Exciting Career Goals for Speech Pathologists 

Having a goal or a vision for your Speech Pathology career can be incredibly motivating. If you’re looking for some inspiration for the next season of your career, look no further than our list of six exciting career goals for Speech Pathologists. 

We’re all different, so it’s important that you find a goal that aligns with your unique set of values, beliefs, and passion areas. That’s why we’ve made sure to make these career goals as flexible as possible!  

Have a read, find one (or two!) goals that appeal to you, and begin charting the course for how you’ll achieve your exciting career goal. Hint: this might involve sitting down with your clinical leader to discuss PD, greater flexibility, or expanding your horizons in new ways. 

 

6 Exciting Career Goals for Speech Pathologists 

 

GOAL: To grow your skills in an unfamiliar area of Speech Pathology 

One of the things we love about working in the Speech Pathology field is the sheer amount of variety! There are so many different areas within Speech Pathology that you can explore at any given time, and if you’ve already had a few years in the profession, you may have found yourself leaning into some areas more than others. 

If there’s an area that you’ve discovered a passion for recently, or that you’d like to upskill in so you can increase the variety of clients on your caseload, this career goal could be for you. 

 

GOAL: To create greater work / life balance so you have more time for things you love 

Up until now, have you felt like your Speech Pathology career has been very ‘go-go-go’? If you’re feeling a little exhausted, maybe even burned out, you might be wanting to set a career goal around creating a greater work/life balance. For some, this can look like stepping into a part-time role. For others, it can simply mean finding a workplace that supports you in having a manageable caseload and flexible admin hours that you can complete working from home or from wherever you choose! 

As an example, at SpeechEase Speech Therapy our clinicians work set ‘streams’ – meaning they will see clients in the mornings or in the afternoons on any given day. The rest of the time? Our clinicians can spend their flexible admin hours working from home, a friend or family members’ house, under a tree at the park or beach, or even from a local café.  

Greater work/life balance is a wonderful career goal to set for yourself, particularly if you have a family, passions outside of Speech Pathology (I.e. hobbies, sports) or further studies you’d like to pursue.  

 

GOAL: To strengthen + expand your skills in a passion area within Speech Pathology 

Over the course of your Speech Pathology career so far, it’s likely that you’ve come across some areas that have really piqued your interest! Maybe for you, supporting your clients with language and literacy goals lights you up. Or maybe you love working with adults with neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s. Or maybe it’s paediatric feeding. Whichever area of the profession has sparked a passion within you, perhaps now is the time to set a career goal around it!  

There are so many ways you can expand your understanding and strengthen your skills in specific areas of the profession. By setting a goal around it, and actively working towards honing this skillset, you might just be able to narrow your caseload down and set yourself up to be working in the area of the profession that brings you the most joy.  

 

GOAL: To step into a clinical leadership or project leadership role 

So, you’ve been a Speech Pathologist for a while now, but you’re craving more. You want to step it up and have already found yourself giving advice and support to clinicians who are newer to the profession who join your team. You feel comfortable in this role and would love the opportunity to step into leadership in a greater capacity. 

There are many ways you can approach leadership as a Speech Pathologist, but some of the more common starting points are clinical leadership (including supervising clinical education placements for students or providing supervision to other clinicians) and project leadership (I.e. managing student placements or group therapy delivery). Depending on your current place of work, you may be able to start stepping into leadership tasks sooner rather than later! 

At SpeechEase, we offer leadership pathways to our team of Speech Pathologists, including Clinical Mentorship, Clinical Leadership, and if they’re up for it, Clinic (Business) Leadership! To find out more about Careers at SpeechEase Speech Therapy, visit our Careers page. 

 

GOAL: To make room in your career for family planning  

For some of us, starting (or growing) our family is a goal that’s close to our hearts. It may seem strange to include it when talking about career goals, but the truth is finding a supportive workplace that offers the flexibility we need when embarking on exciting pursuits like this should be a priority! If your current workplace doesn’t offer much in the way of maternity or paternity leave, it might be worth looking elsewhere as you begin planning for this exciting new stage of your life.  

Here at SpeechEase Speech Therapy, we are developing “Ease Through Life” pathways to support our team members as they work towards achieving meaningful personal goals, like starting a family. To find out more, head over to our Careers page here.  

 

GOAL: To move to a new location and take your career to a new city 

Do you love trying new things? Are you craving new experiences, new sights, new sounds, and maybe even some new foods? Perhaps your next career goal should be about travel! Yep, that’s right. Speech Pathologists are lucky enough to be able to move around and live just about anywhere and continue to see clients. If you’re looking for a change that will bring you greater flexibility and work/life balance, as well as put you right amongst a bunch of incredible natural wonders and globally recognised tourism attractions, consider making a move to the regions! 

Mackay and Townsville are brimming with hiking trails, beautiful beaches, once-in-a-lifetime experiences and did we mention the Great Barrier Reef? Seriously, what an incredible place to work and live! To learn more about working as a Speech Pathologist in regional Queensland, check out this blog post. 

 

We hope you’ve found some inspiration for the next season of your Speech Pathology career. Keeping your passion for the profession alive and making the most out of your career is always worth the time spent on reflection and goal setting!  

If you want some more career inspiration, take a look at our Speech Pathology career blog posts here. Up for a regional adventure? Head over to our Regional Relocation page to learn more about what’s on offer for Speech Pathologists moving to regional Queensland. 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you keen to set out on your own regional adventure? Learn more about SpeechEase’s Regional Relocation program here – an exciting opportunity for new grads and experienced Speech Pathologists based in Australia.