What Does A Behavior Analyst Do

My name is Tara Vellella and I have worked within education for the past 12 years in various roles.

Most recently I work as a Behavior Analyst in school, clinic, and home settings as well as some remote work. We focus on working with families who have children with autism who are 2-17 years old.

My Typical Day

My typical day varies, but can be:

8-11am: Supervising a client and their 1:1 direct provider in school classroom. Talk with teacher or other specialists who are working with that client to see if there are any problems or difficulties they are having.
11-11:30am: Writing up notes and reviewing charts and goals of client
11:30-12:00pm: Drive to office/lunch
12-2:00pm: Observe and supervise a session in the clinic space during a 1:1 session. Review client progress and ensure the technician is running programs correctly.
2-2:30pm: Drive to client home
2:30-5:00pm: Supervise session in client home and parent training where we review client progress and current goals. Will have parents run some trials to see how different programs are being worked on.

Pros

Autonomy and teamwork involved working with people who want to see the child succeed. We work on teaching life skills and decreasing maladaptive behaviors. Great flexibility as to what kind of environment you like to work in. You don’t feel “stuck”! There’s a big need for this work in clinics and schools. Pay is great throughout the US and competitive.

Cons

Driving to multiple locations throughout the day can get tiring. (Some agencies have only clients in clinic so no need to drive daily) Ensuring you are on the same page as the team, it can be difficult to communicate with them consistently since you typically see them once a week or every other week. Paperwork, insurance, and assessments can get overwhelming. Again, depending on agencies, some have a department that strictly does these tasks so it isn’t all on the plate of the behavior analyst.

Advice to aspiring Behavior Analysts

My advice to someone wanting to pursue a position as a behavior analyst is to look for a position as a registered behavior technician. In this capacity, you would get the training and hands-on experience needed to become a behavior analyst. This will also help one to narrow in on the environment they like to work in, population, ages and get a variety of experience in all!

The path to becoming a behavior analyst involves 1500 supervised fieldwork hours- as a registered behavior technician, completing a master’s in applied behavior analysis (or a related education field such as teaching with some additional coursework), and passing the board certification exam.