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How to hire a behavior technician

Behavior technician hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring behavior technicians in the United States:

  • The median cost to hire a behavior technician is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
  • Small businesses spend $1,105 per behavior technician on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • There are a total of 32,609 behavior technicians in the US, and there are currently 47,541 job openings in this field.
  • New York, NY, has the highest demand for behavior technicians, with 81 job openings.

How to hire a behavior technician, step by step

To hire a behavior technician, consider the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Follow these steps to hire a behavior technician:

Here's a step-by-step behavior technician hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write a behavior technician job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new behavior technician
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a behavior technician do?

The job of a behavioral technician is to offer mental health services to patients who struggle with behavior-related problems. Behavior technicians uphold the highest standard of quality of care. They are the ones who enforce learning programs like self-help, communication, and play skills. It is their duty to incorporate medical care training for parents, so caregivers or family members can support and teach skills during family activities. One must be good in written and verbal communication, can work with team members, and develop good interpersonal relationship skills to be a good technician.

Learn more about the specifics of what a behavior technician does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    Before you post your behavior technician job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a behavior technician for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    A behavior technician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, behavior technicians from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

    The following list breaks down different types of behavior technicians and their corresponding salaries.

    Type of Behavior TechnicianDescriptionHourly rate
    Behavior TechnicianPsychiatric technicians and aides care for people who have mental illness and developmental disabilities. Technicians typically provide therapeutic care and monitor their patients’ conditions... Show more$13-23
    Mental Health NurseA mental health nurse is responsible for assisting with the diagnosis and treatment plans of patients with mental health complications. Mental health nurses handle high-quality nursing care under mental health professionals' supervision within a hospital or mental health institution... Show more$29-87
    TherapistA therapist is responsible for improving the patients' health conditions by evaluating their needs and providing physical and mental support. Therapists are licensed, medical professionals who specialize in different areas to perform treatments and bring relief to patients... Show more$18-38
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Autism
    • Applied Behavior Analysis
    • Behavior Analysis
    • BCBA
    • Developmental Disabilities
    • Social Work
    • RBT
    • Kids
    • Home Health
    • Behavior Management
    • Patients
    • Behavior Analysts
    • ABA Therapy
    • CPI
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Manage and target behaviors using the ESDM, ABA, PRT and SCERTS model.
    • Teach family members and teachers different ways to achieve cooperation with child and transfer skills to ensure an efficient learning environment.
    • Have RBT credential from the BACB.
    • Work with kids with autism * run programs apply individually for each child
    • Provide ABA services to adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
    • Facilitate intensive in-home ABA services to children with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
    More behavior technician duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your behavior technician job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A behavior technician salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

    For example, the average salary for a behavior technician in Utah may be lower than in Hawaii, and an entry-level behavior technician usually earns less than a senior-level behavior technician. Additionally, a behavior technician with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

    Average behavior technician salary

    $38,026yearly

    $18.28 hourly rate

    Entry-level behavior technician salary
    $29,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 19, 2025

    Average behavior technician salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1Hawaii$54,234$26
    2California$46,546$22
    3Massachusetts$44,464$21
    4Maryland$42,536$20
    5New York$42,350$20
    6Washington$42,347$20
    7New Jersey$42,115$20
    8Illinois$41,072$20
    9Minnesota$37,623$18
    10Colorado$36,340$17
    11Arizona$36,073$17
    12Florida$36,054$17
    13North Carolina$35,770$17
    14Texas$35,517$17
    15Wisconsin$35,503$17
    16Indiana$34,882$17
    17Georgia$34,649$17
    18New Mexico$34,290$16
    19Nevada$32,676$16
    20Utah$30,940$15

    Average behavior technician salary by company

  4. Writing a behavior technician job description

    A job description for a behavior technician role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a behavior technician job description:

    Behavior technician job description example

    *To be considered, you must be willing to commute daily 20-30 mins within the area of Garden City, MI.*

    Pay rate starts at $16/hr and goes up based on relevant experience and highest level of education completed.

    Pay rate starts at $16/hr and goes up based on relevant experience and highest level of education completed

    As our Behavior Technician, you will help children with autism so they can develop the necessary skills needed to pursue their dreams. #DoWonders with us.

    Every day you will provide direct therapy to a child with autism either in a one on one or group setting utilizing prescribed teaching and natural environment training. This role is performed using a science-based practice that requires proper protocols to be implemented by creating and repeating many learning opportunities, called trials, and documenting your dedicated child's progress and responses. We will provide training so that you are equipped and empowered to help each child. This role is the first step in many career opportunities.

    Depending on the client's location, therapy will either be conducted in the child's home or at a Centria center. Generally, this role is between the hours of 3 pm and 8 pm and part time totaling 15-25 hours per week.

    To thrive , you must be reliable, have infinite patience, and maintain a positive, self-directed drive to help each child acquire new skills. Your work matters, and your direct influence and dedication will inspire each child's growth. Children can be unpredictable and potentially aggressive, so this role is not for the weak of spirit, mind, or body.

    Must haves: you need to be at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or GED, willing to obtain CPR and First Aid certification along with a TB test if you haven't had one in the last year. Additionally, we will run a preemployment background check.

    What's in it for you: In addition to the opportunity to do wonders and change the lives of children, you will receive clear feedback and have an opportunity to grow and build a clinical career with support from our world-class clinical leadership team.

    Check out our "Life as a Behavior Technician" video to learn more!

    We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, Veteran status, or disability status. This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of qualifications, skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities, or working conditions associated with the position. Centria reserves the right to amend this job description at any time, with or without written notice.

  5. Post your job

    To find the right behavior technician for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

    • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
    • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with behavior technicians they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit behavior technicians who meet your education requirements.
    • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your behavior technician job on Zippia to find and recruit behavior technician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    To successfully recruit behavior technicians, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

    Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new behavior technician

    Once you've decided on a perfect behavior technician candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

    It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

    Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new behavior technician. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
    Sign up to download full list

How much does it cost to hire a behavior technician?

Recruiting behavior technicians involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.

The median annual salary for behavior technicians is $38,026 in the US. However, the cost of behavior technician hiring can vary a lot depending on location. Additionally, hiring a behavior technician for contract work or on a per-project basis typically costs between $13 and $23 an hour.

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