Being an SLP can be incredibly wonderful at times, and at other times incredibly stressful. A great deal of this stress comes from the parts of the job that are outside of the therapy realm and often seem to have more and more rules around them, such as paperwork and productivity rates. Some of the stress, though, comes from the nature of the job itself. As SLPs, it is our job and our mission to help people communicate, nourish and thrive, as best they can with the situation they are in. Our schooling and career are set up around us being able to give our tine and energy to these, sometimes without a break during the day. It is highly rewarding at times, and also highly frustrating and draining. It can be enough to make you want to quit your SLP job at times. 

When I was in my undergraduate program, first studying to be an SLP, I was so incredibly passionate about the field and the material I was studying. I was so intrigued by it and wanted to learn more and more and envisioned this amazing experience of being an SLP and really, truly changing the world. Then graduate school dealt me a reality blow once I started going to classes, balancing outside life, and attending clinical rotation that were often very lack luster. I often told people I wanted to quit. No one believed me or really understood my frustration and stress. I was told “It will get better once you are on your own in the field, working”.

After my third year as an SLP, I was ready to walk away forever. I dreaded each day, my passion was gone and I was losing sleep over being an SLP. I changed settings, changed jobs, got new bosses, tried new clients, ages, caseloads, etc, but I just felt so exhausted, depleted and ready to move on.

So I did for awhile.

I worked in the yoga and wellness field, solely, for over 4 years. During this time, I healed a lot of my own burn out and exhaustion and learned a lot about helping others through their own. But I also realized that some of the stressors from being an SLP were still there, no matter what field or job or setting I was in. I had to really dig deep to figure out what I needed from my career and how to make it work for me.

Now that I am back in the field, coaching other SLPs and teaching mind-body fitness classes, this is a constant practice for me. No matter where we work or what we do, we have to keep looking at what we really want, our bigger goals and how we want to feel in our roles, in order to truly find the “place” where we feel most successful and satisfied.

So how do we do this and how do we use this to determine if you should quit your SLP job or career, or stay in it?

By asking yourself the following questions:

(Grab a pen and paper so you can write this down and work through it)

• What is your why?
  • When you are starting to think about moving to a new setting or a new job or career entirely, the first thing you might think of is asking yourself “Why do I want a change?”. This is a great question, but is often difficult to suss out if this need and drive to change is due to  a lack of passion or passion for another field, or if it is really more a symptom of chronic stress and burn out.
  • Instead of asking yourself why you want a change, as yourself, “Why am I in this field?” r “Why did I choose this as my profession?”. This gives you a base to start from. For example, you may have wanted to make a difference in people’s lives, so you decided to be an SLP. Once you are clear about his, you can look at a few things:
    • Does your current setting or profession help you feel like you are making a difference? If yes, then a change in jobs might not be what you need. If no, it might be time to explore other options or paths.
  • You can do this type of investigating with any reason for choosing this as your career, and work fro there. Once you know your answer, you can use it to then ask yourself, “Why do I want a change?”
• Do you need a setting change or a career change?
  • There are definitely times when a change is needed and necessary. For certain jobs, it is absolutely necessary to quit your SLP job. It might be a very poor work environment, a job that doesn’t work with your lifestyle or family needs, or that you are wanting to pursue different options. If you are feeling like a change is necessary (and you have asked yourself the questions above), then it is tome to look at whether you want to change your setting or career.
  • When you are feeling stressed and burnt out, if can be difficult to decide which would be better, as swap in settings or a brand new career. The first thing might be to feel like you need to switch jobs and career paths entirely, because you are so unhappy as an SLP. you might also feel like if you just worked somewhere else, or with a different population, then you would be happier. When you are wanting to make a change, it is probably easier to swap jobs setting before you change careers. If you do this , however, and find that things just aren’t any better, you might think it is now time to look for other options. But there is something else that might happen – a new career might have you feeling the same stress and burn out, even if you are passionate for it. Before you switch careers, or maybe even jobs, it is best to look at some stress management and what is triggering your stress, so you can recognize it and work through it. Otherwise, it might follow you from job to job, leaving you feeling like you just can’t find the right place to be. (The following bullet points are great places to start working on stress management, as well as learning some tools form the SLP Stress Management program).
• What are your goals as an SLP and in your life? How to they match and how do they clash?
  • When you look at your “why” for being an SLP, you can also take it deeper and look at your goals for being an SLP. What did you want to learn or do with your career? How did you want it to show up in your life? What did you imagine your life would be like?
    • Take a few moments to jot down what your goals and intentions for being an SLP are/were. Start with your “why” and then dig a little deeper into the specifics of it. For example, if you wanted to be in the field to help people, what were you wanting to work towards, do or create to help facilitate these changes.
  • Then, look at your life outside of being an SLP and do the same. Figure out what your goals are for your life and your lifestyle. These could be financial, family, relationships, travel, housing, etc. Any goals you have that are more specific than the big goal of “Living a successful and happy life”.
  • Once you have the two areas mapped out, notice any places that overlap or that clash with each other. You can use this to start to create a different goal, to look for a new job/setting that matches your lifestyle better, or to figure out the balance between the two things.
• What does your ideal day look like, in and out of work?
  • A lot of our time is spent at our work. If your day is set up to exhaust and drain you, you are going to feel exhausted, drained and burnt out. Before making a big career move, consider looking at your day and figuring out how your schedule could be affecting your well-being and passion for your job.
    • Take some time to imagine and map out your “Ideal Day” or daily schedule. How would it start, where would you have breaks, and what type of work would you do at certain times of the day. Notice your energy levels (high/low, introverted/extroverted, energized/tired) and how you can use this to your advantage (paperwork for low/introverted times, therapy during high/extroverted times, etc).
  • You may notice as you do this that a shift or change in your schedule could help to reduce those feelings of being drained and exhausted, and you would start to decrease stress and increase satisfaction, without having to quit your SLP job. It might also help you to find the next job or career that works for your needs, rather than against them.
• What is currently causing you the most pain and how would a change (setting, career or otherwise) fix it?
  • It can be very difficult to make changes, even if your changes are to rework your current position. It can cause anxiety and be perceived as a threat, which turns out brains towards feelings of negativity and tension. Your thoughts may wander to things like “this will never work”, which cause you to feel stuck and stay stuck where you are.
  • The biggest thing to consider, no matter what choice you end up making, is to look at what is causing you the most pain, or grief, in your current position. (Once you have done these exercises above, you’ll have a better picture of what it is, separate from the feelings of stress and burn out). Ask yourself “What is this costing me to stay where I am, without changing?”. Your answer may be anywhere from financial to emotional to mental to your relationships.
  • From there, you look at how a change would fix it. You can explore changing your schedule or routine or another aspect of your current job, changing the job setting or changing the career path you are on, to see which one helps you to move past this point of pain and into a place where you thrive.

Before making any big, or even small, changes in your career as an SLP, work through these questions, so you know that you are moving into a place that will help you reach your goals, find balance in your life and work, and allow you to truly thrive. This will help you decide if it is time to quit your SLP job or career, or work through it in another way.  If you have any questions during the process or make sure to check out these SLP Stress Management webinars, designing ed to help you manage stress, reduce burn out, and earn hours towards your certification.

3 Common SLP Stressors and How to Manage Them  on Xceptional ED (1.5 CMH Hours)

Managing Common SLP Stressors before Burn Out Occurs on Northern Speech Services (2.5 ASHA CEU hours .025 units)

3 Biggest Stressors for SLPs and What to do About Them on SpeechPathology.com (1.5 ASHA CEU hours .15 units)

You can also join the free “SLP Toolbox” and receive access to more resources made just for SLPs, as well as monthly tips on stress management, sent straight to your inbox. This is a great resource to work through text as you decide if it’s time to quit your SLP job or if it is stress that is wearing you out. Sign up below for access.

Much Love,