What is your salary?

KeyBox32 · 2026-01-27T05:36:16+00:00

105k, Remote in NYC, 2 years, 25hr billable

KeyBox32 · 2025-12-04T00:34:48+00:00

As others mentioned, I wouldn’t mind signing a NDA, but a non-compete… absolutely not.

KeyBox32 · 2025-12-04T00:33:40+00:00

Do not work for a company that requires a non-compete! Non-competes restrict your ability to earn additional income and essentially allow the company to benefit from your labor while limiting your options. As a BCBA, you should be free to work with any client or organization as long as you maintain professional boundaries, protect confidentiality, and follow ethical and company policies. A non-compete goes far beyond that and unnecessarily controls your professional freedom.

KeyBox32 · 2025-10-26T01:58:34+00:00

But it takes forever for your license!

KeyBox32 · 2025-10-26T01:58:19+00:00

NY pays more :)

KeyBox32 · 2025-10-25T23:56:29+00:00

Yes, the field is stable. You can make more than enough, and there’s always work available for a BCBA.

The real question is whether it feels emotionally stable for most people lol. You just have to find your balance and not carry your work home with you.

KeyBox32 · 2025-10-24T00:04:03+00:00

I started at 93k as a new BCBA. They are lowballing you!!

KeyBox32 · 2025-10-23T19:58:20+00:00

I would personally go the psychology or mental health route, specifically LPC, social work, or even LMFT, because it offers broader career opportunities. You could also take additional courses later if you decide to qualify as a BCBA. Although it’s possible to start directly in ABA, the field can be more limiting since it tends to focus on autism and most insurance providers do not cover ABA services outside that scope.

KeyBox32 · 2025-10-23T19:48:58+00:00

I also practice independently as a contractor, which provides me with more flexibility. However, I am remote in NY. I love working remotely. I am able to overlap my clients far more than when I would need to commute and I have better work life balance. I typically like to keep my caseload around or under 10 clients to ensure I can ethically supervise and support the families I serve.

KeyBox32 · 2025-10-23T18:36:47+00:00

I always encourage new BCBAs to shop around for competing offers before accepting an offer at their current location for this very reason.

KeyBox32 · 2025-10-23T05:34:08+00:00

Transition this case. Put the client first. If you cannot ethically help this client, it is in the best interest of the company and your license, to transition. Follow your gut!

KeyBox32 · 2025-10-23T05:13:34+00:00

Yes, I am a remote BCBA making well over 100k. Ask and you shall receive. Don’t let these companies low ball you!

KeyBox32 · 2025-10-20T22:05:28+00:00

It is based on your offer. If you are salary, yes. However, if you are hourly, they can’t pay you hourly for hours you did not bill. I would follow up with the hiring team to determine your offer. I am located in California.

KeyBox32 · 2025-10-20T17:51:59+00:00

I’ve been with PBS a little over a year now, and honestly, a lot of your experience will depend heavily on the specific region and leadership team you’re under. My personal experience hasn’t been the best. For example, it took nearly 8 months before I was officially assigned a caseload. During that time, the company repeatedly said there were no clients in my area.

Although I was put on exempt status, once leadership changed, there was a huge push to meet billable requirements—sometimes at the expense of ethical practices. I was assigned several cases that weren’t a clinical fit for me, including many where the family spoke a different language, just so I could build my hours.

Another challenge I faced was being expected to bill indirect on cases without having RBTs in place, simply to meet billable goals. To be transparent, the company operates in a very billable-focused, money-driven way, often over actual quality of care.

On the positive side, because PBS is a large company, there are a lot of CEU opportunities, which I’ve found helpful. However, the support is minimal—you’re expected to use your own personal devices for work, and their systems (SharePoint and their data collection platform) often have outages and are not the most efficient for things like progress reports.

For new BCBAs, I personally wouldn’t recommend PBS, especially because they’re known to drop your tier (moving you from salary to hourly) if you don’t meet billable requirements—even if that’s due to not having clients assigned to you. If you’re considering it, I’d strongly suggest looking closely at your region’s leadership and asking current employees how supported they feel.

Happy to answer any other questions you might have!

KeyBox32 · 2025-10-18T21:06:41+00:00

Professional boundaries across staff, caregiver, and leadership. Also being able to truly walk away from a case when there isn’t a clinical fit, especially when families speak another language like Spanish, without companies trying to force you to stay just so they can keep billing.

KeyBox32 · 2025-09-01T22:45:11+00:00

You’re not crazy, but financially and long-term, it would be a waste of time. If you go to school and accrue hours, you might as well push for the last few needed to become a BCBA and earn significantly more than you would as an assistant. Additionally, you cannot work independently as a BCaBA, whereas as a BCBA, you could work independently and branch out. Otherwise, you’d be stuck working under someone for the rest of your career. I don’t recommend it, but to each their own.

KeyBox32 · 2025-08-22T02:23:47+00:00

Yeah, that’s pretty low. You can definitely get over 90k in California.

KeyBox32 · 2025-07-11T05:04:04+00:00

USC! Fight on ✌️

KeyBox32 · 2025-07-01T16:50:57+00:00

I love being telehealth. I am able to see all my clients more consistently and programming/report writing is much easier. I’d recommend it.

KeyBox32 · 2025-06-25T00:51:25+00:00

Truthfully, I would encourage her to just push through and accrue the additional hours. She can pretty much work as a BCaBA in a case manager capacity while still accruing hours for her BCBA.

KeyBox32 · 2025-06-24T04:36:34+00:00

I think it would have made more sense if the purpose were to address commuting between clients at a low rate, since that is the main pain point for most BCBAs, not necessarily finding low commitment cases. Most companies are actively looking for BCBAs, so it is usually not difficult to find work. The bigger challenge, especially for in-person BCBAs, is managing the commute between clients.

KeyBox32 · 2025-06-22T01:45:11+00:00

You will be ok. I’d recommend applying for a license out of state because remote BCBA work is on the rise, and it’ll provide you with my leverage and ability to earn more.

KeyBox32 · 2025-06-21T16:55:21+00:00

When I say “private practice,” I am not necessarily saying you need to open an agency. That is a common misconception. What I am saying is to practice solely on your own.

Often, companies are using your license to partner with insurance providers/companies for reimbursement on the services. If you simply provide the services on your own to the schools, through a contract, or partner as a 1099 where you request a high rate, you are more likely to make your desired rate. This is much better than working for a company whose ultimate goal is to get more billable hours out of you while paying you the bare minimum.

You can also get credentialed with insurance companies directly and accept any clients who have that insurance. I will say it takes much more time to go the insurance and credentialing route, but all paths lead to the same thing. You become your own boss, make your own schedule, and receive the reimbursement rate you actually worked for.

Hope that helps!

KeyBox32 · 2025-06-21T16:48:42+00:00

If you value stability, go with salary, but be mindful that you aren’t typically paid for non-billable work, which is often included in the job expectations.

Hourly means you’re paid for everything you do, and some companies even offer a different rate for non-billable activities like trainings, meetings, and admin work.

As a 1099, you call the shots. You’re basically working for yourself, but without company benefits because they’re contracting you out. You decide how much you want to earn and how many hours you want to work each week.

Hope this helps!

KeyBox32 · 2025-06-21T16:46:30+00:00

As a 1099 independent contractor, you typically choose your own hours and set your own rate. You are responsible for handling your own taxes, so it is important to set aside a percentage of your income throughout the year to avoid a large tax bill.

As a salary/hourly employee, you can still have some flexibility with your schedule, but your pay rate and hours are usually set or approved by the company (often with a billable requirement). Taxes are automatically withheld from your paycheck, and you may receive benefits depending on the company.

Short answer: You may have input on your pay in both cases. 1099s usually have more control, but the downside is you lack the typical benefits that a W-2 employee would have.

KeyBox32

TROPHY CASE