# Speech Pathologist moving to Spain



## SLP123

Hello,
This is my first of many posts! I am an American Speech-language pathologist, eligible to work and live in Spain. My family and I are planning our move for either spring or September. I am wondering about job possibilities within my profession. I don't expect to find full time employment, but maybe some private clients or contract jobs with corporations (think accent reduction), clinics, or international schools. Any thoughts? I am open to teaching English too.


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## jojo

SLP123 said:


> Hello,
> This is my first of many posts! I am an American Speech-language pathologist, eligible to work and live in Spain. My family and I are planning our move for either spring or September. I am wondering about job possibilities within my profession. I don't expect to find full time employment, but maybe some private clients or contract jobs with corporations (think accent reduction), clinics, or international schools. Any thoughts? I am open to teaching English too.


Heres a list of British international schools in Spain, it might be worth contacting them????? Schools in Spain | Nabss



Jo xxx


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## SLP123

Thanks!


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## jojo

SLP123 said:


> Thanks!


Its a start! I'm sure some of the others will be along with some other ideas. But do remember that Spain is still in recession and unemployment is high

Jo xxx


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## xabiaxica

SLP123 said:


> Thanks!


:welcome:

wow! you're the second American doing that job we've had here in the past week!

as jojo says, finding a job won't be easy, & the International schools might be the best bet - if you look at our http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...-living-spain/2725-faqs-lots-useful-info.html in the education section there are some other links which might help you including one for American schools in Spain

I can't help being curious as to how you managed to become eligible to work here ? I'm sure a lot of the other Americans visiting the forum would love to know  Including the other Speech Pathologist!


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## Pesky Wesky

As an American you'd probably be better off looking at American schools for speech work. There's one in the Bilbao region and in Madrid and there are more, but not sure where


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## fergie

If advertising for work in English speaking communities, we are more used to the title Speach Therapist , rather than pathologist, pathology mainly refers to study of dead bodies in English, as in home office pathologist, just a tip! Hope it helps.


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## fergie

fergie said:


> If advertising for work in English speaking communities, we are more used to the title Speach Therapist , rather than pathologist, pathology mainly refers to study of dead bodies in English, as in home office pathologist, just a tip! Hope it helps.


Also pathologist study of tissues in a lab, sorry electrics blew, before I finished above comment,but most people would understand the title of Speech Therapist better.


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## SLP123

Well, I have dual citizenship US/Ireland, so I am eligible because of that. Sorry that I do not have any tips for the average American. I live in the US, and was trained in the US, so I identify as American. Technically, I have that handy EU passport


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## SLP123

fergie said:


> Also pathologist study of tissues in a lab, sorry electrics blew, before I finished above comment,but most people would understand the title of Speech Therapist better.


Thank you Fergie,
I have been noticing that in my research! In the US (particularly in graduate school), it was pounded into our heads to refer to ourselves as speech-language pathologists....I will modify the title for european correspondence. I appreciate the heads-up!


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## alewSLP

Hello,
I am a current graduate student in the US and I am looking for a summer placement in Spain with someone with their CCC's. Is there any chance you found work and would like to take on a student this summer? If not, I would still love to be able to talk to you about your experience. 
Thanks!


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## Elyles

alewSLP said:


> Hello, I am a current graduate student in the US and I am looking for a summer placement in Spain with someone with their CCC's. Is there any chance you found work and would like to take on a student this summer? If not, I would still love to be able to talk to you about your experience. Thanks!


 Good luck on this. If you are seeking any type of income you can probably forget it. You would need to be fluent in Spanish as well. You would be better off as an EU citizen. You will find few Americans on this site and fewer yet Americans who know anything about Speech Pathology. Sorry. Oh, just saw you have an EU passport. In that case you are a go to look for work. Finding it and getting paid for it are different though. I suggest contacting the Dept of State DOD section and ask them about any opportunities. Trouble is that the medical system here is entirely different than Stateside. Good luck. The difficulty in finding any work is that you would be competing with Spaniards and they come first.


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## bob_bob

Stick to therapist, without a doubt. I'm a retired nurse and guessed what your job was but had to google to make sure I was right.


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## vintagexshortie

Hey! I know it's been 2 years, but I was wondering if you had any luck and if you're still in Spain? My boyfriend and I are considering doing a pareja de echo so that I can live/work there legally. Would you be willing to be a supervisor for my clinical fellowship?


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## MatildaMatilda

SLP123 said:


> Hello,
> This is my first of many posts! I am an American Speech-language pathologist, eligible to work and live in Spain. My family and I are planning our move for either spring or September. I am wondering about job possibilities within my profession. I don't expect to find full time employment, but maybe some private clients or contract jobs with corporations (think accent reduction), clinics, or international schools. Any thoughts? I am open to teaching English too.


Darling, you can make $100,000 easily in US working in the public schools and you are looking for a job in Spain to teach English for $10/hour? Are you kidding?
Your job is in such demand in US and you can easily work part time if you want and you can spend your money in Europe, Spain as you like and no stress looking for a job here.
People do not know about Speech and Language Pathologist job. It is the easiest job possible and you make lots of money and paid benefits in US school system.
This is what I recommend everyone to do, but they have no idea and do not comprehend. Teaching is no easy and maybe you are confused a bit. Am I right?
No offense here, please, I am just puzzled about your plan to give up such a good job and jump on anything to make a living in Spain. I would like to here more sense from you. 
I have a young daughter and this is what I want her to do: become a Speech Teacher in US school system. Money, benefits, vacation, etc. This is what I recommend often to people who I don't even know; hey, you speak English, go to school and become a Sppech Teacher/SNIP/ It is a quite guarded information and you will never be told by someone who works in the field about it or they will try to discourage you if you ask about it. Cheers!


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## MatildaMatilda

Sorry about spelling and grammar mistakes, rushed to reply!


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## itsasmallworld

fergie said:


> If advertising for work in English speaking communities, we are more used to the title Speach Therapist , rather than pathologist, pathology mainly refers to study of dead bodies in English, as in home office pathologist, just a tip! Hope it helps.


I've always thought pathology wasn't a good term for describing the work that SLP s do. However, I'm wondering if if there is a distinction between speech therapist and speech pathologist in Spain. I know that is the case in Puerto Rico. A speech therapist has a bachelor's while a speech pathologist has a 60-credit master's degree. In Spain, there are a variety of degrees and títulos in the field, including masters degrees in both speech pathology and speech therapy as well as language disorders. So I believe people are familiar with the term speech pathology in Spain but I agree with using therapist or even logopeda. 

I know this is an old thread but it piqued my interest and I wondered if anyone could shed some light on the difference between the titles in Spain. Thank you.


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## itsasmallworld

Also not sure why you think this job doesn't involve stress. You said yourself you don't work in the field. The path to becoming a certified speech therapist isn't the easiest. Some therapists are interested in subsets of communication disorders and realize after obtaining their education and certification that they could have traveled a different path and ended up doing the same work. However, that does not mean that a lot of us aren't happy with our decisions and our work or that we wouldn't recommend it to others.


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