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- May 23, 2010
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Hello everyone. I have been an Audiologist for the past 8 years so I thought I'd give some of my advice. I have scanned the forum and I will try to address some of the questions that come up the most often. It's great to see so many of you so excited and passionate about the field.
Firstly, I know everyone wants to know about the job market, so i'll start with that first. There are jobs out there. I have been laid off twice, and each time I have had to relocate to find new work. The field is pretty small as I'm sure you are all well aware, but because of this I have had to move to other cities to find work. The first time I was searching for employment I was able to find another job about 1.5 hours away so I ended up moving to a suburb in between the two cities so I didn't have to move too far from friends and family. The second time I moved from my city about 600 miles away. I worked that job for a little over a year until I could find another job in my city. If you are ok with that than it should be no big deal. It can however be complicated for me now because I am now married with a family.
I saw a couple of question from someone about how often you have to sell things in the field. This is a very good question and I wish I would've asked this question myself. Expect to sale! It is apart of the business. Yes, I said business. People with hearing impairment need hearing aids, so of course you need to provide that for them. Unfortunately many practices today (private, ENT and especially hearing aid manufacturers) will push you to sell them because this is how they stay in business. Unlike optometry where they can make money solely from a visit alone, Audiologist CANNOT. You need someone to buy something from you to profit. This means you will find most jobs offering a base pay plus commissions. I will admit this can be good or bad. Bad because it can be stressful and out of your hands whether or not someone will buy a hearing aid from you. Some patients prefer to shop around for the best price. Some will buy an aid from you and return it meaning...no money for you. It can be good because, well the sky is the limit as to how much income you can generate. I made $109,000 at one time working for a hearing aid manufacturer. Excellent pay, but I hated my job with a passion. You often just do basic test, and than sale them the aid. The patient takes it and you never really hear from them again unless they have a problem. I hate working for hearing aid manufacturers for this very reason. It is also VERY sales driven, meaning you have so much pressure to sale, sale, sale. The money just wasn't worth it for me.
Also...please me aware that unfortunately, to many ENT's and hearing aid manufacturers, Audiologist are very easily replaceable. I encourage you all to look at job ads, especially on places like audiologyonline. MOST of the jobs will hire an Audiologist, OR a licensed hearing aid dispenser, at the same salary. I've often wondered why I didn't just get my license to dispense rather than pay for my masters in audiology. Sometimes a hearing aid dispenser will accept a job at a lower salary on purpose just so they will be hired over you. I have seen this many times. They are the biggest reason Audiologist have such low pay and not as many jobs. If something isn't done about this, the problem will only get worse. An ENT I worked for once thought it was "ridiculous" Audiologist were now switching to a doctorate degree because "why pay someone more money to do something that someone off the street with no education can do for half the price." I believe this is also why so many other health care professionals don't respect audiologist as they should, because someone without a degree can also do the job. Yes, it is true, the degree offers us a wealth of information about hearing loss and vestibular issues, but most ENT's and private practices will only want you to do a basic hearing test. If there is a loss, you give a hearing aid, if there is something more refer to an ENT. I feel that we are way over prepared for the job they will one day do. I got into Audiology because I thought it was more of a medical model, once I graduated I was disappointed that I felt more like a glorified hearing aid dealer at times .
Lastly, salary! I will say salary is ok. I only have my masters in Audiology by the way so to me, my salary was acceptable, but never would I get an AuD to only be paid $60,000! That is insane!!! I started off at $46,000 when I got into the field. I now make $58,000. Please be aware that salary does also depend on where you live. My salary is for an Audiologist in the midwest. Cost of living here is ok, so I get by, plus my husbands salary helps ALOT. Thus far with the Au.D being introduced I have not seen that big of an increase. It really does also depend on the job. I know some Audiologist who make more than me, and some less. I have not seen anyone here however that makes more than $65,000. I would say in the midwest the average is about $60,000. That's fine for a masters but not at all for four years of school. I know SLP's making more than some Audiologist and that is just totally unacceptable to me.
I would like to close by saying that there are many downsides to the field but I do enjoy it. I love making a difference in the lives of others, and that is why I decided to be come an Audiologist. I will be going back to school this fall to be a physicians assistant. While I love audiology PA's salary is excellent for only a two year degree and I have come to find i love what they do. I became close friends with one when working part time at a hospital once and I decided why not do this myself? While Audiology is great I do have many concerns about it's future. I do want to wish all of you good luck. I hope I didn't discourage you, these are just some of the issues I wish I would have known before I pursued the degree, and a four year degree is a BIG investment. Luckily, I only had to pay about half of what you all are paying now, I definitely wouldn't do it today if it was four years. I think the Ph.D is much more respected by all professionals and gives you more options and pay. Please let me know if you have more questions .
Firstly, I know everyone wants to know about the job market, so i'll start with that first. There are jobs out there. I have been laid off twice, and each time I have had to relocate to find new work. The field is pretty small as I'm sure you are all well aware, but because of this I have had to move to other cities to find work. The first time I was searching for employment I was able to find another job about 1.5 hours away so I ended up moving to a suburb in between the two cities so I didn't have to move too far from friends and family. The second time I moved from my city about 600 miles away. I worked that job for a little over a year until I could find another job in my city. If you are ok with that than it should be no big deal. It can however be complicated for me now because I am now married with a family.
I saw a couple of question from someone about how often you have to sell things in the field. This is a very good question and I wish I would've asked this question myself. Expect to sale! It is apart of the business. Yes, I said business. People with hearing impairment need hearing aids, so of course you need to provide that for them. Unfortunately many practices today (private, ENT and especially hearing aid manufacturers) will push you to sell them because this is how they stay in business. Unlike optometry where they can make money solely from a visit alone, Audiologist CANNOT. You need someone to buy something from you to profit. This means you will find most jobs offering a base pay plus commissions. I will admit this can be good or bad. Bad because it can be stressful and out of your hands whether or not someone will buy a hearing aid from you. Some patients prefer to shop around for the best price. Some will buy an aid from you and return it meaning...no money for you. It can be good because, well the sky is the limit as to how much income you can generate. I made $109,000 at one time working for a hearing aid manufacturer. Excellent pay, but I hated my job with a passion. You often just do basic test, and than sale them the aid. The patient takes it and you never really hear from them again unless they have a problem. I hate working for hearing aid manufacturers for this very reason. It is also VERY sales driven, meaning you have so much pressure to sale, sale, sale. The money just wasn't worth it for me.
Also...please me aware that unfortunately, to many ENT's and hearing aid manufacturers, Audiologist are very easily replaceable. I encourage you all to look at job ads, especially on places like audiologyonline. MOST of the jobs will hire an Audiologist, OR a licensed hearing aid dispenser, at the same salary. I've often wondered why I didn't just get my license to dispense rather than pay for my masters in audiology. Sometimes a hearing aid dispenser will accept a job at a lower salary on purpose just so they will be hired over you. I have seen this many times. They are the biggest reason Audiologist have such low pay and not as many jobs. If something isn't done about this, the problem will only get worse. An ENT I worked for once thought it was "ridiculous" Audiologist were now switching to a doctorate degree because "why pay someone more money to do something that someone off the street with no education can do for half the price." I believe this is also why so many other health care professionals don't respect audiologist as they should, because someone without a degree can also do the job. Yes, it is true, the degree offers us a wealth of information about hearing loss and vestibular issues, but most ENT's and private practices will only want you to do a basic hearing test. If there is a loss, you give a hearing aid, if there is something more refer to an ENT. I feel that we are way over prepared for the job they will one day do. I got into Audiology because I thought it was more of a medical model, once I graduated I was disappointed that I felt more like a glorified hearing aid dealer at times .
Lastly, salary! I will say salary is ok. I only have my masters in Audiology by the way so to me, my salary was acceptable, but never would I get an AuD to only be paid $60,000! That is insane!!! I started off at $46,000 when I got into the field. I now make $58,000. Please be aware that salary does also depend on where you live. My salary is for an Audiologist in the midwest. Cost of living here is ok, so I get by, plus my husbands salary helps ALOT. Thus far with the Au.D being introduced I have not seen that big of an increase. It really does also depend on the job. I know some Audiologist who make more than me, and some less. I have not seen anyone here however that makes more than $65,000. I would say in the midwest the average is about $60,000. That's fine for a masters but not at all for four years of school. I know SLP's making more than some Audiologist and that is just totally unacceptable to me.
I would like to close by saying that there are many downsides to the field but I do enjoy it. I love making a difference in the lives of others, and that is why I decided to be come an Audiologist. I will be going back to school this fall to be a physicians assistant. While I love audiology PA's salary is excellent for only a two year degree and I have come to find i love what they do. I became close friends with one when working part time at a hospital once and I decided why not do this myself? While Audiology is great I do have many concerns about it's future. I do want to wish all of you good luck. I hope I didn't discourage you, these are just some of the issues I wish I would have known before I pursued the degree, and a four year degree is a BIG investment. Luckily, I only had to pay about half of what you all are paying now, I definitely wouldn't do it today if it was four years. I think the Ph.D is much more respected by all professionals and gives you more options and pay. Please let me know if you have more questions .