How to hire a behavioral technician

How to hire a behavioral technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step behavioral 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 behavioral technician job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new behavioral technician
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a behavioral technician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The behavioral technician hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A behavioral technician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, behavioral 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 behavioral technicians and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Behavioral Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Behavioral Technician	Psychiatric 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	$11-21
   In Home Therapist	An in-home therapist provides case management, counseling, resource system development, support system development, and crisis intervention services for family members and children. They provide goal-oriented and structured therapy on referral issues for families that help recover from neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, or physical abuse... Show more	$19-31
   Therapist	A 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

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Autism
   • Applied Behavior Analysis
   • Behavior Analysis
   • CPR
   • Autism Spectrum Disorder
   • Patients
   • Mental Health
   • BCBA
   • ABA Therapy
   • Developmental Disabilities
   • Kids
   • Negative Behaviors
   • RBT
   • Data Collection

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the behavior of students using the CPI training skills when necessary.
   • Train in CPR and restraint techniques, as well as behavioral training to detect the precursors to behavioral issues.
   • Experience with individuals of all ages affect by autism and other behavioral, developmental or communication disorders
   • Implement behavioral support plans provide and produce by apply behavior analysts for individual consumers diagnose with autism spectrum disorder.
   • Facilitate psycho-social education groups with interventions used but not limit to motivational interviewing, mental rehabilitation and think processes.
   • Provide observation, documentation and communication of patient behavioral and verbal responses /reactions between patients and between patients and staff.

   More behavioral technician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your behavioral technician job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A behavioral 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 behavioral technician in Arkansas may be lower than in Massachusetts, and an entry-level behavioral technician usually earns less than a senior-level behavioral technician. Additionally, a behavioral 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 behavioral technician salary

   $16.00hourly

   $33,282 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level behavioral technician salary

   $24,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average behavioral technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$46,681	$22
   2	California	$39,793	$19
   3	Connecticut	$38,068	$18
   4	New York	$35,538	$17
   5	Minnesota	$34,740	$17
   6	Washington	$34,534	$17
   7	Virginia	$34,010	$16
   8	Florida	$33,066	$16
   9	Texas	$32,576	$16
   10	Iowa	$31,876	$15
   11	Georgia	$31,583	$15
   12	Wisconsin	$30,517	$15
   13	Michigan	$30,107	$14
   14	North Dakota	$30,049	$14
   15	Arizona	$29,940	$14
   16	Missouri	$29,412	$14
   17	Nebraska	$25,523	$12
   18	Utah	$25,149	$12

   Average behavioral technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Missouri State University	$51,156	$24.59
   2	West Contra Costa Unified School District	$46,625	$22.42
   3	Broward County Public Schools	$43,376	$20.85	1
   4	The Mosaic Company	$38,187	$18.36
   5	City of Muskegon	$37,283	$17.92	1
   6	Charles River Center	$37,130	$17.85
   7	University of Nebraska System	$36,796	$17.69
   8	Maxim Healthcare Group	$36,733	$17.66	115
   9	Cambridge Health Alliance	$35,588	$17.11	1
   10	Metropolitan Ministries	$35,491	$17.06
   11	Hospital for Special Care	$34,174	$16.43	2
   12	Children's Health Corporation	$33,631	$16.17	2
   13	The Bridge	$33,631	$16.17	2
   14	Community, Counseling, and Correctional Services	$33,603	$16.16
   15	Behavioral Health Inc	$33,235	$15.98	2
   16	PSI Solutions	$33,134	$15.93
   17	NaphCare	$32,781	$15.76	15
   18	Independent Living Resources	$32,656	$15.70
   19	Charles River Labs	$32,656	$15.70
   20	Pediatric Partners, now a member of the Sevita family	$32,609	$15.68	73

4. Writing a behavioral technician job description

   A good behavioral technician job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a behavioral technician job description:

   Behavioral technician job description example

   $500 Retention Bonus (6 months FT employment)

   NEW STARTING PAY $17/ $18hr

   Are you someone who exhibits and continually improves best practices relative to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) skills development? Are you looking for a rewarding career making a difference in the lives of families and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? Do you want to receive on-site training and on-going supervision from expert Board Certified Behavior Analysts on the job? Are you looking for opportunities for professional development and advancement?

   Then, this position is for you!

   The Trellis Center at KidsTLC is GROWING and looking for energetic and professional candidates to become Autism Program Facilitators. Program Facilitators are registered behavior technicians who work directly with clients and implement clinical programming under the supervision of Board Certified Behavior Analysts.

   Who are we?

   KidsTLC is a Counsel on Accreditation (COA) accredited non-for-profit organization. The Trellis Center sets the standard for high-quality applied behavior analysis (ABA) services within the Midwest region by offering an innovative model of service delivery and clinical supervision within a state-of-the-art environment. KidsTLC family of professionals is committed to making a substantial difference in the lives of the children and families we encounter. The Trellis Center primarily provides center-based services to early intervention and school-aged clients.

   Autism Program Facilitators are responsible for implementing individualized programming, collecting data, graphing client progress, and participating in Trellis Center trainings regarding individualized client programming and ASD specific instructional techniques.

   Position Requirements

   Experience:

   • Experience working with individuals with autism spectrum disorder or related developmental disabilities
   • 1+ years of experience working with children in an early childhood, educational or clinical environment

   Education:

   Bachelor's degree in special education, applied behavior analysis, psychology or a related field preferred.

   Preferred:

   • Experience with applied behavior analysis (ABA)
   • Registered Behavior Technician credential
   • Enrolled in or plans to enroll in graduate study in behavior analysis

   Position Benefits

   • KidsTLC offers comprehensive benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Short Term Disability, Life Insurance, 401K, Paid Time Off, Holiday Pay, Ongoing Training & Development, Career Advancement Opportunities
   • KidsTLC's generous paid time off benefit for Program Facilitators allows employees to request preferred dates for time off each year
   • Program Facilitators have the option of entering into contracts for supervision for maintenance of a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) or Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) credential or the pursuance of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) credential

   EEO/AA/Minorities/Females/Disabled/Veterans

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right behavioral 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 behavioral technicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit behavioral 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.

   To find behavioral technician candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit behavioral 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.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 behavioral technician

   Once you've found the behavioral technician candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new behavioral technician first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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.)

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