As an audiologist with 25 years experience in private practice, I can tell you I've talked to many audiology students over the years. When calling a private practice to inquire about observing, paid employment, etc., be very clear about what you're interested in. I am very careful about patient confidentiality and it becomes complicated when someone who isn't an employee wants access to patients.
On the other hand, I wish I'd done more observations, in a variety of work settings, before I decided to become an audiologist. My experiences, before graduation, were very limited and not informative in this vein.
For the existing and prospective audiology students I've stayed in contact with, none can ever say I didn't warn them that audiology is NOT like what they are told by academic advisors and audiology professors. Please be aware that academic programs are a BUSINESS like every other and YOU are the customer. It is your MONEY they need for their business to succeed.
Things I wish my academic advisor had told me:
You will spend the rest of your life explaining what an audiologist is.
You will spend the rest of your life pretending to laugh, when the person you're explaining this to says, "huh?" and thinks it's hilarious.
You will never make "a lot" of money, no matter what work setting you choose. You will have to be content with job satisfaction. Your advisor will likely not be giving you real-world salary estimates.
There is NOT a shortage of audiologists everywhere.
The medical profession has almost no idea what an audiologist is.......still.
ASHA is a bully, not your friend.
Having a speech pathology school certification is NOT a good backup career plan.
You will most likely be a hearing aid salesperson. Get used to it and get good at it.
Please don't get me wrong, I do love my work in private practice. But, that's not because I was well informed and well prepared by the university. It's because I've come to terms with the reality of audiology. My best advice is talk to as many audiologists as possible. Ask them to tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly about audiology. Now go ask more audiologists. Find our websites and fill out the "contact us" form with your questions. Now do some more. Ask, ask, ask everyone and everywhere. Be informed about audiology, from outside the academic bubble.