How much does a speech therapist earn per month in Russia?

A speech therapist (from the Greek logos - speech and paideia - education) is a specialist in correcting diction defects in adults and children. By the way, in 2022, the ProfGid career guidance center developed an accurate career guidance test. He himself will tell you which professions are suitable for you, and give an opinion about your personality type and intelligence.

Who are speech therapists?

These are specialists who correct speech defects using various correction techniques. They work with both children and adults. For example, very often elderly people who have suffered a stroke lose their speech abilities, in such cases one profession becomes indispensable - a speech therapist! It is he who draws up an individual treatment plan, according to which such speech defects as burr, stuttering or lisp are eliminated. Almost all young children experience similar problems; as they grow up, many go away on their own, but some need special help.

Advantages of working in the speech therapist industry

The positive aspects of such a wonderful profession as a speech therapist include:

• Demand;
• Opportunity to work in both medical and educational institutions;
• Constant opportunity to improve your professional level;
• You can open a private practice, especially if you already have satisfied clients who are ready to give a recommendation. Firstly, it will allow you to earn more. Secondly, you will be able to choose who you work with;
• Extended vacation: 56 days a year. Moreover, speech therapists who work in schools have vacations every summer;

The profession of speech therapist-defectologist: features and social significance

It is necessary to figure out what type of profession this specialty belongs to. It is believed that a speech therapist is a person who combines a talented teacher and an experienced doctor. He must accurately determine the cause of a speech defect and competently create effective exercises and techniques to eliminate the problems. To do this, a professional speech therapist should thoroughly know how human physiology works, in particular the structure of the speech system and associated pathologies. In addition, a good specialist must have special skills, for example, the ability to do speech therapy massage to relax the muscles of the larynx and other organs of the pharynx.

It is no exaggeration to say that speech therapist is the profession of the future. After all, it is he who teaches people to speak correctly, and speech is the most important component of communications for all of humanity: thanks to it, we can communicate with others, share thoughts and transmit information.

Often, a person who has speech disorders feels inferior and may develop serious complexes that negatively affect his entire life. That is why the profession of “speech therapist” is irreplaceable; these specialists eliminate many speech defects, teach how to pronounce sounds correctly, and thereby practically change a person’s fate. In addition, they provide psychological assistance: they help to integrate into society, adapt a person to social life and contribute to his development in terms of self-improvement.

Features of the profession

With the help of specially selected exercises, massage and other techniques, a speech therapist teaches people how to articulate correctly, i.e. pronounce words without burring, without lisping, without stuttering, etc. A speech therapist helps to give the correct position of the tongue and lips when pronouncing sounds. To consolidate the skill, he asks the student to read texts and tongue twisters. A good speech therapist can work with most speech disorders, but the best results can be obtained by specializing in one particular area. For example, in the treatment of stuttering or in eliminating reading and writing problems (dyslexia and dysgraphia). Treatment takes at least five months. Sometimes, with complex patients, the process drags on for a year or even more.

A speech therapist can work not only with children. A person carries diction problems that were unresolved in childhood into adulthood. And he can also contact a speech therapist. Sometimes speech problems occur as a result of a stroke or head injury. In this case, the help of a speech therapist who knows special techniques is required.

What qualities should a speech therapist have?

Essentially, a speech therapist is a kind of teacher who must show great patience and understanding towards his students. The most important character traits are love for children, patience, emotional restraint, calmness, curiosity, perseverance, perseverance and endurance, because the results of the work done often make you wait a very long time. With some people, it takes more than 2-3 years to achieve visible improvements.

If it is easier to work with children, because they learn quickly, then with adults the situation is different. Few are able to admit their shortcomings and go to a specialist. For this reason, a professional speech therapist must be able to find an individual approach to everyone, be able to tactfully figure out the problem and, without hurting the patient’s feelings, provide primary consulting assistance. Therefore, it would not hurt for a specialist to know at least the basics of human psychology.

The speech therapist must be responsible, because he has no right to make a mistake in making a diagnosis. If he incorrectly identifies the problem and prescribes an ineffective treatment method, this can turn into a real tragedy for patients: speech defects tend to lose the ability to be corrected over time, so it is very important to eliminate the deficiencies in a timely manner. Over time, they will be much more difficult to get rid of, which is why the speech therapist has such a great responsibility.

Advantages of professional retraining:

Individuality of education

• You study when it is convenient for you (without interruption from work);
• Short terms of external training at your request;
• Convenient personal account and personal curator;
• Individual discounts and payment terms (ask managers by phone on the website or leave a request);
• Development of programs and special conditions for the needs of organizations;

Distance education is PROFITABLE !

• You save your time on training and travel;
• You save on accommodation, travel and food;
• You pay only for training and receive a certificate or diploma established by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation;
• Already 15,000+ people from 200+ cities in Russia and the CIS have appreciated all the benefits of receiving vocational education and advanced training in IPO and left their reviews on the Internet.

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Where to study to become a specialist?

There are many options where you can get a profession (speech therapist or defectologist) under various conditions. Usually this specialty is taught in higher educational institutions: these can be universities or institutes with a pedagogical or humanitarian direction. The education of a speech therapist must be special, i.e. Having a higher education diploma in a relevant or related profession is simply necessary.

Many students, after completing their first courses, begin to realize that they made a mistake in choosing a profession and want to change it. For such people, another option is possible to obtain an education in the specialty “speech therapy”. The easiest way is to take intensive training courses for speech therapists and speech pathologists. However, to get a job in the civil service, you will need a diploma of higher specialized education.

What subjects are required for admission?

How to become a speech therapist? To enroll in one of the medical universities, you need to pass the following subjects:

• Russian language;
• biology (the most important subject is specialized);
• social studies, mathematics or literature (what to take depends on the specific university, but most students took social studies).

Since biology is considered the main subject for admission, it is the number of points in the exam that decides whether a person can apply for a budget place.

Don't forget about the interview. This is a mandatory stage; it is during this stage that you will demonstrate how interested you are in studying at this particular faculty. Do not neglect preparation: prepare in advance the main points on which you will build a competent oral speech.

Employment

Despite the fact that every year a huge number of speech therapists across the country graduate from universities, the need for these specialists is only increasing. This is primarily due to improvements in government social programs aimed at providing free assistance to children with disabilities.

After graduating from institutes or universities, young specialists have the opportunity to get a job in various institutions. The most popular of them are kindergartens, clinics, children's development centers with logo groups, schools with a functioning logo center. Rehabilitation hospitals for the elderly and, of course, private treatment centers.

There are many advantages to working in kindergartens: the opportunity to contact children and get to know them better, a fixed schedule, as well as communication with colleagues and a pleasant environment.

The disadvantages of being a speech therapist, if he works in public clinics, are associated with filling out various documentation. Sometimes it takes more time to process it than directly working with patients. According to standards, a specialist must work 18-20 hours a week, which is not much compared to other specialties.

Average salary of a speech therapist per month

According to job search sites, a Russian speech therapist earns an average of 32,000 rubles per month. To compile statistics on salaries, we compared vacancies through the Yandex.Work service and selected cities with the largest number of offers, and also looked at the cost of services on specialized sites.

For comparison, we took the salaries of specialists working in different fields:

• government institutions - hospitals, rehabilitation centers, schools, boarding schools, etc.
• commercial companies - multidisciplinary clinics, child development centers, etc.
• private practice.

How much do they pay in kindergarten?

According to statistics from job sites, a Russian speech therapist working in a kindergarten earns an average of 15,500 rubles per month. In the table we have collected the salaries of speech pathologists who work with children in private and public kindergartens.

Profession speech therapist. Pros and cons of work

This is a very responsible job that requires great patience and love for your work. Let's take a closer look at the main advantages of this profession. So, here are the main advantages:

• short working day - 4 hours, for many this is a great opportunity to combine work and what they love;
• socially significant activity - this means that the speech therapist will enjoy the work done;
• long vacation - almost the whole summer;
• self-improvement - this profession involves constant self-development of a person, reading educational literature, attending various thematic conferences, where, together with colleagues, you can discuss the latest methods of treating speech disorders.

And of course, one cannot exclude from the list such an advantage of speech therapists as the opportunity to conduct private practice. What are the disadvantages?

What factors influence the salary level of a speech therapist?

The following factors influence the salary level of speech therapists:

• Place of work. The earnings of specialists from government agencies are lower than those of employees of private speech therapist offices.
• Work experience and qualification category. The salary of young specialists without a category is extremely low, about 12-14 thousand rubles.
• Availability of private practice. The amount of payment for one speech therapy session is influenced by the specialist’s experience, the characteristics and complexity of speech pathologies, as well as the financial capabilities of the client.
• The level of the incentive part of the speech therapist's remuneration. The criteria for calculating this part are independently determined by each educational organization.

These criteria most often include:

• reducing the proportion of students (pupils) with speech disorders;
• consulting parents of students (pupils);
• exemplary maintenance of the speech therapy room;
• generalization and presentation of one’s own methodological experience, etc.

Underwater rocks

Thanks to the free schedule, which is set by the specialist himself, this profession may seem attractive. However, it has many specific features that may turn out to be disadvantages for some. Here are the most obvious disadvantages of this profession:

• emotionally difficult work, because the patients are mostly children with various disabilities and diseases (Down syndrome, etc.);
• the need to fill out reporting documentation at odd hours, that is, speech therapists do not receive an increase in their basic salary for maintaining documents in government agencies;
• There is no guarantee that the work done will bring any results, so many speech therapists face great disappointment, so they need perseverance and resilience to continue treatment sessions.

Who else needs speech therapists?

Very often, speech pathologists and speech pathologists begin to engage in private practice, providing assistance to a variety of people. In addition to children with speech disorders, elderly people who have suffered a stroke, and even professional actors also seek help.

If you decide that this is your calling - the profession of speech therapist, reviews about it should be carefully studied, and specifically from the professionals themselves. Judging by the posts on various thematic forums, this is an extremely difficult job that requires complete dedication. The main advantage is considered to be the opportunity to give private lessons to children or adults, for example, to give public speaking lessons to aspiring actors or managers of trading companies.

Profits of colleagues in the CIS

A defectologist at a children's center in Kazakhstan earns about 80,000 tenge ($221), and a speech therapist earns 180–290 thousand KZT ($497–801).

The table shows the salaries of Ukrainian specialists:

In all CIS countries, speech pathologists are paid at a level below the national average salary. But in Russia, an experienced specialist can achieve a high assessment of his work.

Data on the income of professionals is presented in the table:

Revenue in EU countries and USA

European countries create the most comfortable conditions for the adaptation of children with special needs in everyday life and society.

Defectologists receive a monthly salary in the amount of:

• England – 4350 euros;
• Germany – 4050;
• France – 3550;
• Italy – 3150;
• Greece - 1900;
• Poland – 930.

American speech therapists earn between $34,730 and $82,440 per year. Average earnings correspond to $52,420.

Defectologists in the USA try to involve every child in a normal life, not to dwell on their problem, but to enjoy the new day.

Professional Responsibilities

Defectologists conduct group and individual lessons with children of different ages, advise parents on the issues of raising and adapting children with disabilities in everyday life.

They develop special programs for each child.

Professionals have higher pedagogical or medical education and certificates of additional training to work with children with health problems. They must know methods for correcting their development and behavior, as well as conduct developmental classes.