Hilda Said:

Want to move to Europe...need a job?

We Answered:

Where are you coming from? If you're not an EU citizen, this is not easy to do and the preference for English limits your choices. The following applies to moving to Europe in general and Italy in particular if you're not an EU citizen.

EU citizens have the right to live and work within the EU, but others need a visa to live and work here legally. You can't just decide to relocate and go. The site for visas here in Italy is: http://www.esteri.it/visti/index_eng.asp . The site has links to the application, the additional information you need to supply in order to get the visa and where to apply.

The rules in much of the EU have been harmonized and will be similar. You can also check the website of the consulate of various countries that has jurisdiction over you for other information. You cannot apply for the visa from Italy; you need to do that before you arrive. When you get here, you will have to apply for a Permesso di Soggiorno (Permission to Stay) from the authorities. With the economy now, jobs are scarce - a lot of companies have a hiring freeze in place. The unemployment rate in Spain is around 20% for example and almost 50% in the 16 to 24 year old age group. One other thing will be language skills; you'll need to be able to work in Italian here. However, in the larger cities, there is more English spoken than in the countryside and that would generally be true throughout Europe. You should still expect work to be done largely in the local languages though.

A work permit is separate - you cannot apply for that yourself. The company has to apply and they have to be able to demonstrate that there is not a viable EU candidate for the job. As a result, jobs for foreigners including Canadian or US citizens are pretty much restricted to people with special education, knowledge, or experience. The medical/healthcare field may have the most demand right now. You will need to know the language. You may have less competition in the Speech Language Pathology field than in many others. When I applied for a visa several years ago, the process took about 8 months even though it was just of transfer of the job I was already doing from the US to Italy. Actually getting the visa after the paperwork was in place was pretty quick though (about a week). One option might be to work with an international company that has offices both there and here where you might be able to transfer. Note that in this case, the relocation expenses may be covered by the company too.

It's useful to check the expat sites for information about living and working here or other places you might be interested in:

http://www.escapeartist.com/
http://www.expatica.com/
http://expatsinitaly.com/Old_Site/index.…

There are similar sites specific to just about any country you might be interested in that you can find by searching for "ex pat" or "expat" and the name of the country. Generally, these will have a lot of good information on daily life and negotiating the bureaucracy when you arrive and provide you with useful information you should know before you make the transition.

Tara Said:

Which career has the better job outlook, placement and pay?

We Answered:

You actually have them listed in the lowest to highest pay. Go for the Speech-Language Pathology career.

Nicole Said:

Do any SLP's here do Telepractice?

We Answered:

I have never heard of a speech pathologist doing telepractice, and I bet I know why. They are the same reasons there are no accredited speech pathology programs online; it's impossible to do clinical practice/ training.
To be effective as a clinician, one must use different forms of cuing a patient. Cuing can be subtly visual, verbal, and/or tactile. Two of those cannot be done using telepractice.
God forbid you get a patient with dysphagia (in hospital practice, a good 60%-- think of your referral base; it could be even higher). How, exactly, could you treat a patient without touching him/her?
Aphasia? Try teaching functional gestures without touching a patient, even if you use Skype or a similar vehicle, and they are able to see you. One really needs a 3-D approach, even if teaching family members. Some patients are bed-bound and couldn't benefit without tactile cuing.
Patients do best when provided with the hierarchy of cuing; family members are notoriously bad at that.
Teaching a patient to use a simple, rudimentary augmentative device, such as a collection of pictures assembled in a flip-book for an aphasic patient, must be taught in 3-D. Family members or caregivers aren't trained to sequence pictures which are taught out of sequence (flipping to a different card, or more appropriate) for a more complex linguistic structure.
Those are only a few of myriad scenarios.
Living in a remote area doesn't mean you won't find work. Nursing homes are everywhere and are always begging for speech pathologists. Home health is another setting for finding a job, and for the same reason. If you don't have a lot of family responsibilities, you can accept traveling assignments.
Google "speech pathology jobs" in your area, and I'll bet you find a few hits. Also, "Advance for Speech Pathologists and Audiologists" is a source for jobs all over the country. ASHA has job listings in the ASHA journal.
Good luck!

Mae Said:

Is transferring school worth the loans?

We Answered:

I wouldn't do it. The cost of $20,000 to start will follow you for a long time. The other disadvantage is if you transfer you might loose credits which might set you back more then 3 semesters. I remember when I transfered into my current school I lost a lot of credits. Only reason I transfered was a change in major, location and a five year break. Finish where you are and then move to a location where you can find work.