If you are interested in a career in the field of speech-language pathology you are probably curious to find out a little more information about what a speech pathologist does on a day-to-day basis. Call it the back story if you wish. Basically a speech pathology professional is someone who is able to meet, evaluate and provide treatment to patients who are having a hard time with a communication disorder of one form or another.
Typically speech pathologists use their education in the field to help their clients/patients overcome, as much as possible, their disorder so they can communicate in a normal, healthy fashion. Some of the disorders they help treat are related to Autism, stuttering, persistent accent or problems forming words and phrases. They also deal with some issues of the throat and vocals and may cooperate with other health professionals or teachers who are working with the individual experiencing the disorder.
Becoming certified as a speech-language pathologist usually means you will need to obtain a graduate degree from one of the many graduate level programs offered by colleges across the country. There are also more entry-level undergraduate programs to get started with and many colleges have a clinic on the college grounds that serves the local community and helps the students to gain valuable experience while pursuing their academic studies in the field. Some clinics even offer the opportunity to work in a bilingual environment and become certified to practice in that type of environment after graduation.
There are a number of options to take in terms of career path after graduation. Research is one field while practice or education are other potential tracks. Regardless what track you decide to take it's likely a good idea to get a bit of experience in actual practice and treatment to become well grounded it what's required to apply the relevant principles on a individual patient basis. You may be able to get sufficient experience in the aforementioned on campus clinics or it may require obtaining some type of position like an internship after graduation.
If you are not yet sure that the field of speech language pathology is the right career choice for you then you may want to do a bit more research and see if you can discuss the details of the career with a few professionals from different areas of the profession. You'll likely get a slightly different perspective from each one especially if they work in different areas of the field so talking with a couple might give you a broader knowledge base to work from as you make your decision.