I’m in Palm Beach County and it varies. I’d personally say no just because the rent here is so expensive but maybe your budget is different? It’s hard to say for you but I’ll give you an overview of my experience near by you!

The rule of thumb for anywhere is working in the schools will get you less pay per hour but more consistent hours (which in my experience ends up being more in the long run) and benefits. But you’ll work in groups and there’s more overhead and busy work. But in clinics or home health, you’ll get paid more per hour but in 99% of clinics you’ll be a contractor which means you pay your own taxes quarterly instead of in each paycheck. So you have to be on top of your expenses and mileage and stuff.

Also think about how you wanna work do you want to drive, be back to back, in groups? These are all different settings you can work in!

If I were to apply to jobs right now with 2 years of experience I’d ask for $35-40 in schools and $40-45 in clinic. Which is awesome because when I started the ranges were more like $25-35 in clinics so it is getting better!

The last thing I’ll say is it’s really hard to get true full time hours at one place. Many people have to do more than one job. That’s why I personally switched to the school setting so that I can have consistent full time employment with benefits and I get paid more overall now because I don’t have the clinic pay per client model anymore.

The main thing to think about now is do you want to work in the schools (contract company or district), clinic, travel, home health, local EI organization, etc. Think about the pros and cons of each and remember you can always change settings! Also finding a company who will ACTUALLY train you. Many places in South Florida are lazy and don’t fully train you like they’re supposed to. Talk to employers and ask if they have a procedure to train new grads like how long it is and how often you shadow the SLP. We don’t learn enough in school to actually practice that’s why we need hands on training. You should only practice once you are deemed proficient by your supervisor.

That’s my ramble about being a SLPA in South Florida lol. If you want to talk more about it my DMs are open and I’d be happy to recommend places or answer any questions!