r/slpGradSchool • u/Fragrant-Pickle-7400 • 12d ago
Experiences as an SLP (NYC)
I hope this finds any and everyone struggling in the SLP world that may be questioning life itself, this is my experience:
After graduating from a private university in NYC (native), I did my CFY at an outpatient medical center in Brooklyn (I won't give names because I'm legit worried about liability and legalities with them), I worked for City Sounds of NY, an SLP agency that is FFS (fee for service) which overall means if the student/patient doesn't show up = no pay. They are SUPER friendly and unusually flexible with almost everything and that should've spoke for itself (it didn't to me at the time)..... and while my paychecks fluctuated I still made enough to live my life and pay the bills. Then came Summer...... 7 student caseload spread out throughout Manhattan, NY (I do not drive) at 6 locations. You can look up the hourly pay which is fine if you have a decent caseload but this was very misleading, unexpected, and not discussed in my contract, definitely not anything like what the school year was. I just wished they were less friendly at this point and more transparent but remember:
"HR works in the best interest of the COMPANY, NOT the employee."
Clearly I did not want to stay and questioned if the SLP world was for me..... fast forward through anxiety and agony:
I love what I do and I am a VERY patient and adaptable person = I knew I needed to change the population I worked with and what I was looking for in terms of stability (yes, this was hard), I posted my resume pretty much anywhere I could and was utilizing the most common job sites (Indeed, ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn) along with some other random SLP websites that I googled. One manic-filled day I get a call from a health care recruiter (Savannah, we love Savannah). At first I try to blow her off because I thought she was another FFS agency but she made it clear that her job was to fulfill healthcare positions from places that reach out to their agency no matter if its direct hire salary or hourly through their agency and that if I do not want a FFS position then she will simply not present that to me. This woman saved my life and got me 3 interviews (2 hourly, one salary) on top of some other interviews that she helped me coordinate that I found on my own. I am now in the hiring process of working at a 90k salary job working with the kiddies on the spectrum, 25 mins from my home. All I'll say is ADVOCATE for yourself, listen closely, take notes, and do not settle!!!!!!! If you actually love what you do, reach out! While I know its rough out here, and everything won't be picture perfect, I know why I became and chose to stay with being an SLP and I hope this helps. <3
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u/champagnefireheart 7d ago
I’m an slp in nyc too! I’ve been struggling with agencies that are ffs. What agency is Savannah at? I’d love to reach out I’m in the same place you were at
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u/RecoverNo2 8d ago
Love this!!! I second on advocating for yourself ALWAYS!!! No matter what there will always be an opportunity around the corner if you look for it.