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The number of speech therapy jobs Arizona has to offer will continue to grow in the near future.

Speech therapists are responsible for assessing, diagnosing, and treating people who cannot speak or speak clearly. They may help those who have speech, language, cognitive-communication, voice, swallowing, or fluency problems.

Most employers require speech therapists to have a master's degree from a college or university accredited by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Council on Academic Accreditation. A majority of states also require speech therapists to become licensed before they can begin practicing.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were about 119,300 speech therapists throughout the nation during 2008, and that number is expected to grow by 19 percent by 2018.

In Arizona, employment of speech therapists is expected to increase by 10.3 percent to 2,613 workers by 2018. That means there will be an average of 67 jobs available each year, according to the Arizona Workforce Informer.

About 48 percent of speech therapists work in educational services, while others work in hospitals, offices of other health practitioners, nursing care facilities, home healthcare services, individual and family services, outpatient care centers, and child daycare centers. Only 9 percent of speech therapists are self-employed.

The top industries that employed speech therapists throughout Arizona during 2008 include:

• Elementary and secondary schools - 52.3 percent
• Offices of other health practitioners - 11.9 percent
• General medical and surgical hospitals - 9.2 percent
• Nursing care facilities - 4.7 percent
• Home healthcare services - 2.2 percent
• Other hospitals - 1.9 percent
• Community care facilities for the elderly - 1.3 percent
• Psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals - .6 percent
• Individual and family services - .3 percent
• Outpatient care centers - .2 percent
• Other schools and instruction - .2 percent
• Colleges and universities - .1 percent
• Other residential care facilities - .1 percent

During 2008, the national median wage for speech therapists was about $62,930 per year, with the middle 50 percent of employees earning between $50,330 and $79,620. The lowest 10 percent of employees earned less than $41,240 per year, while the highest 10 percent earned more than $99,220 per year.

Speech therapists in Arizona earned an average wage of $28.05 per hour during 2009, with entry-level employees earning an average of $18.32 per hour and experienced employees earning an average of $32.91 per hour.

Some related occupations include: audiologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, and recreational therapists.

Labels: Speech therapy jobs Arizona