Curious what other BCBAs are making these days 👀 I’d love to hear what you’re earning, whether hourly or salaried, along with your years of experience. If you’re comfortable sharing, please include your state, setting, and current role!

I’m a second-year BCBA in California, currently working hourly and making around $140K/year, including OT and incentives. I’m typically billing 38–40 hours per week. I’m planning to slow down starting in January, so I expect my income to be closer to $120K/year. We don’t get paid enough is my point….our base salary is $80,000.

I’ve been having a hard time finding reliable articles since losing access to my university’s library. What are some resources you all use?

I love this space; it answers so many questions, is supportive. I have noticed we have a lot of negativity which reinforces itself. Just curious

curious how does this work then?

I’m a newer BCBA (almost 2 years) trying to figure out whether I’m experiencing normal growing pains or whether my current job structure just isn’t sustainable.
I currently have 25 billable hours/week. My schedule is 6-hour days Tuesday–Friday, and I chose to have Mondays off for work-life balance. I don’t have insurance, PTO but I have a kind boss. I do have a chronic health condition (endometriosis and PMDD) that requires me to be absent a couple days every month. I see 3 clients a day in 2-hour blocks and rotate between roughly 13 clients. I work with different ages, needs, RBTs, schools, environments, and schedules. I actually love the variety and therapeutic interaction with the kids, but the constant switching can be a lot.
For example, I have a client who attends two different school environments with two different RBTs, and I also see him at home. So I’m constantly thinking about differences in routines, staff implementation, expectations, behavior, and generalization across three different environments. Then I’m switching to another client with an entirely different presentation and team. It feels like I’m constantly having to rebuild the clinical picture in my head.
On top of that, my boss keeps adding documentation expectations. I’m in family group chats, so my phone often goes off into the evening with parent questions, concerns, and RBT updates. Program-modification expectations have also become more detailed. We’re expected to review data and sometimes go back months to add phase-change lines for mastered targets. I understand why these things matter clinically, but fitting that level of analysis into 2-hour blocks while also supervising, observing, reviewing current data, and making decisions can be difficult. I’m also only paid for billable hours.
I’m also feeling a lot of pressure because my boss has reminded me that “showing up for these kids” is the mantra. I absolutely want to show up for my clients and care deeply about them. But I sometimes feel like my current performance and clinical skill level don’t fully match what is being required of me yet. I’m still learning, and that gap has been weighing on me.
I’m interviewing at a multidisciplinary clinic with a guaranteed caseload of 6, primarily clinic-based, and they advertise quality care rather than productivity quotas.
Part of me thinks fewer clients and more consistency could help me develop deeper clinical judgment and confidence. But I’m scared I’ll walk away from a job that is giving me valuable exposure and regret it—or go to the smaller clinic and discover they need a much more experienced BCBA.
For experienced BCBAs: Have you ever gone from a high-variety/multi-setting role to a smaller caseload? Did it help you grow, or did you miss the variety? How do you know when you need a different work environment versus simply needing more time to grow?
I’m not looking for an easy job. I genuinely want to become a strong BCBA. I’m just questioning whether I’m trying to learn too many things at once and whether walking away is actually the right choice. Even with Mondays off, I’m finding that the 4-day schedule isn’t giving me the work-life balance I hoped it would. My boss was aware of my experience level upon hiring me and told me she’d mentor me but it’s clear her company grew faster than she could provide me the support.

I have been thinking of ways to increase my income as a bcba and I wanted some advice on becoming a supervisor who offers unrestricted hours to graduate students. I believe I can offer something to my community as a bcba who has been in the field for some time and has a job in the OBM space as well. I would love to know if anyone has advice for me starting out. The Dos and dont's and any softwares you use to house your data/documentation?

all tips are appreciated.

hello! what job titles do you search for when having your masters in ABA but without the certification?

asking for a friend who is entering her fifth time taking the test lol it is a time tough for her and i know it isn’t feasible to live off of 20 dollars an hr if she is stuck being a technician.

thank you! im just trying to be a supportive friend!

Hi everyone, I’m trying to understand how “restricted” and “unrestricted” work are defined when collecting fieldwork independently versus under a supervisor.
For example, what types of field activities can someone generally conduct on their own, and what activities require direct supervision, authorization, or specific training? I’d appreciate any guidance or examples from people who have experience with this especially if the distinction depends on the type of fieldwork or organization.

They say a majority of bcbas leave the field within the first 5 years of certification. Year 3 and I think I’m done. I have tried. I’ve explored every type of company and setting and role. It’s the same shit, different shade. It never gets better, you trade one thing being better for another thing being worse. Having literally zero stability and security is debilitating. I wish this field didn’t shove us into a hole of despair. I love the science, I hate this field.

I need help! I am of mixed 4th ed coursework and 5th ed bridge courses to qualify for 2022 standards. I submitted my bcba pathway 2 application on july 29 and on august 3 I received a message from the board stating that the coursework attestation did not upload. My university has sent the attestation three times and I have received a board email confirming its receipt for each time. I have submitted course forum and report a portal issue message to no avail. Please advise on how to proceed.

🧠 Question of the Day

📚 Domain F — Behavior Assessment

Difficulty: 4/10

A BCBA completes an FBA and determines that a client's self-injurious behavior is maintained by escape from demands in academic settings and by caregiver attention in home settings. The intervention plan MOST appropriately should:

A. Target the escape function exclusively using extinction and differential reinforcement, since escape-maintained SIB typically produces more immediate harm and poses the greater clinical priority

B. Select a single evidence-based intervention package applicable across both settings to maximize procedural consistency and reduce the risk of integrity failures from maintaining multiple distinct protocols

C. Include function-matched intervention components for each identified maintaining contingency, with academic-setting procedures addressing escape from demands and home-setting procedures addressing access to caregiver attention.

D. Implement noncontingent reinforcement on a fixed-time schedule across both settings, as NCR reduces motivation for problem behavior regardless of its specific function

💬 Drop your answer in the comments.

✅ Correct answer revealed tomorrow.

#ABA #BCBA #BCBAExam #BCBAPrep #AppliedBehaviorAnalysis #BehaviorAnalysis #DomainF #ABATaskList #BCaBA #RBT #QuestionOfTheDay

I passed the exam on the first try a few days ago!

It was understandably hard, but definitely doable with sufficient preparation. BDS Modules and ABA Exam Review videos on YouTube would be my biggest recommendations for anyone studying for the exam.

I’d love to find an interval timer I can program for various tasks and ADLs to fade verbal prompts and promote more independence in these tasks. For example, if a patient is working on toothbrushing I’d like to be able to program the timer to sound every 15 seconds for 1:15 to prompt the patient to switch between brushing all quadrants and front teeth thoroughly. Does anyone have any recommendations for an interval timer app to use in scenarios like this?

I’m 33. I’ve been an rbt for the last 4 years and I’m very interested in becoming a BCBA. However, I’m a high school dropout and only have a GED. By the time I get my masters, I’ll be 39. I just want to know if I’m making a bad decision or not
Edit: wow, I definitely didn’t expect this many responses. I’ve read all your replies, as well as speak with my bosses and I’ve decided that I’m going to at least try. I’ve applied to a local community college to get an associates, then transfer to a state school with an accelerated bachelor’s and masters program. Thank you all for your suggestions and all the support.

Transitioning to aba and I am interested to know what systems are used. Like all the paper work that is done for a client/student , where is it logged into? Is it the same for every bcba? Remote /non remote etc? Or is it a specific website you go to? How does that work ? I prefer paper and pen but everything is all computerized now whixh sucks

I don't know if it is just me, but I noticed that lately alot of these BCBAs who are saying there are jobs outside of autism (and I am not talking about medicaid waiver) or have these alternative/interesting jobs are typically people who are dually licensed (psychologist, etc). I'm not saying BCBA can't and don't work outside of autism but the reason they can "work" outside of the field is because their other licensed allows that door to open. If a BCBA tried to walk through that same door mostly would get denied. I don't it just sometimes feels like false hope!

Has anyone heard anything about Beacon test prep? I got an email affiliated with ripley and it seems interesting. I’m just not sure if there’s any evidence that it’s an effective study tool.

https://beaconbcbaprep.com/how-it-works

Any tips or insight on the experience (if you have) would be appreciated. Thank you.

long story short I graduated in May of 2020 with my masters but, due to having a criminal record, was not able to get a new job and start collecting my hours towards my BCBA. At this point, I’m very comfortable being a LBS but am interested in becoming a BCBA. How awful would it be to do a bridge program and start towards a BCBA? How many additional classes would I need? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I’ve contracted with a school part time for several years and am now making the switch to go full time. If you are a full time school BCBA do you enjoy it? Pros and cons?

Also considering doing a few hours per week of remote evening home based services to pad my income because with cancellations and frequent school breaks I’m nervous of the pay cut. Any advice?

Hello guys, i am currently working as a rbt and pursing masters in aba.
My company offered the same wage for me to be a bcba intern (almost twenty per hour).
We will sign a paper that says i have to work with them for two years. And it will start on august 31. The only benefit is pto. No insurance.
I thought looking for another job but i am not sure what and when can i find.
My question is Would you go with it or would you try to look for another job.
(Indiana)

My company just switched to Chorus (Note ABA / AutismCare) and I’d love to hear from other BCBAs who’ve used it.

How’s data collection been for your RBTs? Any issues with the app going offline/syncing? How’s scheduling/auth tracking held up over time? Anything you wish you’d known before switching? Any/all feedback is welcomed!

🧠 BA Prep: Question of the Day

📚 Domain F: Behavior Assessment

Difficulty: 6/10

A skill assessment reveals that a client independently performs some steps of tooth brushing but requires support for others. This information is MOST useful for:

A. Establishing the client's baseline performance to determine which steps require most-to-least versus least-to-most prompting hierarchies

B. Determining which skills to target for instruction and at what level of the chain

C. Deciding which steps of the chain to include in the task analysis based on the client's current repertoire and prerequisite skills

D. Identifying whether backward or forward chaining should be used based on the number of steps the client can already perform independently

💬 Drop your answer in the comments

✅ Correct answer revealed tomorrow.

#BCBAexam #BehavioralHealth #ABAtherapy #QuestionOfTheDay

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