%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 59%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 59%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 57%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 57%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 57%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 55%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 54%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 54%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 52%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 52%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 50%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 50%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 48%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.

  • 43%

    Operations analysis

    Understanding needs and product requirements to create a design.

  • 43%

    Science

    Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

  • 41%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 81%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 71%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 68%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 66%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 66%

    Therapy and counselling

    Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.

  • 53%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 53%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 47%

    Sociology and anthropology

    Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

  • 44%

    Medicine and dentistry

    Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.

  • 44%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 40%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 37%

    Foreign language

    Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

  • 37%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 32%

    Philosophy and theology

    Philosophical systems and religions, including their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and impact on society.

  • 27%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 25%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 24%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 22%

    Biology

    Plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, how they rely on and work with each other and the environment.

  • 18%

    History and archeology

    Events of the past, their causes, how we learn about them, and how they influence the way we live today.

  • 14%

    Engineering and technology

    Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 79%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 70%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 68%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 64%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 64%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 63%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 61%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 61%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 57%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 57%

    Originality

    Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.

  • 55%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 55%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 55%

    Hearing sensitivity

    Tell the difference between sounds.

  • 54%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

  • 52%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 52%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 45%

    Auditory attention

    Pay attention to a certain sound when there are other distracting sounds.

  • 45%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 43%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 41%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 74%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 71%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 67%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 66%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 65%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 64%

    Training and teaching others

    Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.

  • 64%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 64%

    Coming up with systems and processes

    Deciding on goals and figuring out what you need to do to achieve them.

  • 62%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 62%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 61%

    Making sense of information and ideas

    Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.

  • 60%

    Thinking creatively

    Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.

  • 60%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 60%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 59%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 57%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 55%

    Communicating with the public

    Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 52%

    Scheduling work and activities

    Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

  • 47%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 44%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 95%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 86%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 62%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

  • 33%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 29%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 24%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 95%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 81%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 76%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 74%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 67%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.

  • 57%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 97%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 95%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 93%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 90%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 90%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 89%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 88%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 84%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 83%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 76%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 75%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 74%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 74%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 73%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 73%

    Spend time sitting

    Spend time sitting at work.

  • 66%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 65%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 62%

    Disease or infection

    Be exposed to disease or infections.

  • 54%

    Conflict situations

    Deal with conflict or disagreements.

  • 53%

    Angry or unpleasant people

    Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 29-1127.00 - Speech-Language Pathologists.


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