Feeling like I made the wrong career choices/feel hopeless

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You will learn a lot in your clinical fellowship year and you will have the training to make a real difference in people's lives.

My kid went from severe expressive and receptive speech and language disability at preschool to admissions with full scholarship at a top-20 university.

If your goal is to work with animals, you can always get a year or two of speech path experience, and then shit to part-time in speech path while building up an animal-related business. I mean, it sounds like your neighbor basically does dog massage one day a week? You could do that too, even working ft.

The CFY is honestly useless. We already were forced to work for free (full time clinical rotations) in grad school doing 4 clinical rotations. So I honestly feel burnt out before even beginning. I've done private practice, EI (early intervention), schools, and outpatient rehab.

I'd love to just be independently wealthy and help animals. That's why I foster. I have no student loans and a good financial foundation (I switched careers)... so at least I have no debt (most SLPs do). But still, it is depressing to go through all the red tape in this field. And I do not enjoy certain aspects of it. I like helping people, but a lot of being SLP involves stuff that isn't direct therapy (assessments, write up, paperwork).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t let the neighbor get in your head this way. Speech therapy is really great and needed. If you don’t want to work in schools, what about child find? Or at rehab centers with strolls victims? Have you seen the gabby giffords biopic? Her speech therapist made all the difference in her life.

Thank you. It's hard not to let it get to me. I feel like such a loser. I thought when getting this degree i would feel accomplished and good about myself, but it's like I feel worse.

I would work at a clinic/private practice but none in my area are hiring. I would also do rehab. None are hiring right now.. .maybe in the future.

Animals are my real passion though. It's hard to see someone else getting to live that dream and all she had to do was a short course. Her husband supports her so I'm not really sure if it's lucrative or enough to live on.

You are in no way a loser. You have chosen a FABULOUS career field! You can work full time, part-time, with a private clinic, in a hospital, in public schools, private practice, etc. If you move to the Atlanta area, you won't be able to turn down the jobs fast enough!

Thank you That makes me feel better. I just imagined graduating would make me feel great and like my life was roses, but I don't feel any different. Sometimes I feel worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t let the neighbor get in your head this way. Speech therapy is really great and needed. If you don’t want to work in schools, what about child find? Or at rehab centers with strolls victims? Have you seen the gabby giffords biopic? Her speech therapist made all the difference in her life.

Thank you. It's hard not to let it get to me. I feel like such a loser. I thought when getting this degree i would feel accomplished and good about myself, but it's like I feel worse.

I would work at a clinic/private practice but none in my area are hiring. I would also do rehab. None are hiring right now.. .maybe in the future.

Animals are my real passion though. It's hard to see someone else getting to live that dream and all she had to do was a short course. Her husband supports her so I'm not really sure if it's lucrative or enough to live on.

You are in no way a loser. You have chosen a FABULOUS career field! You can work full time, part-time, with a private clinic, in a hospital, in public schools, private practice, etc. If you move to the Atlanta area, you won't be able to turn down the jobs fast enough!

Thank you That makes me feel better. I just imagined graduating would make me feel great and like my life was roses, but I don't feel any different. Sometimes I feel worse.

I'm an older DCUM poster (and animal lover!) who's worked with many speech pathologists, OTs, and PTs over the years in the special education field. Will say again that you made an excellent career choice! Maybe you just need to find the right "fit" and age group. There are so many options out there! Best to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t let the neighbor get in your head this way. Speech therapy is really great and needed. If you don’t want to work in schools, what about child find? Or at rehab centers with strolls victims? Have you seen the gabby giffords biopic? Her speech therapist made all the difference in her life.

Thank you. It's hard not to let it get to me. I feel like such a loser. I thought when getting this degree i would feel accomplished and good about myself, but it's like I feel worse.

I would work at a clinic/private practice but none in my area are hiring. I would also do rehab. None are hiring right now.. .maybe in the future.

Animals are my real passion though. It's hard to see someone else getting to live that dream and all she had to do was a short course. Her husband supports her so I'm not really sure if it's lucrative or enough to live on.

You are in no way a loser. You have chosen a FABULOUS career field! You can work full time, part-time, with a private clinic, in a hospital, in public schools, private practice, etc. If you move to the Atlanta area, you won't be able to turn down the jobs fast enough!

Thank you That makes me feel better. I just imagined graduating would make me feel great and like my life was roses, but I don't feel any different. Sometimes I feel worse.

I'm an older DCUM poster (and animal lover!) who's worked with many speech pathologists, OTs, and PTs over the years in the special education field. Will say again that you made an excellent career choice! Maybe you just need to find the right "fit" and age group. There are so many options out there! Best to you!

Thank you! You are kind and you boosted my spirits today.

I just love animals so much. And learning that she has a job doing that kind of crushed me. I know she may not get paid a lot, but the person that told me this said "Well they are booked solid which is why your neighbor got hired and it costs $70 an hour to take your dog there."

I do enjoy working with kids around kindergarten age...they are so sweet and make me laugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t let the neighbor get in your head this way. Speech therapy is really great and needed. If you don’t want to work in schools, what about child find? Or at rehab centers with strolls victims? Have you seen the gabby giffords biopic? Her speech therapist made all the difference in her life.

Thank you. It's hard not to let it get to me. I feel like such a loser. I thought when getting this degree i would feel accomplished and good about myself, but it's like I feel worse.

I would work at a clinic/private practice but none in my area are hiring. I would also do rehab. None are hiring right now.. .maybe in the future.

Animals are my real passion though. It's hard to see someone else getting to live that dream and all she had to do was a short course. Her husband supports her so I'm not really sure if it's lucrative or enough to live on.

You are in no way a loser. You have chosen a FABULOUS career field! You can work full time, part-time, with a private clinic, in a hospital, in public schools, private practice, etc. If you move to the Atlanta area, you won't be able to turn down the jobs fast enough!

Thank you That makes me feel better. I just imagined graduating would make me feel great and like my life was roses, but I don't feel any different. Sometimes I feel worse.

I'm an older DCUM poster (and animal lover!) who's worked with many speech pathologists, OTs, and PTs over the years in the special education field. Will say again that you made an excellent career choice! Maybe you just need to find the right "fit" and age group. There are so many options out there! Best to you!

Thank you! You are kind and you boosted my spirits today.

I just love animals so much. And learning that she has a job doing that kind of crushed me. I know she may not get paid a lot, but the person that told me this said "Well they are booked solid which is why your neighbor got hired and it costs $70 an hour to take your dog there."

I do enjoy working with kids around kindergarten age...they are so sweet and make me laugh.

Couple thoughts:

1. My company bills my clients $130/hour of my time, last I checked. My salary is less than half that. So for $70/hour appointments, she’s probably making $25ish/hour. If she’s only working a couple days a week, even if they’re whole days, she’s almost certainly making less $40K, no benefits, no retirement. I don’t know much about your field but I’m reasonably sure your earning potential is higher than that.

2. Sometimes it’s good not to have your passion be your job. When work is hard (and even if you love it, work will sometimes be hard) it’s nice to have something to fall back on and not have work be your entire joy and identity.

3. It sound to me like you’ve been setting up “get SLP degree” as a milestone that will mark the point at which you’ve got your life figured out: your crops will be watered, your skin will be glowing, you’ll be professionally satisfied and financially secure, etc. and now that you’re there you’re finding that actually no, milestones or no, you still have to keep making decisions you’re not 100% sure of and there’s uncertainty and it sure looks like someone else (or everyone else) has things more figured out than you do. Quite possibly your neighbour feels this way when she thinks about you getting an in-demand degree and that’s why she doesn’t want to be friendly with you. I don’t have any real advice for working through this feeling, I just want to point out that you might be feeling similar if you’d done doggie massage training.

4. I hope you get a job working with kindergarteners soon. Looking for work is super stressful and disheartening so give yourself some grace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t let the neighbor get in your head this way. Speech therapy is really great and needed. If you don’t want to work in schools, what about child find? Or at rehab centers with strolls victims? Have you seen the gabby giffords biopic? Her speech therapist made all the difference in her life.

Thank you. It's hard not to let it get to me. I feel like such a loser. I thought when getting this degree i would feel accomplished and good about myself, but it's like I feel worse.

I would work at a clinic/private practice but none in my area are hiring. I would also do rehab. None are hiring right now.. .maybe in the future.

Animals are my real passion though. It's hard to see someone else getting to live that dream and all she had to do was a short course. Her husband supports her so I'm not really sure if it's lucrative or enough to live on.

You are in no way a loser. You have chosen a FABULOUS career field! You can work full time, part-time, with a private clinic, in a hospital, in public schools, private practice, etc. If you move to the Atlanta area, you won't be able to turn down the jobs fast enough!

Thank you That makes me feel better. I just imagined graduating would make me feel great and like my life was roses, but I don't feel any different. Sometimes I feel worse.

I'm an older DCUM poster (and animal lover!) who's worked with many speech pathologists, OTs, and PTs over the years in the special education field. Will say again that you made an excellent career choice! Maybe you just need to find the right "fit" and age group. There are so many options out there! Best to you!

Thank you! You are kind and you boosted my spirits today.

I just love animals so much. And learning that she has a job doing that kind of crushed me. I know she may not get paid a lot, but the person that told me this said "Well they are booked solid which is why your neighbor got hired and it costs $70 an hour to take your dog there."

I do enjoy working with kids around kindergarten age...they are so sweet and make me laugh.

Couple thoughts:

1. My company bills my clients $130/hour of my time, last I checked. My salary is less than half that. So for $70/hour appointments, she’s probably making $25ish/hour. If she’s only working a couple days a week, even if they’re whole days, she’s almost certainly making less $40K, no benefits, no retirement. I don’t know much about your field but I’m reasonably sure your earning potential is higher than that.

2. Sometimes it’s good not to have your passion be your job. When work is hard (and even if you love it, work will sometimes be hard) it’s nice to have something to fall back on and not have work be your entire joy and identity.

3. It sound to me like you’ve been setting up “get SLP degree” as a milestone that will mark the point at which you’ve got your life figured out: your crops will be watered, your skin will be glowing, you’ll be professionally satisfied and financially secure, etc. and now that you’re there you’re finding that actually no, milestones or no, you still have to keep making decisions you’re not 100% sure of and there’s uncertainty and it sure looks like someone else (or everyone else) has things more figured out than you do. Quite possibly your neighbour feels this way when she thinks about you getting an in-demand degree and that’s why she doesn’t want to be friendly with you. I don’t have any real advice for working through this feeling, I just want to point out that you might be feeling similar if you’d done doggie massage training.

4. I hope you get a job working with kindergarteners soon. Looking for work is super stressful and disheartening so give yourself some grace.

Wow, thank you so much for your very thoughtful and kind reply. You make me feel understood while also helping to clear up some of the murky thoughts I have going on. I related to everything you wrote, especially number 3. You really get me. I did look at getting this degree as a huge milestone in my life and when times got tough in grad school, I just kept focusing on the goal of completing this. You're right that there's still uncertainty. It does sometimes feel like everyone else has more confidence and a surety in their choices that I have never had and that it seems others have everything else more figured out than I do.

Thank you for your encouragement and the kind words. It means more to me than you know!

[Anonymous]

I am a SLP and it took me awhile to find my footing. For many years I wanted to quit because I was so burnt out from the paperwork. My family convinced me to stay and I am glad I did. I work for a school system that will provide a pension. Also, I found that I love working with early intervention, I do home based visits - before that I worked in a special needs classroom, an elementary school, a preschool and a high school. I have also done private practice work. There are so many avenues you can explore with this degree. I have a friend that starting an infant massage business and another who started a baby proofing business. Another does accent reduction therapy and is in high demand.
My mother was a special education teacher and when she retired she became a dog groomer. What I am trying to say is that it's never too late to explore your passion especially if your day job gives you the income to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a SLP and it took me awhile to find my footing. For many years I wanted to quit because I was so burnt out from the paperwork. My family convinced me to stay and I am glad I did. I work for a school system that will provide a pension. Also, I found that I love working with early intervention, I do home based visits - before that I worked in a special needs classroom, an elementary school, a preschool and a high school. I have also done private practice work. There are so many avenues you can explore with this degree. I have a friend that starting an infant massage business and another who started a baby proofing business. Another does accent reduction therapy and is in high demand.
My mother was a special education teacher and when she retired she became a dog groomer. What I am trying to say is that it's never too late to explore your passion especially if your day job gives you the income to do so.

Thank you for your reply. My mom was also a special ed teacher.
Do you feel like your job as an SLP affords you the ability to explore your passions? I'm hoping that it can do that for me. I like SLP well enough for the most part, but it isn't my passion (not like animals anyway).

[Anonymous]

Where I am it’s cloudy and gloomy, and people are generally cranky and in a low-vibe state.

You’re probably on a great track. The problem is the world is a buzzkill.

I think the solution is just to exercise, do daily affirmations and use YouTube self hypnosis videos, or counseling and meds, if that seems useful, to change your mood.

[Anonymous]

There’s no reason you can’t get a job like that on the side… evenings and weekends

[Anonymous]

You got a master’s in speech therapy ((DCUM-approved for prestige, ha) and are feeling like a loser because you aren’t doing animal massage?? This is clearly an issue of low self-esteem because it’s not grounded in reality. It’s almost as if you feel like your neighbor is turning her nose at you because of your career, but c’mon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t let the neighbor get in your head this way. Speech therapy is really great and needed. If you don’t want to work in schools, what about child find? Or at rehab centers with strolls victims? Have you seen the gabby giffords biopic? Her speech therapist made all the difference in her life.

Thank you. It's hard not to let it get to me. I feel like such a loser. I thought when getting this degree i would feel accomplished and good about myself, but it's like I feel worse.

I would work at a clinic/private practice but none in my area are hiring. I would also do rehab. None are hiring right now.. .maybe in the future.

Animals are my real passion though. It's hard to see someone else getting to live that dream and all she had to do was a short course. Her husband supports her so I'm not really sure if it's lucrative or enough to live on.

Honestly, it sounds like you're dealing with some depression. "I feel like such a loser." "Feel hopeless." You thought the degree would give you a sense of self worth, but that needs to come from inside of you. You absolutely should be proud of your hard work and getting your degree, but depression has a way of stealing that away. Everything that happens gets colored with an internal dialogue of "I suck" whether it's true or not. I was the same way when I was dealing with depression.

Recognize the neighbor situation for what it is. You're jealous she is doing something you'd like to do. You hear from an acquaintance that she is successful. And she's dismissive of you. It's a perfect recipe for making you feel sad and insecure. But now also recognize that you don't have the whole story. She has to pay for equipment, insurance, advertising and websites, etc. You have no idea how profitable she actually is. Once a dog is healed, she has to find new clients. She will have to self fund all retirement, and taking time off of illness or vacation will be difficult.

But back to you, OP. If you feel this "I made the wrong choice" and "I feel like such a loser" is creeping into all aspects of your life, then I urge you to talk to your PCP and see what next steps you can take towards feeling better about yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You'll earn a better living as an SLP.

Most people can't afford to get themselves a massage let alone get one for their dog. It sounds like a lovely idea, but I don't think they are booked solid.

“Booked solid” doesn’t mean 40 hours per week OP. You sound naive. Or maybe just very depressed, which can make anyone irrational. I’m sorry you’re having a hard time.

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand how there could be a shortage of SLP jobs. There are a shortage of SLPs for people who need appointments. That doesn’t really add up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You’ll be fine. You’re just in a panic at the moment. You don’t have to be a Speech Pathologist just because you got that degree. You didn’t make bad choices, you just made choices. Now you can make new ones. Certainly the skills you’ve acquired are useful to many areas. You’ll find it. Don’t get so down on yourself. You built a foundation. It will pan out.

💕💕💕