Healthcare Support · Holland code SCI

Speech-Language Pathology Assistants

Assist speech-language pathologists in the assessment and treatment of speech, language, voice, and fluency disorders. Implement speech and language programs or activities as planned and directed by speech-language pathologists. Monitor the use of alternative communication devices and systems.

Also called: Communication Assistant, Speech Pathologist Assistant, Speech-Language Pathologist Assistant (SLPA), Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA), Speech Assistant, Speech Paraeducator, Speech Therapy Assistant, Speech-Language Assistant.

O*NET 31-9099.01

At a glance

US median annual pay: $48,430; Middle half earn $39,470 to $59,710. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree; 58% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Document clients' progress toward meeting established treatment objectives.
Implement treatment plans or protocols as directed by speech-language pathologists.
Collect and compile data to document clients' performance or assess program quality.
Perform support duties, such as preparing materials, keeping records, maintaining supplies, and scheduling activities.
Assist speech-language pathologists in the remediation or development of speech and language skills.
Select or prepare speech-language instructional materials.
Assist speech-language pathologists in the conduct of client screenings or assessments of language, voice, fluency, articulation, or hearing.
Prepare charts, graphs, or other visual displays to communicate clients' performance information.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening4.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.8 / 5
Speaking3.8 / 5
Monitoring3.4 / 5
Writing3.1 / 5
Critical Thinking3.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

English Language4.5 / 5
Education and Training4.2 / 5
Therapy and Counseling3.7 / 5
Psychology3.6 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.4 / 5
Administrative3.4 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic25
Investigative56
Artistic27
Social75
Enterprising9
Conventional67

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

translation agency manager · DE Leiter einer Übersetzungsagentur/Leiterin einer Übersetzungsagentur · FR directeur d'agence de traduction/directrice d'agence de traduction
audiologist · DE Audiologe/Audiologin · FR audiologiste
speech and language therapist · DE Sprachtherapeut/Sprachtherapeutin · FR orthophoniste
occupational therapist · DE Ergotherapeut/Ergotherapeutin · FR ergothérapeute
occupational therapy assistant · DE Ergotherapieassistent/Ergotherapieassistentin · FR assistant ergothérapeute/assistante ergothérapeute
interpreter · DE Dolmetscher/Dolmetscherin · FR interprète

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Speech and language therapists (2223)19,100 employed
Occupational therapists (2222)56,000 employed
Podiatrists (2256)16,200 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.17. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (31-9099).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test