SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY

LauraaWhelann

Currently in 6th year and would love to go to trinity to do SLT.

Can anybody tell me what the course is like and are they happy doing it?

What at the job prospects like?

Thanks!

ashfg

Hi First, let me say good luck with the rest of your exams, hope they have been going well so far!

I'm sure you've already trawled through the college websites or prospectus to try and get a handle on the course so I'm going to try and give you some insider knowledge, because I would have preferred that when I was in your position. I'm also going to only really talk about first year, as for the moment, you don't need to know that much about the following years. So you know the basics like 4 years, average points, blah blah blah.

Let's start with the class. Generally there's around 30 people on the course, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. Always a majority of girls - some years have no boys, others have one or two or three. Blame public stereotyping for this ratio. There's nothing in the course or job that makes it "ideal" for us females and there ARE male SLTs. It's a shame really because I think more men would like the profession - if they actually gave it some consideration and didn't write it off. Usually a few mature students also and people tend to come from all sides of the country for the course.

There is a relatively high drop out rate. DON'T FREAK OUT. Seriously, don't. When I say relatively high, I mean that it's more than I would have expected before I came to college, but it still is nowhere as high as in other courses such as computer-y wizardry. The reason most people leave, is because they did not know what they were getting themselves into. Many people didn't know the work of an SLT or the kind of people that they work with. The first term sets out to cure this. The lecturers send you out to locations so you can meet SLTs and they give lectures on the roles of the profession. Why? If you drop out before a certain date (it's a good month or two into the year so you've plenty of time) you can get a refund of your fees and start college all over again the following year if you wish. Another reason people leave is because this wasn't their first choice. Remember that SLT may be 4th or 5th on a person's CAO. How much do most people know about their 5th choice? They may leave to try and pursue their original career. Or they may end up liking SLT and stay. The fact that you're asking for more info suggests to me that you're serious about this course. Keep researching it and make sure you have a good grasp on an SLT's work. Forget the stereotypes! There's a lot more than stutters and lisps!

Ok so the course itself. I think it's safe to say that there can be fewer students across the country doing such a broad range of subjects! First year is so diverse, so much so that sometimes you look at what you're learning and think "How the hell is this relevant?". Modules range from psychology and audiology. Some are more interesting than others, some are also harder than others. One of the most talked about is Anatomy, generally regarded as one of the hardest subjects of year one (it was probably my favourite . Theory comes in lectures delivered by the doctors of the department and you usually share these with the lovely dentists and the 2nd physios and meds. Practical classes are another thing altogether. Human dissection, although speechies do not do the dissecting. This sounds a lot stranger than it actually is and you would be surprised how quickly you come to terms with this aspect of the course. It is fascinating to get to learn how the body works and what it's made up of. Studying practically is a unique opportunity that relatively few students get so if you do go with this course, consider yourself lucky! Problem Based Learning or PBL will be the bane of your 4 years but is sadly unavoidable and actually exists in a huge amount of college courses. It is what it says on the tin - you're assigned a problem, you find the solution(s), usually in groups. Often hard at the time, and then you look back and think that it was a lot more clear cut then you thought.

As a whole, the course is tough. It takes a lot of work and study, but don't be worrying about this now. Life after the ould LC is very different. Continuous assessment through writing essays and class quizzes, etc are great because you could have a ridiculous amount of the module's testing done, e.g. 60% for anatomy, by the time you sit summer exams. Results come out quickly and repeating summer exams is also free (unlike many colleges). Tough though it may be, the course can be great fun. There's a great advantage in having a small class that you can get to know really well. The college is also good craic and in the centre of Dublin where there's so much to see/do/eat.

Job prospects are always a funny one that everyone wants to know. At the moment, things aren't great for SLTs but they look to be slowly improving. In 4/5 years, the Irish jobs market could have completely changed and I think there will be more opportunities. With recent scandals in the HSE in relation to under-staffing, I think something will eventually give. There are opps outside of Ireland also and there's a lot of talk about Singapore. Generally, it's a qualification that can be traveled with though some countries will ask you to meet certain criteria in order to work.

That's all I can really think of at the mo. If you've anything else, fire it my way and I'll do my best. Best of luck again, I hope you find what you're looking for