I’m currently a BT, have been for 8 months. I’ve been considering getting my masters in ABA to become BCBA. Mostly for practical reasons the market is in need of them, the pay is great I can work remotely if I want to and it seems a bit more recession proof than a lot of jobs. I do enjoy the science of it, watching my kiddo develop skills and build independence has been incredibly rewarding, probably the best part. Working with the parents is nice cuz I lucked out and mine are very involved, I like filling out forms and checking boxes oddly enough. And finding patterns in behavior, learning what their tics are etc is very fun, almost like solving a human puzzle.
I see on here how burnt out everyone is, is it just a few loud voices or is the job genuinely that terrible? I’ve been going back and forth on it for a while and I’m wondering if I should go a different route. I’ve also considering mental health counseling but it’s seems like the market is over saturated and it feels impractical. Although I am a bit more passionate about integrative somatic practices and nervous system regulation than I am about behavior analysis. I feel intelligent enough to be able to handle the material well and make a positive impact. But I’m worried that I’ll be making a choice that I will quickly regret as I have seen so often on here. If I didnt need to make a better salary idk that id be deliberating so hard. But it’s not an easy time to be an American tbh and im curious what your thoughts are.
Positive stories welcome too! If you love it please tell me I genuinely want to know what I’m signing up for.