What a BCBA Really Does All Day (From Someone Who Had to Learn the Hard Way)
- abaunleashed
- Nov 17, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 10, 2025
Inside the Daily Life of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst BCBA
What a BCBA Really Does All Day (The Truth Behind the Job)
Because Google will tell you the tasks. I’ll tell you the parts that actually happen.
Here’s the truth nobody told me:
BCBA daily life is a loop — not a checklist.
Assess → Decide → Modify → Model → Document → Repeat.
It took me months to learn that.
Before that? Whew. Let me paint the real picture.
The Day I Realized I Had No Idea What a BCBA Actually Does
If we’re being honest… my first weeks as a BCBA were nothing but:
endless trainings
shadowing other BCBAs on Zoom
pretending I understood their screen shares
Googling things at 6am
praying nobody asked me, “So what’s your plan for today?”
Every time I asked, “Wait, what are you doing?”
Someone would say:
“Oh, I’m just monitoring goals.”
Monitoring what? Monitoring how? Monitoring why?
Chile… nothing clicked. Nothing.
But I was too embarrassed to ask again.
So I did what most new BCBAs do:
I quietly panicked and hoped nobody noticed.
And because I worked hybrid/remote, nobody was holding my hand.
There was no “clock in,” no “sit here,” no “do this next.”
Just me → my laptop → and a whole caseload depending on me.
So every morning, I would open my computer and think:
“Okay… what do I actually DO first?”
Spoiler: I didn’t know. Not for months.
My Soft Skills Carried Me Before My BCBA Skills Did
The only thing that saved me early on?
my soft skills
my people skills
my problem-solving skills
my ability to stay calm in chaos
Because the technical BCBA stuff?
Yeah… that was still loading.
I didn’t understand data trends yet.
Didn’t know how to “tighten a mastery criterion.”
Didn’t know what fidelity drift looked like.
Didn’t even know how to structure my schedule.
But I did know how to:
de-escalate behavior
soothe overwhelmed parents
ask the right questions
think through messy problems
connect with my RBTs
And honestly?
That carried me until the rest of my clinical identity caught up.
The Supervision That Showed Me (Very Quickly) What My Actual Job Was
My very first supervision ever?
The kiddo went straight into a full tantrum.
Screaming, flopping to the ground, refusing everything.
I was standing there thinking:
“Oh my God. This is my first day. I don’t even know them yet.”
But the RBT looked at me… the daycare staff peeked in…
and my body just moved.
I stepped in, de-escalated, and frog-hopped that kiddo back to the table.
We shifted tasks, ran something low-demand, and stabilized the room.
Then I explained to the RBT:
what I did
why I did it
how to try it next time
That was the first moment I thought:
“Oh… THIS is what I’m here for.”
Not perfection.
Not knowing every answer.
Not being super-clinical.
Just guiding.
Coaching.
Supporting.
Navigating chaos with clarity.
The Moment the “BCBA Daily Loop” Finally Clicked
A few months in, I had a client whose treatment plan made NO sense for where he actually was.
On paper?
We had a beautiful plan.
In real life?
He couldn’t sit longer than 3 seconds.
He hid reinforcers because he thought I’d steal them.
He couldn't tolerate waiting.
He couldn't share.
He couldn't follow 1–2 step directions consistently.
So every session felt like:
This plan is too advanced
He’s not ready for these targets
We missed all the prerequisite skills
And that’s the day it clicked:
Assess → Decide → Modify → Model → Document → Repeat
I assessed:
“Oh, we need to go back several steps.”
I decided:
“We’re scrapping this plan.”
I modified:
Rebuilt the entire skill sequence with prerequisite foundations.
I modeled:
Showed the RBT exactly how to run transitions and reinforcer rotations.
I documented:
Everything.During session.After session.Notes, observations, changes.
And suddenly…
THIS was the job.
Not guessing.
Not reacting.
Not panicking.
A loop.
A flow.
A system.
Weekly BCBA Tasks (The Real Version)
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Supervision
Real supervision is not a clipboard and “good job!”It’s:
watching for fidelity drift
real-time modeling
troubleshooting behavior
coaching tone, pacing, prompting
adjusting protocols on the fly
asking “why” before “do this”
And yes — sometimes asking your RBT:
“Okay, so why aren’t you running the plan?”
Only to hear:
“He pinches.”
“He tantrums during transitions.”
“He throws the materials.”
And then YOU have to rebuild the entire environment so your RBT feels safe and competent again.
Parent Training (Where Your Leadership Really Shows Up)
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My very first parent training?
I was terrified.
Because parents aren’t listening to ABA jargon.
They’re reading your face, your tone, your confidence, your calm.
They’re deciding:
“Do I trust you with my child’s learning?”
And I learned quickly:
Parent training isn’t about being perfect.
It’s about being human.
Clear.
Soft.
Steady.
Respectful.
I leaned on my communication skills LONG before I leaned on the Cooper book.
Monthly & Quarterly BCBA Tasks — The Parts Nobody Prepares You For
Treatment Plans
My first treatment plan took 18 hours.
The agency paid me for 10.
I was pissed.
Not exaggerating.
I didn’t know how to:
choose the right measurement type
create functional goals
identify prerequisite skills
justify hours
write data-linked rationales
But after writing 25+ plans, something shifted.
You stop drowning.
You start recognizing patterns.
You get faster.
You get clearer.
You trust yourself more.
Documentation — The Part That Can Eat You Alive (If You Let It)
SEO: BCBA documentation tasks
Here’s my honest rule:
Documentation is only 50% of the job if you let it be 50%.
The people who drown in notes are the ones writing everything at midnight.
The people who stay afloat:
write notes during session
pre-write structure before walking in
document while observing
take time-stamped notes as they go
Future-you will thank past-you for this.
The Emotional Reality of BCBA Daily Life
No one prepared me for this part:
You are the leader of the case.
Families trust you.
RBTs rely on you.
Your decisions matter.
The job is meaningful…but heavy in ways textbooks don’t explain.
BCBA burnout signs:
feeling overloaded
taking work home mentally
saying yes to everything
feeling responsible for “fixing” everything
struggling to regulate before responding
What helps:
boundaries
routines
slower decision-making
mentorship
a system that reduces mental load
And yes — following my daily loop:
Assess → Decide → Modify → Model → Document → Repeat.
When the Job Finally Felt Lighter
Around month 10 or 11, everything changed.
My schedule made sense.
I wasn’t scrambling.
I wasn’t pretending.
I wasn’t drowning in treatment plans.
I was leading.
Confident.
Calm.
Clear.
I finally felt like:
“Oh… I’m actually a BCBA now.”
Not because I knew everything.
But because I knew how to think like one.
If You’re a New BCBA Reading This…
You’re not behind.
You’re becoming.
This job gets easier.
Your systems get cleaner.
Your confidence grows.
Your nervous system chills out.
And one day, you’ll wake up and realize:
“I know what I’m doing.”
Even if you don’t know everything.
I’m cheering for you.
💚 Rae | ABA Unleashed® — human-first, jargon-last
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