What does a behavior analyst do?
A behavior analyst is responsible for supporting patients and students with mental and social difficulties, developing treatment plans to address their learning and/or social disabilities. Behavior analysts monitor the students' progress by evaluating their learning and providing them with comprehensive materials and resources according to a targeted curriculum. They also adjust therapy programs as needed, coordinating with other health professionals, students' families, and teachers to provide the best techniques to support their development.
Behavior analyst responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real behavior analyst resumes:
- Manage and target behaviors using the ESDM, ABA, PRT and SCERTS model.
- Conduct apply behavior analysis with children diagnose with autism spectrum disorders; collect and analyze data relate to behavioral trials.
- Obtain RBT, CPR, CPI certification.
- Go to different cases with kids that have autism and work to alter behavior.
- Coordinate the changes with fire protection and hazardous materials supervisors at various DoD installations.
- Focus primarily on functional communication and language, appropriate play skills, social skills, self-help skills, and parent training.
- Provide applied behavior analysis and behavioral health consulting for individuals diagnose with developmental delay issues, disabilities and autism spectrum disorders.
- Perform CPI restraints as necessary.
- Deploy to OIF as team lead to assess and analyze critical mission data.
- Provide SME information on U.S. Army doctrine, equipment, tactics, techniques, and procedures.
- Review VB-MAPP's to determine children's current skill levels and create goals base on the assessment.
- Initial intake of individuals seeking treatment, assessment of individuals using VB-MAPP and development of treatment plans.
- Develop, edit and conduct new equipment training for the first installation field under the CBRN IPP.
- Conduct graphing and analysis of program data to inform treatment decisions and update parent/caregivers on progress towards meeting plan goals.
- Earn 40 hour RBT training certificate; work with four clients, ages 7 -21 years; OTJ and practical training
Behavior analyst skills and personality traits
We calculated that 19% of Behavior Analysts are proficient in Autism, Applied Behavior Analysis, and BCBA. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Speaking skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Behavior Analysts that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Autism, 19%
Provided applied behavior analysis and behavioral health consulting for individuals diagnosed with developmental delay issues, disabilities and autism spectrum disorders.
- Applied Behavior Analysis, 16%
Demonstrated problem behavior reductions, and adaptive skill acquisition, for assigned individuals that were receiving applied behavior analysis services.
- BCBA, 12%
Implement individualized behavior plan and programming designed by BCBA Clinical Supervisor, utilizing ABA principles.
- ABA, 11%
Facilitated intensive in-home ABA services to children with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
- Behavior Analysis, 10%
Oversee Behavior Certified Behavior Analyst supervision hours for Master's Degree students and follow Behavior Analysis Certification Board standards.
- Developmental Disabilities, 3%
Perform Assessments to determine current functioning levels of individuals with mental retardation and developmental disabilities receiving Title XIX Waiver benefits.
Common skills that a behavior analyst uses to do their job include "autism," "applied behavior analysis," and "bcba." You can find details on the most important behavior analyst responsibilities below.
Listening skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a behavior analyst to have is listening skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "marriage and family therapists need to give their full attention to their clients to understand their problems, values, and goals." Behavior analysts often use listening skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "conducted parent training and communicated regularly with child's teachers and other therapists to ensure consistency in goal implementation. "
Speaking skills. Many behavior analyst duties rely on speaking skills. "marriage and family therapists need to be able to communicate with clients effectively," so a behavior analyst will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways behavior analyst responsibilities rely on speaking skills: "developed and implemented individualized behavior programs, provided reports within the agency and presented to the court in dependency hearings. "
Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of behavior analysts is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday behavior analyst duties, as "marriage and family therapists in private practice must keep track of payments and work with insurance companies." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "performed specific and comprehensive analyses of the budget activities, organizational policies and procedures for fire department services. "
Interpersonal skills. For certain behavior analyst responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "interpersonal skills." The day-to-day duties of a behavior analyst rely on this skill, as "marriage and family therapists work with different types of people." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what behavior analysts do: "managed maladaptive behaviors as well as teach cognitive, social, and interpersonal skills. "
The three companies that hire the most behavior analysts are:
- Soliant298 behavior analysts jobs
- Proud Moments ABA225 behavior analysts jobs
- ProCare Therapy159 behavior analysts jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable behavior analyst resume templates
Build a professional behavior analyst resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your behavior analyst resume.
Compare different behavior analysts
Behavior analyst vs. Program counselor
A Program Counselor is an essential part of a school's faculty. It's the counselor's responsibility to ensure that students are benefiting from the school's educational curriculum. This person is also tasked to help students resolve issues and problems that may hinder any educational progress. They are also part of the disciplinary team intended to instill good morals, ethics, and decency in students. The Program Counselor is one of the teacher or professor who has expertise or has a high educational degree in a particular subject or field.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between behavior analysts and program counselor. For instance, behavior analyst responsibilities require skills such as "autism," "applied behavior analysis," "bcba," and "aba." Whereas a program counselor is skilled in "community integration," "medication administration," "crisis intervention," and "substance abuse." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Program counselors earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $41,845. On the other hand, behavior analysts are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $75,181.program counselors tend to reach lower levels of education than behavior analysts. In fact, program counselors are 17.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.5% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Behavior analyst vs. Family counselor
A Family Counselor treats married couples or family members in order to help them overcome mental or emotional problems. They provide effective treatment measures to help the family members resolve their issues.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that behavior analyst responsibilities requires skills like "autism," "bcba," "aba," and "behavior analysis." But a family counselor might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "community resources," "poc," "family support," and "family therapy."
On average, family counselors earn a lower salary than behavior analysts. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, family counselors earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $40,967. Whereas behavior analysts have higher pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $75,181.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Family counselors tend to reach similar levels of education than behavior analysts. In fact, they're 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for behavior analysts in the next 3-5 years?
Lesley Casarez Ph.D.
Director, Quality Enhancement Plan Program Coordinator, M.S. Professional School Counseling Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Angelo State University
Behavior analyst vs. Community health counselor
A community health counselor typically provides health and welfare support to the disadvantaged members of a community. Their responsibilities revolve around devising strategies to reach out to community members, coordinating with schools and other institutions, and building positive relationships with the communities that they serve. They may also provide counseling sessions to individuals of all ages, conduct observations and assessments, perform interventions, and identify any signs of abuse or neglect, reporting to the authorities right away. Furthermore, they may refer families or individuals to other social services unit if necessary.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, behavior analysts are more likely to have skills like "autism," "bcba," "aba," and "behavior analysis." But a community health counselor is more likely to have skills like "behavioral health," "crisis intervention," "discharge planning," and "community resources."
Community health counselors earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $41,674. Behavior analysts earn the highest pay from the government industry, with an average salary of $75,181.Most community health counselors achieve a lower degree level compared to behavior analysts. For example, they're 10.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Behavior analyst vs. Social worker
Social workers help their clients get through problems that they may be facing. Social workers help identify individuals or groups of people, usually families, who may need assistance, generally through a set of pre-determined criteria. They then determine the best ways to help their clients by interviewing them, getting to know them, and understanding the context of their lives. They create plans that will help their clients become better, such as integrating into a new environment, assisting them in their needs, or even rescuing them from their current place. Social workers have good interpersonal skills and communication skills.
Types of behavior analyst
Updated January 8, 2025
