Five Reasons to Become a Behavior Technician
Are you looking for a new career path? One with opportunities for growth, financial stability, and the chance to really make a difference in someone’s life? Then Applied Behavior Analysis might be the career for you! The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a 23% growth in this field in just the next five years. This means that now is the perfect time to “get in on the ground floor” of this exciting career path. But where to begin?
Most people enter the field of ABA as a Behavior Technician (or BT, also known as a Behavior Therapist or Behavioral Interventionist). It is surprisingly easy to get started, doesn’t require that you have done this kind of work before (because the company you choose to work for will train you), and, in many cases, doesn’t even require you to have completed your college degree.
Here are the top five reasons why you should consider a career as a Behavior Technician!
Career growth
For Behavior Technicians, there is a straight career path right into the heart of the ABA field. If a BT chooses to complete a Master’s degree, they become a Case Manager. Case Managers design and help implement behavior programs for people receiving ABA treatment, as well as supervise BTs. After (or sometimes, while) completing a Master’s, someone might take additional classes and complete supervision to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). BCBAs are the experts in the field. They design programs from top to bottom, act as managers or supervisors, mentor people who are thinking of becoming BCBAs, and frequently run their own offices or clinics.
But perhaps you want a career in ABA, but not to go all the way through the BCBA process. That’s great! It opens up a lot of doors for you. At Behavior Frontiers, many of our Staffing Specialists, Training Coordinators, and Intake Staff started as BTs and are now learning to combine their clinical knowledge with other areas. They’re receiving training on leadership, recruitment, insurance company policies, customer service, and more, all because they decided to take that first step into the ABA field.
Flexible scheduling
If you are a student, or a parent, or simply have other obligations on your time, it can be hard to find a job that is able to work around your schedule. Behavior Technicians do not have that problem! We work with clients in sessions throughout the day, and will match your availability to the client’s. Only want to work in the morning so you can be there when your kids get home from school? Not a problem, and our morning clients would love to have you. Maybe you have classes in the morning and can only work in the afternoons? That’s perfectly fine, and you’ll be right on time to work with our clients who attend school. With sessions in the morning, afternoon, and evening, working around your schedule is no problem at all.
Supervision based on mentorship
So many of us, in prior careers, have had difficult bosses. You know the ones: they bark orders, and if you ask a question, it’s seen as a challenge to their leadership. If you have had one of those bosses (or maybe have one now), a career in Applied Behavior Analysis will be a breath of fresh air. The entire ABA field is based in ongoing education: what can we learn from our clients, and what can we learn from each other? BCBAs are actively engaged in mentoring their BTs at all times. With this in mind, questions are encouraged and curiosity is valued. After all, if you don’t understand why you’re doing something, it’s not making you a better BT!
Hone skills for a future career
Behavior Technicians build a lot of skills, beyond just providing treatment. BTs learn adaptability, and how to think on their feet. They learn how to be calm under pressure. They become patient and learn how to listen, even to non-verbal cues. All of these things are incredibly important in the ABA field, and will be used consistently when providing treatment to individuals with autism. But once you have perfected these skills, do you know where else they will be useful? In every other job throughout the span of your career! It’s great if you want to pursue a career in ABA, and you have lots of options within the field (see #1). However, if you choose to leave the field to pursue other interests, these skills will continue to serve you for years to come.
The opportunity to help people every day
This is, by far, the biggest reason to pursue a career as a Behavior Technician. When was the last time you left your current job thinking, “I really made a difference today”? Well, as a BT, you will have that thought more days than not. You’ll experience victories big and small. Maybe your client said their own name for the first time. Maybe they just did better at identifying shapes or colors than they did in the last session. They were able to accomplish those things because you were there to help them. You will legitimately have the opportunity to make a child’s life, and the lives of their family, better, and you’ll have that opportunity every day. How many other careers can promise the same?
If all of this sounds like the future you want, we would love to talk to you! Behavior Frontiers is hiring for Behavior Technicians nationwide, and we have a spot waiting just for you. Take a look at our open positions, read more about the benefits and perks that we offer, and apply today! We can’t wait to help you start on the path to your new career.