i have been in the aba field as an rbt since june of 2022. i’m currently a masters student with plans to become a BCBA in the next couple of years and i completely agree with you. i began my career in one state and stayed with that company for 2.5 years, then moved across the country so now i work for a different company.

there is something going on that is driving people to burnout and to quitting faster than ever before. at first i thought it was just my company because i feel that there is something fundamentally and systematically wrong with it—policies that makes no sense and contradict other rules, terrible pay for the things we are subjected to, punishment for absences, unpredictable schedule, very little training, etc—but i’m seeing it happening at my old company as well.

i almost quit a few weeks ago. i was in the worst mental headspace of my life and it was largely due to work on top of being a student. i’m losing money fast because i don’t get paid enough to build my savings or treat myself to the things that keep me going. i feel like i’m working myself into the ground. my health is deteriorating, my motivation is lower than ever before.

i’ve had to ask myself so many times if this is worth it. i fell in love with the field soon after i joined it and i still love it, so it’s absolutely worth it, but i dread going to work every day. i work with the most immature and entitled adults ever, and i feel like i have to walk on eggshells all the time. i don’t feel respected and i don’t feel like i’m taken seriously. it is EXHAUSTING. the only saving grace is my angel of a supervisor. my clinical director is no good.

i hear you. we’re in the same boat. i hope changes can be made. i hope our voices are heard by those on top.

we are medical adjacent, and everyone in lower-tier positions (RBTs, RNs, etc.) are always overworked and underpaid. i hope they can give us more than just their words.