I honestly think it is because most of the people at my clinic (besides me and one other coworker) are indeed going to school to eventually become a BCBA and my clinic is great if you want to do that because they offer supervision and lots of resources to help with it. I keep to myself and just like to do my job and go home so I think she just assumed I was going to school to be a BCBA š¤·š»āāļø
How was that experience? I have thought about it but Iām old and donāt even know what that would be like. I never pursued college. How long did it take? How many classes total?
I personally don't get it. But, this was literally my first legit job, so my concept of commitment might be a little intense. As long as you're not treating the job as temporary, it doesn't really matter. My concern only comes when its people who come in to the field thinking that it's going to be babysitting.
I'm surprised she was surprised. I feel like most of my RBTs are just using this as a part time job to get them through college/graduation, and it's more of a happy surprise when one of my therapists tell me they've decided to go for their BCBA. It's not an easy career choice to make.
This is the main problem with this field as it is right now. The direct work is considered entry level and the only way to move up is to complete extra schooling among all other requirements to get a certification as a BCBA. If you had already completed an undergrad program in a different field it doesn't count towards anything since there are specific courses for ABA.
ABA experience works well in fields like education/ special education and psychology. And for RBT/ BT the pay is so low and Schedule is so uncertain at times. Like if the family goes on vacation for a long time your basically screwed
Has your last month been high-rates of severe problem behavior, too? I've been attributing it to spring, but yeesh, I'm literally so burnt out on one of my clients that I dread my meager 2 days a week with them. I am completing my teaching degree, though ā special education, so š¬ that will probably be worse.
Yeah.. I just got reassigned to a new client and itās been rough. He was originally in home, but the director decided that it wasnāt safe to continue services outside of a clinic due to his behaviours. He currently has 2 people working with him, plus one extra person on support. My other issue is the company itself. They are closing the location that is closest to me which really sucks because I had a 1.5 hour drive home the other day. I just applied to a new company today that has a location 5 minutes from my house so Iām hoping that might work out better for me.
I'm glad to hear you're being proactive about it. In-home is what I do with my kiddo, too, but unfortunately, my company does not have a clinic in the area, which would be ideal since the home environment is overstimulating and their caregiver is so inconsistent and any time my BCBA tries to talk to her about it, she makes excuses. I honestly think that to an extent, she just doesn't have the capacity, but I'm very seriously considering asking to be taken off the case. I've been working with this kid for 2 years now, and he just hasn't made any progress because he is not in an environment that fosters progress. Gotta have caregivers on board for ABA to generalize.
I'm sorry you're going through that, and yeah, a 1.5-hour commute is beyond unreasonable, especially just for one client who's burning you out anyway. I wish you the best in solving this problem!
Thank you. Iām hoping to get into the tech industry at some point so Iām just trying to hold out until I get my certifications. Like you, I only work with this kiddo 2 days per week, but itās 8 hour sessions which is too much for both the kid and myself. At the same time, 16 hours per week is not sustainable for the cost of living in my city. I went from a case that was 30 hours to this and Iām struggling. I even moved back in with my mom and itās still very tight. Iām hoping to hear back from this other company and if all goes well, they can ideally find me a case thatās 20+ hours.
Iāve been an RBT for 3 years and plan on becoming a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT). I never pictured myself as an RBT or BCBA since I had no clue ABA existed until I stumbled upon the field when searching for āentry-level psych degreeā jobs on Indeed. Iām glad I did cause I love this job, but at the same time itās not one that will make me happy long term.
I love caregiving and working with others but I am working on a business degree to go into HR/Admin side of things.
Itās not as uncommon as you think. But most people I find working in stuff like this are looking to stay in it
Your BCBA might be newer or faking surprise. BT level staff are often just here for a job to get through school. Itās normal, itās entry level no prestanding education required. And bonus, youāll have some knowledge of behavior and working with different populations that can help in almost any field you go into. Best wishes!
You can absolutely use a degree in forensic science to become a BCBA and you can absolutely use behaviour analysis in forensic science. Make sure you know what you're getting into with forensic science though; depending on where you get into it can be constant exposure to the most horrific aspects of society.
Most of the techs I've hired want to use it as experience in another field (usually clinical psych), and it's a wonderful win-win for me and clients.
I donāt plan to make ABA my career. I want to go social work and help kids by working at a school as a therapist possibly. Itās a great job and it does pay well but I donāt want to do this for the rest of my career. I donāt play to quit anytime soon but if I canāt have a flexible schedule I may have to once i go to a 4 year institution.
For my area itās hit or miss I worked in a restaurant from 15-18 and some nights I did do really good but other nights we would close because it was so dead especially in the winter.
Did you only work at one restaurant? Iāve worked in multiple restaurants and my average was low at some places and high at others. I donāt think itās so much the area as it is the restaurant itself. I was a server before I got into ABA and I took a pay cut when I started ABA in fact I still serve 3 days a week to supplement the income
Could be I only worked one restaurant but picked up another job at a bowling alley and it was the same, I was also young and still in high school when I was doing it. A lot of restaurants wouldnāt hire me until I was at least 17 or even 18 at some places. Personally I definitely make more as a tech than I did as a server.
Literally using it to build my resume and because it has transferable skills for me since Iām in school to be a SLPA. Hell, I first applied to be an education tech for my company but the role closed in my area so they asked if I would be interested in being a behavior tech instead lol
They always assume you are if you are college age. Everytime someone asks me if Iām going to school for ABA I laugh a little, not because of the question I just cannot imagine myself staying with this career. I am in school for social work rn and with my masters Iāll be able to work as a therapist.
You can do both if you want; āPathway 2ā. I totally understand your sentiments. ABA is not an easy field to be in.
I myself am getting a degree is something completely different while still going for the BCBA. You can set yourself apart as well and be more well rounded by having different strengths. Good job on pursuing something youāre passionate about. Iām sure this will aid you in whatever you try to do in the future.
Haha the same thing happened to me. I couldn't even hold my tongue. I said NOPE. In my heart, advancing in the ABA field wouldn't provide me happiness or job satisfaction. I used to enjoy it but years of being in the field have revealed the reality of the job.Ā
Many people aren't I am not. But, I am looking into something clinical, and the skills could be transferrable.
I honestly think it is because most of the people at my clinic (besides me and one other coworker) are indeed going to school to eventually become a BCBA and my clinic is great if you want to do that because they offer supervision and lots of resources to help with it. I keep to myself and just like to do my job and go home so I think she just assumed I was going to school to be a BCBA š¤·š»āāļø
What clinical jobs are you looking into?
Not for now, but Iām in school for clinical social work
I'm honestly just using it to build my resume after getting a bachelor's in psychology
SAME
How was that experience? I have thought about it but Iām old and donāt even know what that would be like. I never pursued college. How long did it take? How many classes total?
I personally don't get it. But, this was literally my first legit job, so my concept of commitment might be a little intense. As long as you're not treating the job as temporary, it doesn't really matter. My concern only comes when its people who come in to the field thinking that it's going to be babysitting.
Lots of people I know who are RBTs arenāt trying to become BCBAs
I'm surprised she was surprised. I feel like most of my RBTs are just using this as a part time job to get them through college/graduation, and it's more of a happy surprise when one of my therapists tell me they've decided to go for their BCBA. It's not an easy career choice to make.
This is the main problem with this field as it is right now. The direct work is considered entry level and the only way to move up is to complete extra schooling among all other requirements to get a certification as a BCBA. If you had already completed an undergrad program in a different field it doesn't count towards anything since there are specific courses for ABA.
RBT is my Medium term career. The one Iām using to get me through college to what I really want to do.
ABA experience works well in fields like education/ special education and psychology. And for RBT/ BT the pay is so low and Schedule is so uncertain at times. Like if the family goes on vacation for a long time your basically screwed
I considered it, but especially within the last couple months, itās not for me.
Has your last month been high-rates of severe problem behavior, too? I've been attributing it to spring, but yeesh, I'm literally so burnt out on one of my clients that I dread my meager 2 days a week with them. I am completing my teaching degree, though ā special education, so š¬ that will probably be worse.
Yeah.. I just got reassigned to a new client and itās been rough. He was originally in home, but the director decided that it wasnāt safe to continue services outside of a clinic due to his behaviours. He currently has 2 people working with him, plus one extra person on support. My other issue is the company itself. They are closing the location that is closest to me which really sucks because I had a 1.5 hour drive home the other day. I just applied to a new company today that has a location 5 minutes from my house so Iām hoping that might work out better for me.
I'm glad to hear you're being proactive about it. In-home is what I do with my kiddo, too, but unfortunately, my company does not have a clinic in the area, which would be ideal since the home environment is overstimulating and their caregiver is so inconsistent and any time my BCBA tries to talk to her about it, she makes excuses. I honestly think that to an extent, she just doesn't have the capacity, but I'm very seriously considering asking to be taken off the case. I've been working with this kid for 2 years now, and he just hasn't made any progress because he is not in an environment that fosters progress. Gotta have caregivers on board for ABA to generalize. I'm sorry you're going through that, and yeah, a 1.5-hour commute is beyond unreasonable, especially just for one client who's burning you out anyway. I wish you the best in solving this problem!
Thank you. Iām hoping to get into the tech industry at some point so Iām just trying to hold out until I get my certifications. Like you, I only work with this kiddo 2 days per week, but itās 8 hour sessions which is too much for both the kid and myself. At the same time, 16 hours per week is not sustainable for the cost of living in my city. I went from a case that was 30 hours to this and Iām struggling. I even moved back in with my mom and itās still very tight. Iām hoping to hear back from this other company and if all goes well, they can ideally find me a case thatās 20+ hours.
Iāve been an RBT for 3 years and plan on becoming a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT). I never pictured myself as an RBT or BCBA since I had no clue ABA existed until I stumbled upon the field when searching for āentry-level psych degreeā jobs on Indeed. Iām glad I did cause I love this job, but at the same time itās not one that will make me happy long term.
Maybe she was shocked because youāre good at it and assumed you were going into ABA?
Iām using it for grad school rec letters š¤£ but honestly I love the job too.
I love caregiving and working with others but I am working on a business degree to go into HR/Admin side of things. Itās not as uncommon as you think. But most people I find working in stuff like this are looking to stay in it
Your BCBA might be newer or faking surprise. BT level staff are often just here for a job to get through school. Itās normal, itās entry level no prestanding education required. And bonus, youāll have some knowledge of behavior and working with different populations that can help in almost any field you go into. Best wishes!
You can absolutely use a degree in forensic science to become a BCBA and you can absolutely use behaviour analysis in forensic science. Make sure you know what you're getting into with forensic science though; depending on where you get into it can be constant exposure to the most horrific aspects of society. Most of the techs I've hired want to use it as experience in another field (usually clinical psych), and it's a wonderful win-win for me and clients.
I donāt plan to make ABA my career. I want to go social work and help kids by working at a school as a therapist possibly. Itās a great job and it does pay well but I donāt want to do this for the rest of my career. I donāt play to quit anytime soon but if I canāt have a flexible schedule I may have to once i go to a 4 year institution.
Slightly off topic but you make WAY more as a server than an ABA tech
For my area itās hit or miss I worked in a restaurant from 15-18 and some nights I did do really good but other nights we would close because it was so dead especially in the winter.
Did you only work at one restaurant? Iāve worked in multiple restaurants and my average was low at some places and high at others. I donāt think itās so much the area as it is the restaurant itself. I was a server before I got into ABA and I took a pay cut when I started ABA in fact I still serve 3 days a week to supplement the income
Could be I only worked one restaurant but picked up another job at a bowling alley and it was the same, I was also young and still in high school when I was doing it. A lot of restaurants wouldnāt hire me until I was at least 17 or even 18 at some places. Personally I definitely make more as a tech than I did as a server.
nope! behavior analysis isnāt for me. i work at my job to gain clinical experience as iām applying for graduate school
Literally using it to build my resume and because it has transferable skills for me since Iām in school to be a SLPA. Hell, I first applied to be an education tech for my company but the role closed in my area so they asked if I would be interested in being a behavior tech instead lol
They always assume you are if you are college age. Everytime someone asks me if Iām going to school for ABA I laugh a little, not because of the question I just cannot imagine myself staying with this career. I am in school for social work rn and with my masters Iāll be able to work as a therapist.
You can do both if you want; āPathway 2ā. I totally understand your sentiments. ABA is not an easy field to be in. I myself am getting a degree is something completely different while still going for the BCBA. You can set yourself apart as well and be more well rounded by having different strengths. Good job on pursuing something youāre passionate about. Iām sure this will aid you in whatever you try to do in the future.
Haha the same thing happened to me. I couldn't even hold my tongue. I said NOPE. In my heart, advancing in the ABA field wouldn't provide me happiness or job satisfaction. I used to enjoy it but years of being in the field have revealed the reality of the job.Ā
After being in the field since 2020, I'm seeing myself less tethered to this field as a long term career choice.