How To Become A Behavioral Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a behavioral assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Julie Alonzo Ph.D.

A behavioral assistant helps school-aged children and teenagers behave properly in school and interact with staff and fellow students. He/She addresses behavioral needs, supports emotional and social needs, provides academic support, and implements behavioral improvement plans. He/She deals with physical management and behavior de-escalations. Also, he/she gathers data, writes reports, and ensures health and hygiene protocols are adhered to. However, the duties of this personnel are determined by the school's policies and the individual needs of each concerned student.

The qualifications for this job vary by school and legal jurisdiction. You may be required to have a high school diploma or a degree in some areas. Also, you may be required to have relevant certifications. As a behavioral assistant, you must possess time management, problem-solving, and communication skills. Behavioral assistants earn an average salary of $36,963 per year, equivalent to $17.77 per hour. It falls between $29,000 and $45,000.

What general advice would you give to a behavioral assistant?

Dr. Julie Alonzo Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor; Director D.Ed. Program, University of Oregon

Most of the students in our Educational Leadership program at the University of Oregon are full-time educators already, and they enter our program to enhance their expertise and earn a doctorate while continuing to teach or work in school administration. For these students, graduation often provides the opportunity to take on new leadership responsibilities in their schools or districts. The advice I give to them is to remain in contact with their colleagues from the program, to remain actively engaged in learning and supporting one another, and to seek ways to support others in their schools and districts who demonstrate an interest in developing their leadership skills.

For people graduating with degrees in Educational Leadership who are just starting their careers in education, I advise taking the time to think critically about new initiatives that come their way and to seek input from experienced educators about the viability of ideas before they rush to adopt or promote them. Sometimes an idea might be appealing on paper yet be fraught with challenges in terms of implementation.

As educational leaders, it is important to be able to understand both the strengths and the limitations of the research based on which "evidence-based practices" are promoted.

ScoreBehavioral AssistantUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,681

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.9

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.13%

Asian 6.35%

Black or African American 12.20%

Hispanic or Latino 20.56%

Unknown 5.15%

White 53.60%

Gender

female 71.27%

male 28.73%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a behavioral assistant

Explore behavioral assistant education requirements

Most common behavioral assistant degrees

Bachelor's

61.5 %

Associate

14.4 %

Master's

13.8 %

Start to develop specific behavioral assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Behavioral Interventions	12.03%
Mental Health	9.99%
Patients	7.46%
Vital Signs	7.36%
Behavior Management	7.04%

Complete relevant behavioral assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New behavioral assistants 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 a behavioral assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real behavioral assistant resumes.

Research behavioral assistant duties and responsibilities

Work one-on-one with students as well as small groups as instructed by teacher to help achieve goals outline by the IEP.
Modele self-help and independent skills to assist autistic and developmentally delay children achieving their establish goals.
Develop rapport and trust of physicians and patients to assure confidence and execution of therapy plans resulting in successful patient rehabilitation.
Apply behavioral analysis (ABA) and other evidence-base methods are used to decrease challenging behaviors and teach skills.

Prepare your behavioral assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your behavioral assistant 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 a behavioral assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable behavioral assistant resume templates

Build a professional behavioral assistant 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 behavioral assistant resume.

Apply for behavioral assistant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a behavioral assistant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do behavioral assistants rate their job?

3/5

Based on 1 ratings

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Behavioral assistant reviews

3.0

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2019

Pros

I most like spending time with students in-need & working alongside creative & empathic super heroes.

Cons

I do not like the low pay, high case load, low resources, & limited support due to non-profit organization being spread too thin due to changing healthcare structures within the state.