Speech-Language Pathology Assistants

Low Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (5)

Lower estimated automation risk

Speech-Language Pathologists
12% automation risk | Minimal Risk
Pays better Higher growth
16.6 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Direct credential-up path using therapy activities, communication disorders, patient progress notes, AAC, and care plans.

Special Education Teachers, Elementary School
6% automation risk | Minimal Risk
Pays better More jobs
22.8 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Uses school-based communication support, IEP collaboration, behavior supports, progress monitoring, and family contact.

Special Education Teachers, Preschool
8% automation risk | Minimal Risk
Pays better
20.6 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Fits assistants with early-language intervention, developmental screening, classroom support, and family communication.

Occupational Therapy Assistants
20% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
8.3 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Strong therapy-support move using treatment plans, patient coaching, functional goals, documentation, and team coordination.

Physical Therapist Assistants
18% automation risk | Minimal Risk
Pays better Higher growth
9.9 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Applies therapy routines, patient instruction, progress notes, assistive equipment, and interdisciplinary care with training.

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
4.9/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

28% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): This occupation has a lower risk of full replacement by AI, software, or robotic systems. Some tasks may be automated or assisted, but the role usually still relies on human judgement, communication, responsibility, physical adaptability, or practical decision-making.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Assisting and caring for others

Very important
Why this matters
Provide hands-on help, emotional support, or personal care to people—work that depends on empathy, trust, and responding to individual needs in the moment.
Jobs that also use this strength

Education and training expertise

Very important
Why this matters
Designing and delivering instruction—adapting lessons to different learners and measuring whether training actually works.
Jobs that also use this strength

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Working directly with the public

Quite important
Why this matters
The job involves face-to-face interaction with customers, clients, or guests—answering questions, handling requests, and managing service situations in real time. Roles with frequent public interaction are harder to replace end-to-end because they rely on trust, communication, and adapting to unpredictable human needs.
Jobs that also use this strength

Decision-making and problem solving

Quite important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
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Show 3 more strengths

Developing objectives and strategies

Quite important
Why this matters
Sets long-term goals and chooses strategies and actions to reach them, weighing tradeoffs and adapting plans as conditions change.
Jobs that also use this strength

Psychology knowledge

Quite important
Why this matters
Understanding human behavior, motivation, and individual differences to assess needs, respond appropriately, and support behavior change or mental health.
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Active learning

Quite important
Why this matters
Keeps learning from new information and applying it to make better decisions now and in the future, especially when situations change.
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What users think

Based on 11 votes

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Speech-Language Pathology Assistants will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Pay & outlook

Wages

Low paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Healthcare Support Workers, All Other was $46,050 ($22 per hour).

The median annual wage for Healthcare Support Workers, All Other was 7.0% lower than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Moderate growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Healthcare Support Workers, All Other' job openings is expected to rise 3.5% by 2034

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 103,650 people employed as 'Healthcare Support Workers, All Other' within the United States.

This represents around 0.07% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 1 thousand people are employed as 'Healthcare Support Workers, All Other'.

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What people are saying (1)

Anano (Highly likely)
25 Jul 2022 20:35
This kind of language profession is at high risk of being replaced because even now, we see Google Translate and attempts to create robots, apps, or some kind of thing which can replace languages.

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Job description

Assist speech-language pathologists in the assessment and treatment of speech, language, voice, and fluency disorders. Implement speech and language programs or activities as planned and directed by speech-language pathologists. Monitor the use of alternative communication devices and systems.

O*NET-SOC code: 31-9099.01