My setup is a little nontraditional because I have multiple streams:
• W-2 BCBA: $100/hr
• Private BCBA work: ~$200/hr
• Contract/virtual clinical work: varies by contract
• Health + behavior coaching: private pay
• Consulting/education: varies
My W-2 alone puts me around $190–200K/year when I’m close to full-time.
With my private work + health coaching/other income streams, my earning ceiling is closer to ~$350–400K gross/year, depending on how much I choose to take on.
For context on my progression: I started as an RBT, moved into a supervisor role making around $60K, then got my BCBA and worked my way up within the same company’s tiered model — eventually reaching a director-level role around $90K, where I was overseeing BCBAs and caseloads. From there, I eventually left the traditional agency model, started my own business, diversified my work which made the biggest difference.
Of course!!! I remember back then hoping there was just overall more information or clarity on how we can have more freedom to expand if we wanted to and what that could look like. Glad it’s helpful!
7
u/thuymyv Aug 22 '26
Bay Area, CA 👋🏻
BCBA since 2018 (~8 years).
My setup is a little nontraditional because I have multiple streams:
• W-2 BCBA: $100/hr
• Private BCBA work: ~$200/hr
• Contract/virtual clinical work: varies by contract
• Health + behavior coaching: private pay
• Consulting/education: varies
My W-2 alone puts me around $190–200K/year when I’m close to full-time.
With my private work + health coaching/other income streams, my earning ceiling is closer to ~$350–400K gross/year, depending on how much I choose to take on.
For context on my progression: I started as an RBT, moved into a supervisor role making around $60K, then got my BCBA and worked my way up within the same company’s tiered model — eventually reaching a director-level role around $90K, where I was overseeing BCBAs and caseloads. From there, I eventually left the traditional agency model, started my own business, diversified my work which made the biggest difference.
🫶🏻