How To Become An Applied Behavior Science Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an applied behavior science specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an applied behavior science specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.33 an hour? That's $40,212 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 14% and produce 26,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreApplied Behavior Science SpecialistUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $40,212

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 14%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.20%

Asian 3.34%

Black or African American 6.18%

Hispanic or Latino 10.44%

Unknown 3.44%

White 76.39%

Gender

female 76.60%

male 23.40%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an applied behavior science specialist

Explore applied behavior science specialist education requirements

Most common applied behavior science specialist degrees

Master's

51.0 %

Bachelor's

38.8 %

Doctorate

4.1 %

Start to develop specific applied behavior science specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Adaptive	30.14%
Developmental Disabilities	24.55%
Data Collection	21.29%
Psychological Evaluations	9.08%
Intellectual Disabilities	7.85%

Complete relevant applied behavior science specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New applied behavior science specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an applied behavior science specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real applied behavior science specialist resumes.

Research applied behavior science specialist duties and responsibilities

Observe patients and strategically prepare and manage clinical analysis of individuals and their progress in conjunction with formulate behavior goals.
Develop and/or strengthen existing adaptive behaviors, and modify maladaptive behaviors to maximize intellectual, social and emotional development/functioning.
Facilitate positive consumer and personal relationships base on positive consumer and personal relationships base on courtesy, compassion, and respect.
Share knowledge of effective strategies in mathematics instructional delivery.

Prepare your applied behavior science specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your applied behavior science specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an applied behavior science specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable applied behavior science specialist resume templates

Build a professional applied behavior science specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your applied behavior science specialist resume.