PASC Jobs

What the PASC Credential Actually Is

Before looking at jobs, it helps to be precise about what you would be putting on your resume. Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification (PASC) is a program of the American Board of Audiology (ABA). Candidates who pass the exam and meet the program requirements earn the designation Board Certified in Pediatric Audiology, abbreviated BC-PA. If you are new to the terminology, our explainers on what PASC is and what PASC stands for cover the basics, and the overview at PASC certification goes deeper on the program itself.

Two facts shape every conversation about jobs. First, the certification is voluntary. Employers do not generally need it to license you or to bill for services, so it functions as a signal of specialization rather than a gate to entry. Second, it is independent of other certification. Under the current handbook and program page, general ABA certification, the CCC-A and professional membership are not prerequisites. You can hold BC-PA without those other credentials, and holding them does not substitute for it.

Who Hires Pediatric Audiologists

Pediatric audiology work is concentrated in a handful of employer types. A BC-PA designation is most relevant where leadership, complex cases, or program credibility matter most.

• Children's hospitals and academic medical centers. These typically run the most complex pediatric caseloads, including infant diagnostics, cochlear implant candidacy and follow-up, and multidisciplinary clinics. Specialty credentials can help distinguish candidates when several applicants share general clinical training.
• Hospital-based ENT and otolaryngology practices. Medical audiology is part of the exam and part of daily life here, with close collaboration alongside physicians.
• Early intervention and newborn hearing screening programs. Audiologists in these programs coordinate diagnostic follow-up, family counseling, and referral pathways.
• School districts and educational audiology programs. Educational audiology is its own exam domain, reflecting how much pediatric audiology work happens in classroom and IEP contexts.
• Private practices with a pediatric emphasis. Some practices market pediatric expertise directly to families and referring pediatricians, and board certification can support that positioning.
• Hearing aid, implant and device-related roles. Clinical specialist, trainer and consulting positions sometimes value pediatric depth.

A note on compensation: this article does not quote salary figures, because the exam program does not publish any and we will not invent them. For earnings context, see our PASC salary guide and the broader analysis of whether the certification is worth it.

Roles and Settings Where BC-PA Fits

Clinical specialist and senior clinician roles

In larger audiology departments, a pediatric lead or senior pediatric audiologist often supervises students, trains newer staff, and handles the hardest referrals. The 550 pediatric direct-patient hours required to qualify for the exam mean that candidates for BC-PA already look like these senior clinicians on paper, so the credential formalizes what the job already demands.

Program coordinator and early-hearing-detection roles

Programs that manage follow-up for infants who did not pass screening need people who understand diagnostics, family counseling and care coordination together. The case-management hours required for eligibility, 50 of them, line up with that kind of responsibility.

Educational audiology positions

School-based audiologists work on classroom listening environments, hearing-technology management for students, and communication with teachers and families. The exam gives this area its own domain, so a candidate in an educational role has a direct way to demonstrate formal knowledge rather than relying on clinic-based experience alone.

Teaching, supervision and mentoring

Clinical education positions in university programs and externship sites often favor audiologists who can document specialized practice. Board certification in a subspecialty is one concrete way to do that.

Eligibility Requirements as a Career Filter

The eligibility rules are not just paperwork; they tell you something about who the credential is designed for. Read the current handbook carefully, and use our PASC requirements guide for the full breakdown. In summary, you need:

• A graduate audiology degree from a regionally accredited institution.
• An appropriate audiology license or work authorization. The current handbook requires a permanent U.S. audiology license, or valid license or work authorization for international and U.S.-territory applicants.
• Paid post-degree professional experience.
• 550 pediatric direct-patient hours and 50 pediatric case-management hours, accumulated over two consecutive years within the preceding five years.
• Two professional references, including a supervisor, plus an official transcript, documented experience and an ethics agreement.

One wording discrepancy is worth knowing about. The live application specifies a minimum of 2,000 professional hours within two years, whereas the handbook phrases the requirement as two years of post-degree, full-time (2,000) hours. Do not assume a larger threshold than either source states; confirm the exact phrasing on the application before you plan your timeline.

The Six Exam Domains Mapped to Daily Work

The exam's six content domains are formal exam content areas, and their weights tell you what the profession considers central. The handbook publishes scored-item allocations of 24, 21, 22, 16, 9 and 8 out of 100, and the issuer's November 2023 blueprint announcement gives the matching percentages. For a full walkthrough, see our complete guide to all six content areas. Here is how each one connects to the kind of work that job postings describe.

The domain headings here follow the current handbook and live page wording. The 2023 announcement adds "patients with" language to Domain 1, but the current handbook controls the heading used above.

Cost, Timing and the Next Testing Window

If you are weighing the credential against a job change, the logistics matter. The next exam window is May 3-17, 2027, with an application deadline of March 9, 2027 and exam registration running January 12-April 13, 2027. Our exam dates guide tracks scheduling details.

These figures exclude membership. A second-certification application receives a USD 50 application-fee reduction. For the full picture, including what to budget beyond the exam, see our certification cost breakdown. If your employer offers professional development funds, the fee schedule gives you exact numbers to request.

Exam format and delivery

The exam is 120 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes, made up of 100 scored items and 20 unscored beta items. Every question has four options. Single-answer items have one correct answer, while multiple-response items have two or three. There is no guessing penalty, so leaving an item blank gives no scoring advantage. Testing runs through Prolydian with Proctor360 live remote proctoring, which requires a desktop or laptop, webcam, microphone, a private room, identity and room checks, and current government photo ID matching your registered name. Tablets, phones and Chromebooks do not meet the device requirements. Older Examity-era language should not override the current Prolydian/Proctor360 instructions.

Results and timing relative to a job search

Results arrive approximately eight weeks after administration. If you are timing the credential to coincide with a job search or promotion discussion, build that delay into your plan. Passing is criterion-referenced, using modified Angoff standard setting on the overall raw score of the 100 scored items, with difficulty adjustment rather than a fixed universal percentage. See the passing score guide for details.

Positioning Yourself in the Job Market

The practical question is how to make the credential work for you. A few approaches:

1. Lead with documented hours. The eligibility requirements force you to document pediatric direct-patient and case-management hours. That same documentation makes strong resume evidence of caseload depth.
2. Name the designation precisely. Write "Board Certified in Pediatric Audiology (BC-PA)" in full at least once, so hiring managers who are unfamiliar with it understand what it is.
3. Connect domains to the posting. If a job emphasizes family counseling and care coordination, point to Case Management and Counseling. If it emphasizes school-based work, point to Educational Audiology.
4. Use the credential in salary and role conversations. Because it is voluntary and specialty-based, it supports arguments for senior or lead roles rather than serving as a baseline requirement.

Keeping the Credential Active

Employers value credentials that are current. Renewal happens every three years and requires 60 CE hours in total, including 30 pediatric hours, 15 Tier 1 hours and 3 professional-ethics hours, along with continued ethics and licensure compliance and a USD 360 fee for either membership group. The pediatric, Tier 1 and ethics categories are subsets of the same 60-hour total, and excess hours do not carry forward. This cycle pairs well with a pediatric job, since much of the required continuing education is the kind of learning you would pursue anyway.

Also note the testing eligibility window. The current handbook permits testing and retakes for five years beginning on the first day of the next testing window after application approval, while an older FAQ counts from the first test date. Follow the current handbook, but be aware of the conflict if you encounter the older wording. After eligibility expires, you must submit a new application, documentation and fees.

A Short Prep Sequence Built Around Job Relevance

Because the exam weights are public, you can sequence preparation around both the blueprint and your daily work. One approach is to start with the domain you use least, since that is where gaps hide. A clinic-based audiologist might begin with Educational Audiology and Professional and Regulatory Issues, then move to the heavier domains. A school-based audiologist might reverse that and spend early weeks on Assessment and Diagnosis and Medical Audiology.

For the full approach, read our PASC study guide, and use the PASC cheat sheet for a last-pass review. To gauge where you stand, try the practice questions on the main practice test site. If you are weighing difficulty against the effort, see how hard the exam is and the pass rate data. The August 6, 2026 issuer report gives a Spring 2026 first-time pass rate of 82.6%, while 20 of 25 candidates passed overall; those figures use different denominators. The 2025 first-time rate of 86.9% describes a different cohort and should not be read as 2026 data. You can also review our PASC training overview, and the practice test is a good way to check readiness before you commit to a window.

Frequently Asked Questions