How Long Does It REALLY Take to Become a BCBA? My 4-Year Journey (And Why I’m Glad It Took Longer)
- abaunleashed
- 7 hours ago
- 4 min read
How long does it take to beome a BCBA?
Longer than “the plan,” better than I expected.
Four years, y’all.
Four.
Grad school was supposed to take two…But my real ABA journey? She included: detours, pauses, a few ugly cries, a couple “life said try me,” and a whole buffet of “everyone’s ahead of me” moments.
If you’re sitting in that soup right now, this is me handing you a spoon and a map.
I’m Rae — The BCBA Rae — and here’s what I learned the long way, so you can take the kinder one.
sticky sentence: Your timeline is not a verdict—it’s a variable.
Lesson 1: Burn the 2-Year Myth
(And any goal that worships a deadline.)
When I started my ABA graduate program, I had a military-grade timeline:
Finish grad school in exactly 2 years
X hours per month
Straight A’s
Perfect GPA
BCBA exam on a specific date (very delusional of me)
It was cute…until life.
Jobs shifted. Money shifted. My kid needed me. Mental health tapped me on the shoulder like:
“Hi, remember me? Get your coat. We’re leaving.”
What changed everything:
I stopped tying my worth to a timeline I couldn’t fully control.
Try this
Replace “I will finish by ___” with:“I will finish by sequencing these milestones: coursework → supervision → study window.”
Plan with ranges (e.g., 24–36 months).
Celebrate progress, not perfection.
Why it works
Flexible timelines protect your peace when the variables (workload, supervisors, caseloads, kids, life) wobble — because they will wobble.
(Also, Google: this is called behavioral self-management. We support it.)
Lesson 2: Escape the Comparison Traps
(Yes, including those chaotic Facebook groups.)
I love a good success story. But those “passed the BCBA exam in one try with five kids and a full-time job!” posts? They weren’t motivating me. They were ruining my focus.
Boundary I set (saved my brain):
I quietly muted the groups. Stopped score-chasing threads.Built my own baseline.
Do this instead
Ask targeted questions to real mentors: “What hours mix gave you the best unrestricted experience?”
Track your own data:
Weekly study hours
What stuck
What confused you
Where you need modeling
Where you need feedback
Mantra
Their win isn’t your loss.
This is your BCBA journey, not a race on Facebook.
Lesson 3: Give Yourself Grace (and then give a little more)
Let me be honest with you:
I left a higher-paying mental health job to be an RBT because I thought I had to.
I didn’t.
And the clinic schedule? Terrible for my life.
My daughter missed me.
I missed… me.
So I slid part-time.Then I left.I paused hours.I took one class at a time.I graduated later — but I was whole.
Grace in action
Downshift a term when you’re cooked. One class with presence > two classes with resentment.
Pause fieldwork if your setting can’t give you humane hours or true unrestricted opportunities. You’re not “behind”; you’re protecting quality.
The result
I finished grad school the summer I turned 30 (goal met 🙌).
Took my daughter to Puerto Rico.
Rebuilt joy before I chased the next step.
And honestly? I’d do it again.
Lesson 4: Build Self-Awareness Before Burnout Sneaks Up
I told myself “I can do it” until my body said, “Girl, no you can’t.”
I waited too long.
I almost quit everything — grad school, fieldwork, ABA itself.
Know your early signs
Dread before sessions
Foggy brain during notes
Sunday scaries on Wednesday
Snapping at little things
Skipping meals
Everything feels like a five-alarm fire
Intervene early
30-day caseload audit:
A-tasks = client impact
B-tasks = supportive
C-tasks = busywork
Renegotiate one C-task per week.
Set a hard cap:
“No new meetings after 3 p.m. on treatment days.”
And stick to it.
Script:
“I’m at capacity and protecting quality for current clients, so I can’t add this this month.”
This script saved me.
Lesson 5: If You Must Compare, Compare for Strategy — Not Status
Comparison isn’t the enemy.
Judgment is.
Do this
When you hear a success story, ask:
“What specific steps did you take? Which one could I try next month?”
Keep a process map:
Courses
Supervisor
Hours mix
Mock plan
Exam window
Don’t do this
“They did it in 18 months; I’m failing.”
“They’re behind me; I’m winning.”
Both are ego traps.We don’t have time.
The Messy Middle: What My 4 Years Actually Looked Like
Year 1–2:
Classes + an unrealistic timeline.
Tried clinic life.
Hated the windowless rooms.
Missed my kid.
Went part-time.
Year 2:
Paused hours.
Took one class per term.
Worked a mental health job I loved.
Found community.
Refilled my cup.
Year 3:
Graduated that summer (turned 30, celebrated on a beach 💅🏽).
Year 4:
Fieldwork at a humane pace.
Studied seriously.
Failed the exam once.
Passed the next.
Not because I got “smarter” —
because I became kinder to my process..
What I’d Tell Day-One Rae (and maybe you)
Make peace with ranges.24–36 months is still finishing.
Pick settings that value you. If you’re drowning or not getting real unrestricted hours, it’s data — move.
Mute the noise. Study groups are tools, not truths.
Choose dignity — yours and the client’s. If a plan “works” but breaks the person, rewrite the plan.
Celebrate tiny, boring wins. One chapter. One hour. One boundary.That’s a brick in the bridge.
And the golden rule:
✨ If the method gets results but the person (you) is breaking, it’s not a method — it’s a mistake.
Bring It Home
Your journey doesn’t have to be fast to be faithful.
The best supervisors I know didn’t sprint — they built.
They listened to themselves, not just the timeline.
And when new BCBAs or RBTs look at you one day and ask:
“How did you make it?”
You’ll have a real story — a helpful one — not a highlight reel.
You’re not behind.You’re becoming.
I’m cheering for you, loudly.
— Rae 💚 | ABA Unleashed®
Human-first. Jargon-last.
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