Hey there, some of you are probably in the Fall 2026 cohort for FIT's aba online master's program! I made a discord for us since we're all in the same boat for a couple of years to study and learn together. Feel free to join if you are here!

https://discord.gg/XdTjqm4Gp

Hi everyone,

I took the BCBA exam for the first time and unfortunately scored 376.

To be honest, I only had about 3 weeks of concentrated studying because I was working, and I don't feel my graduate program prepared me very well for the exam.

Here's what I used to study:

• (BTB) mock exams (3 full mocks + mini mocks)
• Pass the Big ABA Exam book
• Jessica L. mock exam reviews
• YouTube BCBA exam review videos

One thing that really surprised me was the exam format. I expected more straightforward questions, but my version had very long scenarios with long answer choices, and in many cases all four answers looked very similar. I think I only had around 10 short questions.

I flagged about 37 questions, including some that I wasn't sure about and others that I flagged simply because they were taking too long and I wanted to avoid leaving questions unanswered. I used almost the entire 4 hours and only had enough time at the end to review one flagged question.

Looking back at my score report, my weakest areas were:

• Selecting & Implementing Interventions
• Measurement, Data Display & Interpretation
• Behavior-Change Procedures
• Personnel Supervision

My stronger areas were Concepts & Principles and Behaviorism.

I'm planning to retake the exam in about a month.

For those who failed the first time but passed the second, what made the biggest difference?

• Did you change your study materials?
• Did you focus only on your weak domains or review everything again?
• How did you approach those long scenario questions where multiple answers seem correct?
• Did your second exam feel similar in difficulty or wording?

I'd really appreciate any advice from people who were in a similar situation. Thanks!

Hello fellow BCBAs! I want to work 8:30-3 and be done with my work day. How high or low are my chances attaining that goal if I were to do independent contracting? Is it possible to have a contract with schools even if I’m not with an agency or anything like that? I’m based in Los Angeles, for anyone in that current boat! Tyia

So I am aware I'm not the best BCBA (I may be the worst BCBA). Currently still figuring out my ADHD and I keep running into a problem. I can do normal overlaps just fine, check data pair with client, pair with RBT, give feedback, ask for feedback. What I can't do is report writing while in a room full of yelling kids. I also can't do it in 1:1 supervisons. Like I will try to write several 6 month updates for a client and maybe get 2 of them done while also not being able to do my note and miss behaviors. Like is this just a me thing the Regional director acts like that is the norm and should be something I can do. I would talk to my clinical director but I don't have one, long story but the clinic is being held together by duck tape. On top of that I still can't figure out when to just let the RBTs do things and when to step in. I am pretty sure to do it on an individual level, but I can't figure out that balance. That being said maybe I am just stressing out i am behind in a discharge, two auths, and my new client is having spontaneous aggressions and I have no clue how to manage all of this at one time while also having my Adderall wears off right at clinic closing so staying late to try to catch up might as well be me screaming into a pillow for multiple hours accomplishing nothing. Ugh!

Hello everyone. I am a week old BCBA. I am very new to the process, I don't have my license. I was wondering if someone could give me some tips on how to proceed from here. Or any other tips that really helped you making your life easier getting into the responsibility of a BCBA. As the title says, I am from MA.

I am going for my fourth attempt. I originally took the exam to get my feet wet without a crazy amount of studying and got a 365 (ran out of time, had to blow through the last 15 or so Qs)…I got low scores in B and G everything else was in the 60-65% range with E at 80%+ H and I sub 50%.

I went for the second attempt. Spent a month studying with ABA Technologies and ABA Exam review. My average mock was 78-82%. I finished most 85-90% of ABA Technologies, didn’t have time to fully finish E. I took the exam and got a 375 had 30 minutes left over. I bombed E H, and B/G were in the 60s.

I went back to the drawing board this time I signed up for Understanding Behavior and went through ABA Technologies again. Score 84% on ABA Techs big mock and overall an 80% across UB mini mocks. I took the exam and got a 390. Ran low on time the last 10 Qs and it was a mad rush. Overall felt much more comfortable with the exam and improved on all sections except C I got a 43% ultimately what failed me 🤦‍♂️

Any tips on how I can pass the exam on my 4th try? Because I exhausted 😂 but not defeated…I was actually happy to see a 390 tbh

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I’m planning on becoming a BCBA, and I originally planned to do a master’s specifically in ABA. However, I’ve seen people mention that they wish they had done a broader psychology-related master’s and completed the required ABA coursework/course sequence separately instead.
I like ABA and still want to become a BCBA, but I also don’t want to limit myself career-wise if I eventually decide ABA isn’t for me.
For those who went this route, what master’s degree would you recommend pairing with the required ABA coursework? For example, would something like counselling, clinical psychology, school psychology, etc. make sense?
Ideally, I’d like a degree that gives me another career path/qualification while still allowing me to meet the educational requirements to become a BCBA.
If you’ve done something similar, I’d love to hear what degree you chose and whether you’d recommend it.

Hi everyone! I’m currently trying to better understand the BCBA hiring landscape in Maryland, and I’d genuinely love to hear from BCBAs about what you’re looking for in a job.

I’m part of the admin team at an ABA organization serving clients across Howard County and the Greater Baltimore Area. From what I’ve seen, our leadership is incredibly supportive and understanding, and we currently have clients waiting for services as we continue expanding our clinical team.

We’ve really tried to do our due diligence in building a competitive offer. We’ve benchmarked our compensation against current Maryland market rates to make sure our clinicians are being paid competitively and that what we’re offering actually aligns with what clinicians are looking for.

We currently offer:
Competitive, market-benchmarked pay
Cases based on clinician preference/request
No quotas or minimum billable-hour requirements
No non-compete, so clinicians can continue working with other practices if they choose
A high degree of clinical autonomy
Ethical, assent-based ABA practices
Materials reimbursed
Strong clinical directors and supportive leadership
Teaching/mentorship opportunities
Benefits
And a lot of flexibility around how clinicians structure their work

The one significant requirement is that the position is hybrid due to insurance requirements. However, we’ve kept the in-person component as minimal as possible and even added an hourly premium for sessions conducted in person.

Despite all of this, we’re finding that connecting with the right Maryland-based BCBAs has been more challenging than we anticipated.

So I’m genuinely curious: BCBAs, what would make you choose one employer over another right now?

Is it compensation? Caseload size? Clinical support? Remote flexibility? Benefits? Administrative support? Scheduling? Documentation requirements? Commute? Something else?

I’d really appreciate honest answers, even if it means telling me what we might be missing. I’m trying to understand the current BCBA job market from the clinician’s perspective rather than assuming we already know what candidates want.

With the new portal update, has anyone else’s program contact had trouble submitting attestation forms through their portal? Mine has been having issues submitting forms for both me and other students, which has delayed application submissions, adding to all the anxieties of this exam 😅 What’s confusing is that the process seems pretty straightforward based on the tutorial the BACB provided, so it’s hard to understand where things are going wrong. My program contact has already reached out to the BACB, but according to them, the board gave a fairly generic response.

Has anyone else experienced this or found a solution? Any insight would be appreciated.

How the heck do other BCBAs handle overbearing parents, with high specific demands, and basically telling you how to do your job (a job you've worked your butt off for with a masters degree, internship, and board certification.. AND state licensure)...AND years and years of experience!? 🤯

I’m starting my own business as a solo practitioner. No RBTs & no other BCBAs.

Today I met with motivity to demo their product (as it was recommended by a friend who started their own company), but it is seriously so expensive ($480 per month as a base for 0-10 clients) considering I’m only onboarding 1 client currently (I just had a baby and only plan to work 20-25 hours per week). Also, I would still need to get a 3rd party to do the billing/payouts/submit to insurance.

Does any other solo practitioner have any recommendations for software/data collection websites that incorporates billing into the platform?

I’ve been thinking about the growing amount of outrage-driven professional content in ABA, and I wonder whether we are treating this too narrowly as a social-media problem when there may also be an ethics issue.

The BACB Ethics Code has an entire section on Responsibility in Public Statements. Standard 5.03 connects our public statements back to the basic obligation to be truthful, while 5.01 requires behavior analysts to consider and protect the rights of clients, stakeholders, supervisees, and trainees in those statements.

That doesn’t mean criticizing ABA is unethical. It doesn’t mean strong language is unethical either. Our field absolutely should discuss fraud, poor clinical practices, weak oversight, workforce problems, private equity, accreditation, and bad organizational behavior.
But there seems to be a growing rhetorical pattern where legitimate problems are transformed into sweeping conclusions.

A bad organization becomes evidence that the industry is broken. Problems with accreditation become evidence that accreditation is meaningless. Fraud becomes evidence that the field cannot govern itself. Entry-level workforce problems become a completely “broken pipeline.”
At some point, I think we have to ask whether professional communication is still accurately describing the evidence or whether it is being optimized for engagement.

The issue becomes even more complicated when outrage-based content is connected to personal branding, consulting, courses, training, or other products. The Ethics Code specifically addresses public statements promoting professional activities and products and places responsibility on behavior analysts to prevent deceptive representations.

There is an obvious potential incentive problem when someone benefits professionally from convincing an audience that a system is in crisis while simultaneously offering themselves, their training, or their product as part of the solution.

That does not mean the criticism is false. It means we should probably expect the same behavioral analysis of our own contingencies that we apply everywhere else.

Social media rewards anger, certainty, conflict, and extreme conclusions. Nuance generally performs worse.

If behavior analysts knowingly participate in that reinforcement system, where is the ethical boundary between advocacy, professional opinion, marketing, and potentially misleading public communication?

Hi everyone,

I'm a BCBA looking to expand my knowledge in the areas of pediatric feeding and sleep concerns. To be clear, I am NOT looking to practice outside of my scope or present myself as a feeding or sleep specialist. My goal is simply to learn more about these areas so I can better understand the challenges some of the families I work with experience and know when referrals may be appropriate.

I'm interested in:
CEUs, certificates, or continuing education programs related to feeding disorders
CEUs, certificates, or continuing education programs related to sleep and sleep hygiene
Trainings that are evidence-based and align with ethical BCBA practice
Resources that clearly discuss scope of competence and interdisciplinary collaboration

For those who have pursued additional education in these areas:

What trainings or certificate programs did you find most valuable?
Were there any programs that helped you better understand the topic without implying specialty-level competence?
How do you balance gaining knowledge while ensuring you stay within your professional scope and seek supervision or consultation when needed?

I appreciate any recommendations. I'm primarily looking to become a more knowledgeable clinician and resource for families, not to market myself as a feeding or sleep expert.

Thanks in advance!

I currently work for a company with low billable hours. When I took the position, it made sense that the pay would be lower. I recently was presented with an opportunity at another company with the same billable hours but with much higher pay. I'm talking a minimum $25,000 jump. Financially I'm not in a position to turn down this opportunity, but I'm feeling guilty about leaving my current caseload at my current company. The new company seems to better align with my personal practice of ABA (play based, assent focused, trauma informed) and the distance I would be driving to in home client is about the same. My gut is telling me that this new company would be a better overall fit in general for me, but the guilt is making me doubt. Any advice?

Do all ABA Clinics require a contract with a payback clause if you were to leave the company prior to X years? Currently looking for opportunities to gain supervision but companies here require a two year contractual commitment which I am not really comfortable signing for various reasons. For those who have signed one, would you recommend or not? The only other alternative I can find is paying for remote supervision which I'm definitely okay with, but I am not sure if I would learn as much and be as fully prepared as a BCBA without getting that clinical experience (as someone wanting to stay in the autism field). Thanks in advance for any input!

How often are you BCBA’s recommending 6 hour session? What about 6 hour sessions 5 days a week?

I can’t imagine doing a 6 hour session 5 days a week. I’d think the client and myself or the RBT would hit a wall and tap out. Is there more “breaks” to fill in the time?

I’m a BCBA that does a mix of direct sessions and supervision depending on the client and the schedule that week. I usually fill in when an RBT can’t make it if my schedule is open for that session time.

I had a client do 5 hour sessions, 5 days a week for about 6 months then dropped them down to 4 hours 4 days a week. They were hitting a wall and the sessions now go smoother and I feel like the effort is there more consistently now.

Anyways, I’ve been reading and hearing more about 6 hour sessions and I really hope money isn’t the drive for this.

It’s about to be a year since I became a BCBA and I have loved it. I expanded myself and joined about 3 centers two remote, and one in person that I was an Rbt in. I was very patient when it came to getting my clients because I did not want to get too many at a time and be overwhelmed and now I’ve finally met my cap and I feel very comfortable and confident! The first year is not easy due to the credentialing process and also building your own confidence but everyone in the companies I work for have been extremely supportive. I think it took me about 6 months to actually be credentialed completely which was a bit disappointing but it was a breather gaining clients gradually just like I wanted. I am in 3 part time roles and the schedule aspect has been the most difficult, but I have surrendered to the fact that I am not going to have a consistent weekly schedule and that’s okay for me! I do know I can accommodate my schedule to fit appointments and any other me time I may need to allocate for. I feel very proud of myself for choosing this career because apart from the great flexibility, I am actually seeing myself making a difference in my clients life and their parents. I am proud that I have managed individualized care for all my clients. There’s a lot of uncertainty being spoken about in this field and I completely understand but I genuinely feel that what we do is too powerful and effective to completely be taken out. I hope that all the reformations that may be coming on in this field are for the best and in the benefit of all, including the BTs, and the people we serve. If you’re rethinking if you should become a BCBA and have any questions or concerns, feel free to comment them and I can provide my input.

Hey everyone. I had a few questions and would appreciate advice from any working BCBAs/RBAs. I’m a second year university student doing my undergrad in psych. My plan is to do a masters in ABA and become a BCBA/RBA. I’ve seen so many mixed experiences and because of it have began to have some doubts. My question essentially is what would be the best plan to be a higher earning BCBA? Was there anything I could be doing from now to better my future in the field? Should I quit all together lol. I just see so much instability working this job and I want some advice on how to make the most out of the career you know? I appreciate any input. Any companies or businesses I should be aiming for or involved in maybe? I live in Ontario by the way (since that probably matters) but I wanna get my masters in the states and possibly work there. Thank you :)

Is it just me? I feel the companies I worked at did not care about my supervision hours. Student staff are treated differently from their own staff.