How to become a speech and language therapist

Official title: Speech and language therapists

Also called: Speech therapist, Language therapist, Communication therapist, Speech and language therapist, Specialist speech and language therapist

Speech and language therapists are responsible for the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of speech, language, fluency and voice disorders caused by disability, injury or illness.

Main tasks

• Assesses, tests and diagnoses a client’s condition
• Designs and initiates appropriate rehabilitation and/or remedial programmes of treatment
• Treats speech and language disorders by coaching and counselling clients or through the use of artificial communication devices
• Attends case conferences and liaises with other specialists such as doctors, teachers, social workers and psychologists
• Counsels relatives to help cope with the problems created by a patient’s disability
• Writes reports and maintains client caseloads

How to become one

Entrants require a recognised graduate or postgraduate degree that encompasses both theory and clinical practice. Successful completion of these courses leads to eligibility for a certificate to practice and membership of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. Full membership is granted after completion of a year of supervised, post-qualifying experience.

Ways in

• Apprenticeship (England): Speech and language therapist (level 6). England. Typically 48 months. Skills England standard ST0618.
• University: Allied Health degrees, Offered by 17 universities in the UK

Pay · Outlook

• Median full-time pay: £45,511 a year The middle half earn £35,843 to null.
• About 27,400 people work in this job now, and about 30,000 are projected by 2035. (+9.6%)

Related jobs

• Physiotherapists
• Occupational therapists
• Psychotherapists and cognitive behaviour therapists
• Clinical psychologists
• Other psychologists

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Questions people ask

How do I become a speech and language therapist?

Entrants require a recognised graduate or postgraduate degree that encompasses both theory and clinical practice. Successful completion of these courses leads to eligibility for a certificate to practice and membership of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. Full membership is granted after completion of a year of supervised, post-qualifying experience.

How much does a speech and language therapist earn in the UK?

Median full-time pay is £45,511 a year (Office for National Statistics).

Is a speech and language therapist a growing career in the UK?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 10% by 2035, from about 27,400 to about 30,000 people (Department for Education).

Do you need a degree to become a speech and language therapist?

Usually. 100% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Sources

• Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.