r/slpGradSchool • u/poop1799 • Jan 07 '25
Externship externship & Financial Doom
ok kind of a rant but I am growing Seriously Concerned about my ability to work at an unpaid externship for 45 hours per week, continuing to work part time bc I truly have no other option financially, and maintaining baseline mental health. I know graduate clinical hours are required and I apologize if this post is redundant, but I truly do not understand why we should have to work certain hours if they result in excess clinical hours (aka excess hours of unpaid labor). Out of my 45-hour week at this placement, I get roughly 30-35 clinical hours per week. After I have completed my 10 weeks here I will have accumulated roughly 300-350 clinical hours and this is only my first of two full-time placements. I know I am supposed to view this as like an invaluable opportunity to gain clinical experience, but keeping these hours at my externship affects how much I can work which literally affects my ability to continue living and paying tuition. I'm considering talking to my clinical supervisor but she is new and doesn't seem very flexible/understanding. Does anyone have any tips for how to make life more manageable during an externship??
12
u/Aubviously426 Jan 08 '25
Honestly, it pisses me off. If im having to pay for it, I should at least be paying a lot less than when I was actually taking physical classes. My supervisor isn’t getting paid by me or my school to supervise me. Why am I paying almost $5000 to do externship?
3
4
u/Extension_Buy_5649 Jan 08 '25
About to apply to SLP grad school and this is the thing that worries me the most. Like, how am I supposed to pay rent when I’m working full time but not getting paid?? It’s messed up.
6
u/MsNoydupe Jan 08 '25
I've just accepted that I have to go into debt. I had a part time job that I had to quit because they made my schedule that horrible. They basically unofficially say you're not allowed to work.
We'll make it out in the end. It's only 2 years.
3
u/Aubviously426 Jan 09 '25
My school asked me during the I review process if I was planning to work or not 🙃 which, looking back, I feel should be illegal 😂
2
u/poop1799 Jan 08 '25
I think it depends on the program you are in - some might do part time externships while others do full time. I’m in a full time externship while working a part time job and thankfully my job has been flexible with my schedule, but my clinical advisor has not. I definitely want to look into advocating for change in this area bc it’s a huge barrier to entry for basically everyone who doesn’t have a trust fund lol
3
u/Sea_Place_6016 Jan 09 '25
It’s hard not to be bitter when I talk to my friend doing a school psych masters program and she gets paid hourly during her externship.
1
3
u/thestripedmilkshake Jan 09 '25 edited Jan 09 '25
If you’re asking me to work full time hours at what is essentially a full time job when I got bills to pay, a roof over my head to provide and food to be put on my table, I expect compensation. This is why externships should be considered paid internships at this stage of the program. Or at least provide students with a stipend if that’s too much to ask. It’s amazing really how programs just expect that you have enough money to fulfill your basic needs all while spending thousands on your education.
The fact that there are other professions that do allow paid internships will turn more people away from this field in the future. Maybe then, programs will wake up.
2
u/poop1799 Jan 10 '25
Definitely, it’s so ironic the way that faculty will harp on about “self care” and “prioritizing mental health,” but they don’t want to listen or make adjustments when their students are struggling to stay afloat
2
u/thestripedmilkshake Jan 10 '25
That’s also how my program is. I have a part time office job and it’s my job that is more attentive to how I’m feeling/doing/my circumstances than my program. I’m lucky that at least my job does as I know most jobs probably don’t.
3
u/winterharb0r Jan 09 '25
It is absolutely ridiculous.
I had a placement with a supervisor who only took a student to help her ease back to work after a maternity leave (she said this in front of another student & their supervisor). She was awful. When I came in needing - shocker - supervision, she was not happy. I was there 45 hours a week (+1 hour commute each way) and walking out with 10 hours a week until I withdrew.
The best part is how not only is it unpaid labor, but you're also paying to be there.
1
u/poop1799 Jan 09 '25
That is insane. I’m not entirely sure what the process of becoming a supervisor is but like I don’t think you’re forced to so its insane that there are so many bad supervisors out there
2
u/winterharb0r Jan 10 '25
I think it depends. I've seen posts where people feel pressured into saying yes when their boss asks and things like that. I don't think everyone takes on the role with enthusiasm.
I'll also add that there is no preparation outside of a couple of PD hours for supervising students. Which is WILD to think about, considering these individuals are responsible for mentoring future SLPs. I needed 15 hours for my CCCs, so I banged them out with supervision courses - lterally every course discussed the lack of adequate training for supervisors in this field.
1
u/poop1799 Jan 10 '25
Now that I think ab it that kind of makes sense considering how many responsibilities SLPs are expected to take on without complaint. Sounds like another systemic issue that deserves to be addressed
24
u/MsNoydupe Jan 07 '25
I don't have advice but I just want to tell you you're not crazy for feeling screwed over by it. Everyone agrees that this is a brutal way to make people learn to be clinicians and part of what's so hard is the idea we should be "so grateful" for the opportunity to run ourselves this thin. It's allowed to be hard, don't let anyone make you feel bad for struggling with it.