Addressing the significant shortage in the professionSpeech-language pathologists (SLPs) are in high demand throughout the United States. The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that the United States will need "approximately 141,400 speech-language pathologists by 2018 to meet the growing needs of the profession and replace speech-language pathologists who are leaving for retirement” (2011, p. 2). . The demand for qualified professionals in the field continues to increase with each passing year. According to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2011-2012 edition, “employment is expected to grow 19 percent in the occupation over the next decade” (p. 2). A 2008 report by the American Association for Educational Employment (AAEE) stated that "speech-language pathologists are ranked 14th in the nation for fields with a considerable number of job vacancies compared to other fields in the field." “education” (p. 8). In the state of Nebraska, the U.S. Department of Education has listed speech-language pathology as one of the “areas with a significant teacher shortage” (2011, p. 58). Recruiting and retaining qualified professionals has impacted school districts across the country. The frustrations of many speech-language pathologists are similar: job dissatisfaction, lack of sufficient compensation, and oversized workloads contribute to the shortage of professionals. Research suggests that "lack of recognition, few promotion opportunities, excessive paperwork, loss of autonomy, lack of supplies, low salaries, and stressful interpersonal interactions all contributed to teachers' decisions to leave." school” (Blood, Ridenour, Thomas, Qualls, & Hammer, 2002, p. 283). Job satisfaction “is the terminology used to describe whether employees are happy and satisfied and have their wants and needs met at work” (Heathfield, n.d., para. 1). Many speech-language pathologists struggle to...... middle of paper ......d, S. (n.d.) Employee satisfaction. Retrieved November 26, 2011 from http://humanresources.about.com/od/employeesurvey1/g/employee_satisfy.htm.Palacio, M. (2001). Effective strategies for resolving workload issues. Advance forSpeech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists, February 2001. Retrieved from http://speech-lingual-pathology-audiology.advanceweb.com/Article/Successful-Strategies-for-Addressing-Caseload-Issues.aspx. “Psychosocial support.” (nd). Retrieved November 27, 2011 from http://www.ovcsupport.net/s/index.php?i=59. US Department of Education. (2011). National List of Teacher Shortage Areas. Accessed November 26, 2011, from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.pdf. United States Department of Labor (2011). Career Outlook Handbook. Accessed November 22, 2011 from http://www.bls.gov/oco/pdf/ocos099.pdf .