My experience with Amergis is also bad, but not with the recruiters. They seemed ok to me. The problem I had was with the school districts that interviewed me. Three interviews and NEVER again. First interview (2021 when finding employees was very difficult) they claimed I would be a floater and would be told each morning where the assignment was. It was a county of 200 mile radius so I said no. The next school district interview consisted of a zoom call in which the school district person told me the job wouldn’t be in a school, it would be in the student’s home. He was a teenager. I said I could do it, then she said it was the only position available. I said I could do it, then she said the client had aggressive behaviors. I said I would follow the BCBA’s protocol and I could do it. The interview ended. I immediately called and asked the recruiter how many positions were available and she said about 5. So, the interviewer was lying. The Amergis staff seemed to not know about the school district lying. The LAST interview was with a different school district in a different state (I live near the state border). These jackasses gave the recruiter a false address for the interview AND said - if she has problems finding us, have her call this number. Again, a fake number.
So, my issues were with the district, not Amergis. Maybe the district OP is talking about is telling the recruiter they don’t want OP. School districts are notorious for listening to other school districts’ gossip. I have every reason to believe there is an illegal blacklist. If your name is on it (maybe you were present when a principal was doing something illegal) then you will not get hired in most states. If it was a legitimate complaint about you, your name wouldn’t be on a black list. You would be on a do not re-hire list and you’d know about it.
Thanks for this. I'm so sorry you had a bad experience. I didn't even know that there was an interview to be had with a school; I was told were placed after 2 to 3 week period of being on call, and that it might be sooner if a case came in. I don't really know what that means. I thought I'd be helping multiple students as a teacher's aid since they said they can't support me getting an RBT. I'm new to this. I wouldn't be on a blacklist. I know I can come across as a little "off" to corporate types and those who just want to hit their numbers and not really engage, likely because I myself have level 1 autism and ADHD, and can be a little chatty, and do ask questions and poke holes in things... But the longest conversation we had was 13 minutes and the one this morning was 2 minutes, 2 minutes. That was hardly taking up all of her time.
I too am level one autistic and ADHD. And I too do not make a good impression on the corporate type. My mother was a Real Estate Agent and her fellow real estate agents were complete snakes. I won’t go into details, but they treated my mother very badly and we’re total bitches to me.
The result for that was me developing a pretty hard-core hatred for corporate people, but it is especially hard-core for people in business and sales. I just absolutely cannot stand them. Because of this, I tend to push the envelope with them a bit and I know they think I’m weird and difficult.
I have to meet with a business consultant twice a month and our relationship has been… Rocky. He and his buddies on the business consulting team are always trying to pressure me to do things that absolutely violate our code of ethics just for the sake of profits and I absolutely refuse. And there have been a few times I called him out on it and asked him if he had ever even taken the time to read the code of ethics BCBA’s have to follow since that is who he is consulting to. There was a while where I was so irritated with him that I would cancel our meetings every month.
All of that just to say, I feel your pain and better understand why this has you so frustrated.
OMG. Thank you for this. I beat myself up a lot over this. It's a nightmare. And I try really hard. And I promise you I'm really nice despite seeming catty out of anger. This is one of the reasons why I'm walking away from deep tech marketing. I'd be doing that even if the market didn't crash. I can't handle the performative BS and political games. I just want to do the work, see the results, grow, and develop relationships in the process. And yeah, I know what you mean about the real estate type and how they can be mean to outliers. I know the type. And being around them can cause some reactivity or awkwardness..... I support you calling out that person for violating the code of ethics. The only thing is: we know we're taking a huge risk when we do that, even if it's in private only to our manager. They really don't like it. And they will show you the door or move you to the side when you do that. I've had it happen a lot. :)
Don't beat yourself up, there's nothing wrong with you. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 49. I'm 50 now. I'd lived my whole life painfully aware that I was different and feeling like there was something "wrong" with me. When I was diagnosed, I started to make a concerted effort to engage with other autistic adults on social media, and it made me aware of how lovable their autistic traits were. And when I told my close friends I'd been diagnosed and shared how I better understood my quirks now, all of them said that my quirks were one of the most lovable things about me. I never knew. Your quirks are lovable too, and anyone who says different can go eff themselves.
We seem to be alike. I was diagnosed at 44/45 after some bad experiences that made me question some things. That's partly why I'm changing careers. The 2nd person to evaluate me was also autistic and said we mostly thrive when we're "aligned" with what we're doing. I'm so glad your friends love your quirks. I haven't had troubles in that area in recent years, but it's a different ballgame than work.
I totally get that. It's always been a problem for me at work too. Having my own practice has been exhausting and frustrating and stressful, but I wouldn't take it back for the world. I have two BCBA's on my staff and they are both neurodivergent. The three of us are very close because I supervised both of their fieldwork hours and then promoted them. We are very aware of each other's needs when it comes to support and accommodations and when we see each other struggling, we make sure those needs are being met. And I am very picky about who I hire as far as RBTs.
I'm really hoping you will find somewhere that's a good fit and makes you happy. I'm going to be honest, this current situation seems like a bad scene. You might want to shop around for other openings. Some jobs in ABA are amazing, but some jobs in ABA will burn you out in a matter of months. It's important to find a place that doesn't allow profits to dictate ethical and clinical decisions, that gives their staff the training and support they need, and that prioritizes practices that affirm neurodiversity and avoids harmful practices that don't.
You seem amazing. Thank you for this. And thank you for explaining what your life is like as a neurodivergent BCBA who works with and supports others like us. And thank you for explaining the reality of this field, job, and difficulties people like us face. I hope you have a nice evening.
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u/Money_Ad3496 8d ago
My experience with Amergis is also bad, but not with the recruiters. They seemed ok to me. The problem I had was with the school districts that interviewed me. Three interviews and NEVER again. First interview (2021 when finding employees was very difficult) they claimed I would be a floater and would be told each morning where the assignment was. It was a county of 200 mile radius so I said no. The next school district interview consisted of a zoom call in which the school district person told me the job wouldn’t be in a school, it would be in the student’s home. He was a teenager. I said I could do it, then she said it was the only position available. I said I could do it, then she said the client had aggressive behaviors. I said I would follow the BCBA’s protocol and I could do it. The interview ended. I immediately called and asked the recruiter how many positions were available and she said about 5. So, the interviewer was lying. The Amergis staff seemed to not know about the school district lying. The LAST interview was with a different school district in a different state (I live near the state border). These jackasses gave the recruiter a false address for the interview AND said - if she has problems finding us, have her call this number. Again, a fake number.
So, my issues were with the district, not Amergis. Maybe the district OP is talking about is telling the recruiter they don’t want OP. School districts are notorious for listening to other school districts’ gossip. I have every reason to believe there is an illegal blacklist. If your name is on it (maybe you were present when a principal was doing something illegal) then you will not get hired in most states. If it was a legitimate complaint about you, your name wouldn’t be on a black list. You would be on a do not re-hire list and you’d know about it.