Travel SLP Jobs

The salary of a Speech-Language Pathologist can vary significantly depending on their experience as well as the location, facility, and assignment. The median salary for a speech-language pathologist was $83,240 in 2020 with most earning between $62,790 and $101,110 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Entry-level SLP healthcare professionals or those with the lowest 10% salaries earned around $50,370, while the highest 10% earned more than $122,790. Typically, travel speech pathologist opportunities will provide higher hourly and weekly pay than permanent positions in the same location, though this varies widely traveling SLP jobs.

The District of Columbia pays the highest average salary to SLPs according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics with an average annual wage of $101,920 and an hourly wage of $49. This is followed by Connecticut ($100,590 per year, $48.36 per hour), New Jersey ($100,330 per year, $48.23 per hour), New York ($98,010 per year, $47.12 per hour), and California ($95,570 per year, $45.95 per hour).

Traveling speech therapists seeking the highest paying travel assignment does not always mean that they should take assignments with the highest weekly pay. Factoring in the cost of living of each state can sometimes be a better indication of what a traveling SLP can expect to earn from a contract.

When comparing adjusted travel SLP salaries, Virginia, Missouri, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Georgia make up the top five highest paying states.

Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) are responsible for assessing and treating individuals with speech, language, literacy, social communication, cognitive-communication, fluency, or swallowing disorders. This includes the use of speech therapy and language therapy techniques to improve communication and speech skills and swallowing abilities. A speech therapy professional implements patient treatment plan action steps to help improve issues such as speech sounds and swallowing functionality.

Speech, language, hearing, and swallowing disorders can happen for several reasons, such as a stroke, brain injury, hearing loss, developmental delay, Parkinson's disease, or a cleft palate. Speech therapists typically work with children or adult patients who have speech difficulties in some form or another, such as not speaking at all or having difficulty speaking.

Subsets

School, Community/Medical

Patients cared for:

• Language-based learning disabilities

• Autism

• Difficult swallowing functionality

• Hearing impaired

• Stroke

• Head injury

• Parkinson's

• Head and neck cancer

Certifications

Required

BLS

Additional

ACLS, PALS, ASHA, CCC-A, CCC-SLP, MBAS, MBSS

Travel speech language pathologists must have a masters degree from an accredited speech-language pathology program and pass the national licensure exam. Most states will also require a state license to practice. Travel therapists should make sure clinical competence and credentials are correct and they have clinical experience and job requirements before applying for a traveling speech language pathologist job.

Creating a profile with Fusion Marketplace is one effortless way to store and share employment history, education & certification, state license, references, and any other professional documents. Fusion Marketplace also offers multiple agencies specializing in allied health travel, and the recruiters are available to provide support at as you explore your next travel SLP assignment.

Travel therapy jobs are available across the country in a variety of healthcare settings and facility types. Travel speech-language pathologist jobs provide the opportunity to travel to various parts of the country, gain valuable career experience, and work with a wide variety of patients and settings.

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), more than half – about 56% - of all speech language pathologists are employed in the school setting at colleges and universities, with the majority working in preschool and K-12 schools.

Around 39% of SLPs work in clinical settings including hospitals, residential care, and non-residential care facilities with the remaining SLPs working in corporate, public, or military positions.

• School and Education Centers

• Colleges and Universities

• Hospitals

• Outpatient Clinics

• Skilled Nursing Facility

• Long Term Care Facilities

• Home Health Services

• Rehabilitation Facilities

• Hospices

• Surgical Centers

Traveling as a speech therapist provides several personal and career benefits. Travel speech language pathologist jobs provide competitive pay packages, as they are needed across the country.

With speech therapist jobs expected to grow by 29% by 2030 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, SLP travel jobs will be in demand for years to come in any setting. This demand allows travel SLPs to explore the country and travel positions in any health setting from home health, to long-term care or acute care.

Allied healthcare staffing agencies may also provide insurance benefits, travel reimbursement, housing stipends, reimbursement for licenses, and other benefits depending on the speech therapy contract.

While compensation offers can vary depending on the contract or agency offering, pay packages for travel speech therapy jobs typically have four major components: hourly taxable wages, meals and incidentals, housing, and travel.

Hourly Pay

Full-time speech language pathologists working in a clinical setting at healthcare facilities receive a salary, but most travel allied health employers offer hourly wages. Every pay package must include a taxable hourly wage, and the amount can vary depending on the shift, location, and specialty required of the assignment.

Housing

Housing payments can be included in a payment from a staffing agency. This is typically offered in two ways when you take on an allied travel job. Either the company is providing housing, or the traveler is taking the housing stipend.

It is more beneficial for the traveler to take the housing stipend for two primary reasons. First, they will have a choice of where they will stay. Everyone’s definitions of comfort and acceptable are different. The second reason the housing stipend is more beneficial for them is that it can be given as a nontaxable amount.

Meals and Incidentals

Also known as per diems, meal and incidental stipends provide a daily budget for daily living expenses. These standards vary depending on the cost of living in cities and states across the country.

Travel Expenses

Travel is the last portion of the pay package. Many recruiters may not even offer travel and instead put that money into the per diems or housing for their traveler, so they are receiving the benefits over the entire contract, not just at the very beginning or end of the contract. While a travel stipend can be used to cover the cost of a flight for the traveler, it is often used to subsidize the traveler’s expenses to and from an assignment. Travel expenses can be offered as a reimbursement rate per mile, though many agencies will opt to offer a flat rate to and from an assignment.

The first step is to create your travel profile on Fusion Marketplace. In this, you upload your licenses and certifications, share your employment history and provide references. Important information such as education can also be included. With a traveler profile, you only have to input your credentials once and then use your profile information to apply for travel speech therapy assignments across the country, accelerating your career.

Whether you’re in search of your very first travel assignment or you have built a travel SLP career, Fusion Marketplace helps you market yourself as a healthcare professional to find your next assignment with great pay and complete agency, job, and pay transparency. Making the unknowns known, Marketplace gives you the power to decide what’s best for you.