How to Become a BCBA Without RBT Experience (The Truth I Learned the Hard Way)

SEO Keywords: how to become a BCBA without RBT experience · BCBA fieldwork without RBT · alternative BCBA hours · non-RBT ABA jobs

Here’s the part nobody told me when I started my BCBA journey:

You do not have to become an RBT to become a BCBA.

Not for the coursework.

Not for the fieldwork hours.

Not for anything.

But I didn’t know that.

I was the only person in my world even trying to become a BCBA.

No mentor.

No roadmap.

No examples.

No one to pull me aside and say,

“Baby… you do not have to blow up your entire life to get your hours.”

So I did what a lot of students still do today:

I followed the path I thought was required.

And it cost me financially, emotionally, and as a mom.

This is the story I wish someone had told me — so you don’t repeat it.

The Moment I Assumed I Had to Become an RBT

It was about three quarters into my ABA coursework.

Everyone online was saying:

• “Get into the field.”

• “You need RBT experience.”

• “Clinics are the easiest way to get hours.”

And since I had never met another person in my city pursuing their BCBA, I believed it.

So I quit my stable mental health job — and walked straight into a clinic making significantly less.

I thought I was doing the “right” thing.

I thought this sacrifice was required.

And I thought becoming an RBT was the only doorway into the BCBA world.

I was wrong.

The Hidden Cost of Becoming an RBT Just for Fieldwork Hours

Let me be honest… the shift hit hard.

I lost:

• my flexible schedule

• my slow mornings

• the ability to pick her up

• the freedom to attend her school events

• my financial stability

• my sense of balance

I went from being present to being stretched thin.

From soft-life mornings to rushing and praying I’d make it on time.

From seeing my daughter’s plays and holiday parties to texting my mom:

“Can you go for me?”

And the guilt?

Heavy.

Daily.

Loud.

All because I thought:

“Becoming a BCBA requires becoming an RBT first.”

It doesn’t.

The Real Turning Point (When Everything Snapped Into Focus)

Nine months in, I was exhausted, confused, and stressed — and here’s the kicker:

I wasn’t collecting ANY real BCBA fieldwork hours.

Just direct care.

Just the RBT side of the job.

None of the unrestricted hours I needed.

So one night, I sat down and asked myself a question I should’ve asked way earlier:

“Could I get my fieldwork hours doing what I was already doing in mental health…if I had a BCBA supervisor?”

I researched.

I compared tasks.

I reviewed the fieldwork standards.

And the answer was a mic drop moment:

YES.

Yes, I absolutely could have.

All I needed… was a BCBA supervisor.

That realization felt like relief and frustration at the same time.

Because I didn’t have to leave a stable career.

I didn’t have to take a pay cut.

I didn’t have to lose time with my daughter.

I didn’t have to become an RBT at all.

What I Could’ve Counted as Hours (If I Had Known)

In my mental health role, I was already doing:

• de-escalation

• behavior support

• goal planning

• progress monitoring

• functional routines

• visual supports

• meetings with teachers

• self-management systems

• classroom behavior plans

All of that can count as unrestricted BCBA experience with the right supervision.

I just didn’t know.

No one told me to ask.

No one explained that fieldwork is about tasks — not titles.

Your hours come from what you do, not the job you hold.

Why Finding Hours Was So Hard (And What You Need to Know)

 SEO: BCBA fieldwork hours + how to get BCBA supervision without RBT + BCBA fieldwork tasks

I live in a mid-sized city with:

• maybe 15–20 BCBAs total

• most trapped inside clinics

• zero BCBAs in school settings

• zero BCBAs in community mental health roles

• zero BCBAs supervising in-home programs not tied to ABA agencies

So every place I applied, I hit the same wall:

“We can’t supervise you. We don’t have a BCBA.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t have the skills.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t doing meaningful work.

It wasn’t that my job didn’t translate.

The barrier wasn’t me.

The barrier was the system.

But here’s the part that saved me:

Hours Come From People — Not Jobs

After I quit the clinic, I reached back out to one of the BCBAs I met there.

She became my supervisor.

I stayed in mental health.

I used all my transferable skills.

I built my hours in a way that worked for my life — not against it.

That’s when everything changed.

If You’re a Student, Here’s What I Want You to Hear:

You can build a BCBA journey that doesn’t destroy your finances or your wellbeing.

You can stay in a job that pays well.

You can collect hours in roles you already have.

You can design a life that fits your values.

You just need the right supervisor and the right tasks.

This is where networking becomes everything.

AskQuestions → MeetPeople → BuildConnections → FindSupervision

People love talking about their experience.

People love helping students.

People love mentoring.

You’re not bothering anyone by asking.

So How Do You Become a BCBA Without Being an RBT?

SEO: do you need to be an RBT to become a BCBA

Here’s the simple version:

✔ Keep your stable job

Mental health, SPED para, school aide, social services, community support — all valid.

✔ Identify tasks that translate to unrestricted hours

Think: assessment assistance, behavior planning, parent support, data systems,

environmental modification, visual supports, oversight.

✔ Find a BCBA supervisor

Someone agency-connected or independent.

✔ Document everything

Tie tasks to the task list, just like any ABA agency would.

✔ Build your hours WITHOUT blowing up your life

No pay cuts.

No loss of benefits.

No sacrificing your kids' routines.

That’s the part nobody teaches you.

What I Would Tell My Younger Self (And Maybe You)

You don’t need to “prove your dedication” by struggling.

You don’t need to abandon a career that sustains you.

You don’t need to shrink your life to fit a system.

You are allowed to become a BCBA in a way that honors:

• your paycheck

• your child

• your nervous system

• your schedule

• your sanity

Your path does not have to look like anyone else’s.

---

If this lifted some pressure off your shoulders… good.

That’s why I share this.

I write for the students, the future BCBAs, the moms, the career-changers, the people doing this quietly in the background with no guidance.

You’re not alone on this path.

If you want help navigating fieldwork, coursework, or your first-year journey, stay connected.I’m building the resources I wish I had.

You deserve a BCBA journey that supports your life — not one that shrinks it.

💚 Rae

ABA Unleashed® — human-first, jargon-last