If you’re a qualified candidate, finding BCBA jobs is not difficult. 

The ABA industry is growing like wildfire with more families learning about and desiring services. Clinics are springing up across the country and are eager to fill their ranks with talented, hard-working BCBAs. So in some respects, landing a job might not be too much of a challenge right now.

But you don’t have to carry a caseload for long to know there is a major difference between finding a job and finding the right job.

It’s the difference between a long career and burning out in 10 months; the difference between a thriving work-life balance and feeling suffocated by your caseload; the difference between climbing the ladder to a higher position and being stuck in a place where you dread coming into work. 

No BCBA wants to sign a contract with an ABA company that doesn’t see their value. That’s why the team at PsycTalent put together this guide to finding high-quality BCBA jobs. Drawing on years of experience working with BCBAs and clinic owners, we’ve outlined a 5-step process to help you find the job you can love for years to come.

1. Know Yourself

Some readers might be surprised to hear we recommend starting not with the ABA companies, but with you. But don’t skip over this first step. 

The right BCBA job is a fit between you and a good company. If you never take the time to know yourself, you won’t be able to discover that fit.

So first, take stock of yourself.

Are you new to the field and want to ease your way in? Or have you been working as a BCBA for years and shudder at the thought of a hands-on supervisor?

What have you learned about yourself from your previous work experiences? Are you someone who wants to work collaboratively with a team? Or do you thrive with high levels of independence and autonomy? Did one management style drive you crazy but another make you feel completely supported? Were you more motivated by forming connections with kiddos? Or was potential for career advancement your driving force?

No answer to these questions is right or wrong. But your responses will guide you through your upcoming job search. Use them to identify what jobs you qualify for, but even more importantly, to discover the things you really want in a workplace.

2. Know What’s Important to You

After you’ve paused to recall your experiences, start listing out your priorities. Think of and write down all the things that are most important to you in a BCBA job. Doing this now helps you find a job that meets your needs and avoid compromising your desires to meet an available position.

Some priorities might be unique to you, but here’s a list of ideas to spur your thinking:

• Career growth
• Pay (the typical starting salary is between $65,000 – $80,000 annually)
• Working with a certain population
• Work pace
• Values alignment
• Case load (a normal caseload for a BCBA with a couple of years’ experience is about 6-10 children)
• Location

Rank these characteristics and you’ll have a working description of the job you’re looking for.

3. Develop a Career Plan

So far, step one helped you figure out where you are and where you’ve been. Step two helped you uncover where you want to go. Now step three is to figure out how to get from here to there.

The path forward might be obvious to you. For example, if you want to end up in management, you want to find a position that offers a lighter caseload and more managerial opportunities. If you want to work with a certain population, seek out locations that serve such people.

But sometimes, the path forward might be harder to identify. Maybe your career goals seem a long way from your current position or you’re just not sure what jobs could offer that kind of experience.

This is where we encourage you to begin reaching out to your network. Find people who have met your career goals — friends or supervisors who have the job and the working environment you want. Ask them how they got there. Were there any previous positions that helped them qualify for their job? Any experiences they’ve found to be super valuable? Their answers will help you map out a path to a career you love.

4. Begin your job search

Now armed with a clear idea of what you’re looking for, you’re ready to begin your job search. Most people turn to two sources to find an open position: job boards and networking.

Job Boards

Job boards are the first place most people go to search for career opportunities. These are the sites that pop up when you type “bcba jobs” into your search engine. You’ll find hundreds of openings across LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed. 

While it may be nice to know there are so many opportunities out there, start reading through the job posts and your enthusiasm will start to wane. They all sound the same. Every job post talks about culture and quality services. But most BCBAs know from personal experience and their network of friends that not every workplace is as great as it sounds in a job posting. It’s hard to tell who is telling the truth and who is not. It’s impossible to really get to know a company that way. 

If you really want to find the right job, we don’t recommend you rely solely on job boards.

Networking

Networking is a far better approach to finding the right job. Direct connections will help you get in front of the right companies. It especially works if you want something outside of the basics — like a position that hasn’t been posted yet or if you want to get into other areas of ABA, such as operations, quality or recruiting.

Now we know “networking” gets thrown around a lot in professional spaces, so let us explain exactly what we mean here:

1. Find a small to midsize ABA company in the area where you want to work (a Google search will get you started)
2. Identify the owners and decision makers at that company (browse the company website and LinkedIn profiles)
3. Reach out to those individuals directly (send an email or LinkedIn message) 
   • Introduce yourself, explain your experience, and mention that you’re trying to connect with leaders in the field
   • Ask if they’d be willing to meet up for a conversation
4. If they say yes, put your best foot forward and pitch them
   • Explain the exact type of job you’re looking for and why you’d be a good fit
   • Explain what you’re looking for in a workplace
   • Ask if they have any opportunities that fit your search or know someone who might

This approach may sound a little forward, but that’s by design. By sitting down with the decision maker you’ll be able to guide the conversation and explain exactly what you want out of a BCBA job. Employers in our industry are frequently hiring and if a great candidate walks right up to them, they might be eager to extend an offer. 

Even if the company doesn’t have any current job postings, your chances are still good. If you’re meeting with the clinic owner or decision maker, they may be able to speed up their hiring process (say hire now for a position they were thinking about filling six months from now) or they may even create a position for you. For a BCBA, this is the ideal situation. You’ll have a company you’re interested in who offers a position that fits with your working style and career goals. 

This might not happen on your first try, but if you reach out to a handful of companies, it’s likely that someone will find or have a position for you. Owners will see a motivated, qualified candidate and will gladly think of ways you can join their team.

5. Interviewing a Company

If you follow the first four steps in your BCBA job search, it’ll soon be time to schedule an interview. This is an important step, even if a position has been created for you as in the scenario we explored above.

A job interview is a chance for a company to get to know you, but it is also an opportunity for you to get to know them. So even if you have found a company you’re interested in, take this as an opportunity to interview them.

This is where you want to evaluate culture and workplace dynamics. Ask questions you haven’t been able to explore yet:

• How many hours will I be expected to work a week?
• Will I have to work weekends?
• How does your company encourage collaborations with other BCBAs?
• What is the person I’ll be reporting to like?
• How would you define success in this role?
• What does your company do to reward excellence in this position?

Be sure to listen and note the responses you get to these questions. Even if a company has sounded great on paper so far, this conversation will tell you a lot about what it is like to actually work there. 

Say Yes to a BCBA Job You Love

If you follow every step we’ve outlined in this article, you’ll be able to accept a job offer with confidence. You’ll know a position fits with your career goals and matches the lifestyle you want. 

And if a company doesn’t line up with what you’re looking for, don’t settle for it. It’s worth it to take a little time and work through this process to find an ABA company that you really love, not just a job that pays the bills. Even if you’ve had bad experiences in the past, trust us, great ABA companies are out there.

At PsycTalent we work with incredible companies every single day. And each one of them is looking for talented people like you. Great BCBA jobs are out there. If you want proof, just browse the job openings on our website.

And if you need help figuring out exactly what you want out of your next job, schedule a call with one of our career guides. We’d love to help walk you through the process and find a job that gets you excited to jump out of bed in the morning.