Speech and Language Therapy Job Market
Are any other student SLTs worried about finding a job?
I'm doing the MSc and I finish in a few months. I'm starting to look for NQP jobs and I'm finding what I've been told about the job market is not the reality at all.
For the past two years, my teachers, qualified SLTs and The Internet have all been telling us we'll have no trouble getting a job- there's a huge demand for speech therapists, trusts are crying out for us, etc. They told us there were loads of vacancies and most of us would walk right out of uni and into a job.
But now that I'm actually looking, there's barely anything? Loads of senior posts, sure, but hardly any band 5s, and even less that will take NQPs. Has something changed, or were all these people exaggerating and I just naively fell for it?
Ngl I'm getting quiet anxious about graduating. I don't know how I'm gonna afford to live if I don't find a job by September... anyone else feeling the same? Any words of advice or encouragement?
I'm doing the MSc and I finish in a few months. I'm starting to look for NQP jobs and I'm finding what I've been told about the job market is not the reality at all.
For the past two years, my teachers, qualified SLTs and The Internet have all been telling us we'll have no trouble getting a job- there's a huge demand for speech therapists, trusts are crying out for us, etc. They told us there were loads of vacancies and most of us would walk right out of uni and into a job.
But now that I'm actually looking, there's barely anything? Loads of senior posts, sure, but hardly any band 5s, and even less that will take NQPs. Has something changed, or were all these people exaggerating and I just naively fell for it?
Ngl I'm getting quiet anxious about graduating. I don't know how I'm gonna afford to live if I don't find a job by September... anyone else feeling the same? Any words of advice or encouragement?
Reply 1
Hi, I came across another thread of discussions about SLT job markets here https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7547311 - maybe a good starting point?
Reply 2
Original post
by DLR2025Hi, I came across another thread of discussions about SLT job markets here https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7547311 - maybe a good starting point?
Some things to consider: a lot of schools won’t be advertising until after the Easter break. That’s when they know who’s leaving and who’s staying. so keep an eye out for it.
Second, where are you looking? Looks to be a healthy supply of band 5 or equivalent roles on a quick indeed search. If you’re sticking to NHS roles only (and I would advise that you don’t) you will inevitably find a smaller pool of jobs.
Third, what roles are you looking for? If you’re limiting yourself to a particular geographical area or client group, you will again be finding a smaller pool of jobs. Some places never struggle to recruit and staff like to stay put. Adult jobs are always harder to come by than paeds.
Remember also that some jobs advertising for a band 6 will consider a band 5. A lot of places are so stretched that they’ll advertise for a band 6 just in the hope of getting a candidate they don’t have to worry about. But they will often consider a band five if they’ve not recruited after a couple of rounds of advertising. So worth calling them up and asking.
Reply 3
Original post
by squid2013Are any other student SLTs worried about finding a job?
I'm doing the MSc and I finish in a few months. I'm starting to look for NQP jobs and I'm finding what I've been told about the job market is not the reality at all.
For the past two years, my teachers, qualified SLTs and The Internet have all been telling us we'll have no trouble getting a job- there's a huge demand for speech therapists, trusts are crying out for us, etc. They told us there were loads of vacancies and most of us would walk right out of uni and into a job.
But now that I'm actually looking, there's barely anything? Loads of senior posts, sure, but hardly any band 5s, and even less that will take NQPs. Has something changed, or were all these people exaggerating and I just naively fell for it?
Ngl I'm getting quiet anxious about graduating. I don't know how I'm gonna afford to live if I don't find a job by September... anyone else feeling the same? Any words of advice or encouragement?
I'm doing the MSc and I finish in a few months. I'm starting to look for NQP jobs and I'm finding what I've been told about the job market is not the reality at all.
For the past two years, my teachers, qualified SLTs and The Internet have all been telling us we'll have no trouble getting a job- there's a huge demand for speech therapists, trusts are crying out for us, etc. They told us there were loads of vacancies and most of us would walk right out of uni and into a job.
But now that I'm actually looking, there's barely anything? Loads of senior posts, sure, but hardly any band 5s, and even less that will take NQPs. Has something changed, or were all these people exaggerating and I just naively fell for it?
Ngl I'm getting quiet anxious about graduating. I don't know how I'm gonna afford to live if I don't find a job by September... anyone else feeling the same? Any words of advice or encouragement?
I'm really sorry to hear that you're not finding the reality of job hunting as expected! I can imagine that would be quite stressful.
I think job availability does depend slightly on the area. Quite number of my cohort in Reading have been able to secure jobs for later in the year, but I think this is an area with quite a large number of vacancies.
I have spoken to a few NQPs, many of whom didn't secure their role until after April as (as has been said already), many paediatric jobs release their roles after then due to budget / existing staff movements.
As has also been said, some of the NQPs I spoke to said that they emailed to ask if band 6 vacancies would possibly be accessible for band 5s if it was a role they were especially interested in. Also some of the band 5 posts would ideally not take NQPs, but if they only receive NQP applicants then they would happily take on one if needed.
Generally I would say to keep an open mind as much as possible and consider applying for anything in your area which somewhat fits what you are interested in. You can always turn down an interview/job offer if you realise it isn't for you later on.
Wishing you the best of luck going forward, just try and stay positive!
Hattie😊
4MSci Speech and Language Therapy
Reply 4
4
Original post
by UniofReadingHi @squid2013
I'm really sorry to hear that you're not finding the reality of job hunting as expected! I can imagine that would be quite stressful.
I think job availability does depend slightly on the area. Quite number of my cohort in Reading have been able to secure jobs for later in the year, but I think this is an area with quite a large number of vacancies.
I have spoken to a few NQPs, many of whom didn't secure their role until after April as (as has been said already), many paediatric jobs release their roles after then due to budget / existing staff movements.
As has also been said, some of the NQPs I spoke to said that they emailed to ask if band 6 vacancies would possibly be accessible for band 5s if it was a role they were especially interested in. Also some of the band 5 posts would ideally not take NQPs, but if they only receive NQP applicants then they would happily take on one if needed.
Generally I would say to keep an open mind as much as possible and consider applying for anything in your area which somewhat fits what you are interested in. You can always turn down an interview/job offer if you realise it isn't for you later on.
Wishing you the best of luck going forward, just try and stay positive!
Hattie😊
4MSci Speech and Language Therapy
I'm really sorry to hear that you're not finding the reality of job hunting as expected! I can imagine that would be quite stressful.
I think job availability does depend slightly on the area. Quite number of my cohort in Reading have been able to secure jobs for later in the year, but I think this is an area with quite a large number of vacancies.
I have spoken to a few NQPs, many of whom didn't secure their role until after April as (as has been said already), many paediatric jobs release their roles after then due to budget / existing staff movements.
As has also been said, some of the NQPs I spoke to said that they emailed to ask if band 6 vacancies would possibly be accessible for band 5s if it was a role they were especially interested in. Also some of the band 5 posts would ideally not take NQPs, but if they only receive NQP applicants then they would happily take on one if needed.
Generally I would say to keep an open mind as much as possible and consider applying for anything in your area which somewhat fits what you are interested in. You can always turn down an interview/job offer if you realise it isn't for you later on.
Wishing you the best of luck going forward, just try and stay positive!
Hattie😊
4MSci Speech and Language Therapy
Hi Hattie thanks for your reply 🙂
The people you mentioned who secured their roles after April- do you know if they were NHS roles? Asking because I'm hearing conflicting opinions about starting out in the NHS vs private.
I did notice a few more band 5 ads pop up this month- had my first interview this week but unfortunately didn't get it (put on reserve but don't want to bank on that) so I'm still looking.
I'm wondering if many more will come up over the summer or if this is as good as the job market gets.
Reply 5
Original post
by squid2013Hi Hattie thanks for your reply 🙂
The people you mentioned who secured their roles after April- do you know if they were NHS roles? Asking because I'm hearing conflicting opinions about starting out in the NHS vs private.
I did notice a few more band 5 ads pop up this month- had my first interview this week but unfortunately didn't get it (put on reserve but don't want to bank on that) so I'm still looking.
I'm wondering if many more will come up over the summer or if this is as good as the job market gets.
The people you mentioned who secured their roles after April- do you know if they were NHS roles? Asking because I'm hearing conflicting opinions about starting out in the NHS vs private.
I did notice a few more band 5 ads pop up this month- had my first interview this week but unfortunately didn't get it (put on reserve but don't want to bank on that) so I'm still looking.
I'm wondering if many more will come up over the summer or if this is as good as the job market gets.
Good evening,
Hattie is currently offline today. However, I have signposted her to your questions, so she will answer them as soon as she is back online.
I hope this will be helpful for you.
All the best,
Ella
BSc Ecology
Reply 6
Original post
by squid2013Hi Hattie thanks for your reply 🙂
The people you mentioned who secured their roles after April- do you know if they were NHS roles? Asking because I'm hearing conflicting opinions about starting out in the NHS vs private.
I did notice a few more band 5 ads pop up this month- had my first interview this week but unfortunately didn't get it (put on reserve but don't want to bank on that) so I'm still looking.
I'm wondering if many more will come up over the summer or if this is as good as the job market gets.
The people you mentioned who secured their roles after April- do you know if they were NHS roles? Asking because I'm hearing conflicting opinions about starting out in the NHS vs private.
I did notice a few more band 5 ads pop up this month- had my first interview this week but unfortunately didn't get it (put on reserve but don't want to bank on that) so I'm still looking.
I'm wondering if many more will come up over the summer or if this is as good as the job market gets.
I hope you're doing well, and thank you for your response.
I'm sorry to hear that the outcome wasn't as you hoped for your first interview, but hopefully now the experience you have from that will be beneficial going into your next interview. It is always worth asking for feedback (if you haven't already) so you have some idea of how to approach the next one.
I believe that those I have spoken to who were successful securing roles post-April had a mixture of NHS and private roles. There are definitely pros and cons to starting out in either setting, and different options will suit different people. Within my current final year cohort, I would estimate there is roughly a 50/50 split for private and NHS roles that people have secured post-graduation. If hearing a bit more information about the potential pros and cons of each would be useful for you, please just let me know!
The job market is definitely hard to predict in terms of when new roles will pop up. It can go in waves, so it is tricky to guess if more will come up over summer. I would just suggest doing exactly as you have said and keep an eye out to see what pops up.
I also found that I came across a lot more roles when I expanded my repertoire of job sites slightly! I started looking at just Indeed, but found a huge number of roles that were not advertised on there on other sites such as NHS Jobs, LinkedIn Jobs, and by looking at the websites of different private companies which operate near me. They often advertise vacancies directly on their webpage, or some express that they are always happy to receive applications throughout the year so can be looked at at any time.
If you have any further questions then please just let me know!
Hattie😊
4MSci Speech and Language Therapy
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