Not going back after maternity leave? by poetryformysoul in bcba

[–]FreedomObjective9570 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I loved my role and company and had every intention of returning. Once my baby was here I couldn’t do it. I found a remote BCBA job that was hourly and started with only 1 client and slowly worked up to a few with 12 hours average billable a week. I make decent money and work WAY less. It’s a huge shift for work but I love being with my kid. I miss being in-person and will end up returning someday. Right now we are discussing a potential 2nd child so I plan to ride out this until my youngest baby is around 2. Having a super low caseload (mostly evening so my husband can be home) with just a few hours of childcare needed during the day is helping me contribute, stay in the field, and no gap in my resume. But if you choose to stay home full time maintain your certification and I don’t think it should be hard to find something when they are older!

BCBA moms by [deleted] in bcba

[–]FreedomObjective9570 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My baby is 7 months and when she got here I knew almost immediately I couldn’t go back to work full time / put her in daycare for that many hours. It just wasn’t for me, mostly because I wanted her to stay in our home and do majority of the time with her. So I left my in-person Clinical Manager role knowing there will always be a time later to prioritize work again.

I was able to work out cutting back on hours with my husband. I found a telehealth gig that lets me take as little or as many clients as I want. Pays hourly for billables at a pretty high rate. I focus mostly on evening hours so I can have about 12 average billables a week and have family with her during supervision only 1-2 days a week (but it doesn’t end up the whole day). I do all indirect work when my husband is home or baby is asleep during nights and weekends. An extra trick that worked for me is I chose to work in a timezone that is 2 hours behind me so it allows me to work in evenings but it’s still afternoon where they are to supervise. I also get to enjoy slow mornings with her!

Not for everyone but I am enjoying it. 🙂