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

What is a behavioral sciences instructor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

David McMahan Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a behavioral sciences instructor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.8 an hour? That's $45,346 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 159,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a behavioral sciences instructor?

David McMahan Ph.D.

Charles A. Dana Professor of Religious Studies, Franklin and Marshall College

Keep open to possibilities beyond the narrow range of what your diploma lists as your major or minor. Whatever job you get trained for today, in 10-20 years, it may be very different. Or it may not exist. Focus on obtaining and maintaining flexibility, critical thinking, creativity, and passion for learning. Being an interesting person is as vital as any credential.

ScoreBehavioral Sciences InstructorUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $45,346

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.4

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 11.22%

Black or African American 7.30%

Hispanic or Latino 10.39%

Unknown 4.96%

White 65.86%

Gender

female 71.57%

male 28.43%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a behavioral sciences instructor

Explore behavioral sciences instructor education requirements

Most common behavioral sciences instructor degrees

Bachelor's

69.9 %

Master's

13.0 %

Associate

8.3 %

Start to develop specific behavioral sciences instructor skills

Skills	Percentages
Autism	19.64%
ABA	17.35%
Applied Behavior Analysis	6.72%
Developmental Disabilities	5.71%
Independent Living	3.56%

Complete relevant behavioral sciences instructor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New behavioral sciences instructors 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 sciences instructor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real behavioral sciences instructor resumes.

Research behavioral sciences instructor duties and responsibilities

Provide behavioral services for children and adults with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities base on individual needs.
Counsele client and parents on how to improve self-help skills.
Work closely with children and parents to provide instruction base on ABA programs.
Assess, plan, revise and implement IEP's for students with emotional/behavioral disorders.

Prepare your behavioral sciences instructor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your behavioral sciences instructor 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 sciences instructor 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 sciences instructor resume templates

Build a professional behavioral sciences instructor 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 sciences instructor resume.