Career Explorer Healthcare (clinical)
Grows with AI
Speech-language pathologists
Assess and treat persons with speech, language, voice, and fluency disorders. May select alternative communication systems and teach their use. May perform research related to speech and language problems.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 77% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it high), and US jobs are projected to change by +16.6% by 2035, much faster than average. The work leans on emotional intelligence and creative vision.
AI can help with many of the tasks, and demand is still growing. Being fluent with AI is the edge here.
- Median pay (2025)
- $97,870
- Job growth to 2035
- +16.6%
- Openings a year
- 12,500
- People doing it (2025)
- 193,000
- Usual route in
- Master's degree, then an internship or residency
Where people already use AI for this work
- Present research or technical information
- Advise others on healthcare or wellness issues
- Prepare informational or instructional materials
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Train others on health or medical topics
- Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care
- Develop patient or client care or treatment plans
What the work looks like
- Evaluate hearing or speech and language test results, barium swallow results, or medical or background information to diagnose and plan treatment for speech, language, fluency, voice, or swallowing disorders.
- Write reports and maintain proper documentation of information, such as client Medicaid or billing records or caseload activities, including the initial evaluation, treatment, progress, and discharge of clients.
- Monitor patients' progress and adjust treatments accordingly.
- Develop or implement treatment plans for problems such as stuttering, delayed language, swallowing disorders, or inappropriate pitch or harsh voice problems, based on own assessments and recommendations of physicians, psychologists, or social workers.
- Administer hearing or speech and language evaluations, tests, or examinations to patients to collect information on type and degree of impairments, using written or oral tests or special instruments.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- More of these jobs, as an aging population; growing awareness of the importance of identifying speech and language impairments early; and increasing special education needs in schools raise demand for speech-language pathology services.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Occupational therapistsGrows with AI, Index 84, +14.8%
- Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselorsGrows with AI, Index 83, +18.4%
- Marriage and family therapistsGrows with AI, Index 90, +13.5%
- Mental health and substance abuse social workersGrows with AI, Index 90, +10.3%
Also known as: Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist (Bilingual SLP), Speech and Language Specialist, Speech Pathologist, Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist (Pediatric SLP), Speech and Language Clinician, Speech and Language Teacher, Speech and Language Therapist.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.