What Are You Interested In?

By Kylie DeLaney, BS
A.T. Still University

One of the most common, and maybe most dreaded for some, questions audiology students receive is probably, “what are you interested in doing after graduation?” I’m here to tell you that it’s okay to say, “I don’t know”! It’s okay to not know what you want to do or what area of audiology you want to practice in, and that’s the beauty of audiology. There are so many fields and avenues to take and explore that you don’t have to know exactly what you want to do right now or right after graduation.

In my personal experience, I had a completely different and limited view of audiology as an undergrad and now as a third-year audiology student, I can say that I have changed my interest and potential career path within audiology several times over the years. As you go through your graduate courses, you will be exposed to several areas of audiology that will become of interest to you, and you might find yourself saying, “oh, I think I could see myself doing that one day”. In undergrad, I thought that the main, and really the only, practice of audiology was private practice and selling hearing aids; so that is what I envisioned myself doing. Then, after starting graduate school, I quickly became exposed to other fields of audiology, I have since gone back and forth between several professions/focuses within audiology. I started thinking I wanted to go into private practice, then I took my pediatric course, and then I was interested in working with children, then I took my vestibular courses and wanted to take the vestibular route, then I took my implantables course, and so on and so on, and I have gone back and forth on all of these professions several times. And I am sure that in the next few months, as I take more courses, I will find something else I can say that I am interested in. So, when I am asked the question, “what are you interested in doing after graduation?”, most of the time my response is “I don’t know, we will see where the opportunities take me”. And that’s okay! Because I’m still finding what I’m interested in and it’s too soon to say my plan for sure without trying some things out first.

Tips On How To Get As Much Exposure To Areas of Audiology As Possible

If you’re in an undergraduate program, try to get out in your community and look for places that will allow you to observe in their practice or clinic. This will help you start to get an idea early on about what aspects of audiology you do and do not see yourself doing. If you are currently in the process or about to start applying for graduate school, look for AuD programs that offer a wide range of clinical experiences so you can obtain as much experience in as many areas of audiology as possible.

If you’re currently in a graduate program, talk with your clinic coordinator about getting placed in clinical rotations with a wide scope of practice so you can experience as much as possible in one location. If you’re looking for a particular experience but happen not to get a placement there, find sites on your own and reach out to see if you could observe or volunteer in their practice or clinic for a day or two so you can get a feel for it. Extra experiences are always going to be helpful!

Regardless of what academic level you are, it could always be useful to reach out to a professional that is employed in the field you are interested in or curious about. Ask them if they have time to meet with you (or communicate with you via email or phone), so you can ask questions and learn more about their role and responsibilities. Although this won’t provide you with hands-on experience, it can always be beneficial to get feedback from an individual with personal experience who can tell you a little bit more about the day-to-day aspects and functions of the profession.

Examples of Various Fields within Audiology

• Clinical Audiologist (i.e, private practice, ENT, or hospital-based)
• Research Audiologist
• Pediatric Audiologist
• Educational Audiologist
• Cochlear Implant/Bone-Anchored Implant Audiologist
• Dispensing Audiologist
• Vestibular/Balance Audiologist
• Central Auditory Processing Disorder ((C)APD) Audiologist
• Interoperative Monitoring (IOM) Audiologist
• Occupational or Corporate Audiologist
• Forensic Audiologist
• Humanitarian Audiologist
• Veterinarian Audiologist
• Professor of Audiology
• AND MORE!!

Take Home Point

It’s okay to not know exactly what you want to do or what field you want to go into. It will take time, and your mind will change (a bunch of times), but in the end, you will find exactly what you need and what fits best for your life! Good luck!