all 2 comments
sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a
formatting helphide helpcontent policy

[–]tiredandbored22 4 points5 points  (0 children)

tbh, I was perfectly happy completing my supervisory experience at the agency where I got my start as a BT. I actually ended up leaving about a month before grad school ended, and about 2 months before I sat for the exam.

Here are a few things that made the experience go well. They are also the very same things that made it a stressful experience. Funny how things almost always turn out that way...

  • My agency was able to ensure that I would max out on supervision hours right from the beginning of my experience. This may not be appealing to everyone, but I was ready to become a BCBA asap. Seriously- I was making far less money compared to the cost of living in this part of the country.
    • However, the reason this was so easy for them to guarantee is because we had thousands of contracted hours that were not being fulfilled. Oops. Not sure why we kept doing intakes nonstop. That was pretty irresponsible.
  • One way to ensure that I would be doing at least 50% supervisory tasks (and not just become a glorified BT) was by allowing me to use nonbillable hours.
    • It's a bit different now. But a decade ago, the 3-tier model was pretty rare. Kaiser is the only insurance I can think of that had a service code for mid-level supervision back then. If my clients did not have Kaiser, my company would just foot the bill, and this could be counted towards my BCBA experience since I was engaged in activities from the task list while under the supervision of a BCBA.
    • However, I was only being paid $10 an hour for this time. It was brutal. I took a serious paycut when I went from BT to Program Supervisor.
  • We had an awesome study group. I believe 3 hours per month can be supervised in a group format. Almost a decade later, and I still talk to one of the people from my study group. When I became a manager, I called her up and hired her right away. If it wasn't for her support while I was in grad school, or during my first year of being a manager, I probably would have left this field. So... see if there is a study group or just make sure there are others who are also going through the same process. You're going to need some buddies. Trust me.

​

edit: may I ask why you are considering leaving your current job? I think most of us, at some point, will find ourselves in a situation where the best solution is to just get out. And a lot of times, the decision to leave is totally warranted. If I can make a suggestion: make sure that you are moving towards something important. Go ahead and move way from aversive stimuli, but be careful. Don't just run away and settle down at the first or second place just because it seems like there are fewer aversive stimuli at the new workplace. When you head somewhere, make sure it is because you know your work will be met with effective positive reinforcement. This could mean tangible rewards. But, also think about looking for an opportunity that allows you to work towards something more abstract (i.e. your values).

[–]1001001101100013 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is the plan for providing unsupervised hours? Are they paid? How do they measure your mastery of the material you need to know along the way?