behavioral therapist

registered behavior technician

preschool teacher

senior behavior therapist

plan manager

Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center

A typical day at work includes working with and supporting students who are receiving Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services. Tasks each day could include things like implementing interventions, taking notes, and scoring data on student's progress towards their goals. 

I have learned so much working at SARRC! The good part about working in the field of behavior analysis is it is a field of teaching, which otherwise means the learning never ends. My direct supervisor always listens to my interests and ideas, and works to capture those in opportunities to learn and grow within this field. 


The culture at SARRC is captured in all of it's values (People, Excellence, Learning, Leadership, and Innovation). I see these daily in the direct work that I do, with the team that I work with, and also with the actions of the leadership team.  

I can't really think of anything that is the "hardest" part of this job, because my direct manager does such an amazing job of helping me balance things that are hard and new with things that are fun and mastered, but the best part of my job is getting to see the clients that I work with achieve their goals!

What is the best part of working at the company?
Helping the clients and families

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Long hours (8am-6pm), low pay, benefits are subpar

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Co workers are fun to work with when you see them. Management has lost their way, they treat you like you’re their peasant.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
You’ll work 8am to 6pm. Your breaks/lunch break will be driving from one clients house/school to the other. If you’re getting your hours for your BCBA, you only get 10 unrestricted hours a week. However, drive time between clients homes is taken out of your unrestricted hours. For example if your drive time is 6 hours total that week, you’ll only get 4 unrestricted. Also, rendering sessions, entering drive time in your schedule, and everything else you will have to take out of your restricted time allotted each week. And these won’t count towards your bcba hours.  Basically, you’ll be working for free to get unrestricted hours each week.

I left my career in teaching after 7 years to branch out and find a place where I felt accepted and supported in my future. At SARRC, I found that. From working with the age group I enjoyed, to making a difference in these kids' lives each and every day, I love what I do. My direct supervisors have been nothing but supportive in whatever I decide my future looks like. It is their goal to make sure you feel supported and encouraged. There will be hard days, like every job, but the people at SARRC will always make you feel like you and your family come first because they know that when you are at your best, then you can give the best to the clients. They recognize that burn out in this field is high and do everything in their power to help you feel supported and encouraged so that you stay. As a nonprofit, their pay is competitive, but lower than most other companies that are for profit. However, it's the people that make SARRC worth working at. Supportive, encouraging, positive, and FUN people who always strive for you to be at your best too!

SARRC is an amazing place to work as far as the culture of the organization goes. I don’t believe there is another work place or clinic like it. It is full of caring, intelligent individuals who work hard to make a difference. There are great benefits and an amazing employee focus in that sense. They care about work/life balance and encourage it. However, the days can be very long in my opinion  (9-6 with a half hour break). The largest downfall is the pay. It is a nonprofit organization; however, as they begin to increase the pay they have not taken into consideration those who have been there for a certain length of time, who had a higher pay, or who have experience. For example, an employee that has been there 9 months as a Comprehensive Behavior Interventionist 1 (CI1) and has previous experience may receive the same income as new employees with no experience because the starting rate is now the same across CI1s. Advancement has also shown to be variable and unstructured.

A typical day within the Transition Academy begins with morning supervision/meetings/or preparation for the day's session. I generally take an hour before my appointments to catch up on communication via Teams and Outlook. I've come to learn how important it is to take one session at a time; I developed a bad habit of perseverating on a prior session if goals were not met. During Covid, I've recognized how necessary it is to leave a session ready for the next and how to be 100% present for each client regardless of how the previous session ended. The workplace culture is can best be summarized as United. I never come to work with concerns of whether or not I'm supported by my coworkers and supervisors and I do my best to convey the same to them. The best part of my job has to be the unique rapport I establish with my clients.

SARRC does not have care or concern for their traveling technicians. Your hours are not guaranteed, your gaps between sessions will not be filled, and you will come home drained. The best part of the job is the families you work with, but the management is severely lacking at this company. There is no support for RBTs whose clients cancel, and the substitute sessions they offer are often given without direction. They do not train you for the behaviors you will be facing when dealing with new clients, good luck having questions answered, and good luck maintaining your vehicle with the insane distances they expect you to drive daily. 

At SARRC we would take the kids to different areas around the community. For example, at  Power Works other staff and I would bring the kids to a local YMCA. There we would instruct the kids on proper fitness techniques, play group games, and teach them how to adjust to a more social environment. Each of the Community Works programs I was a part of was aimed to help the kids acclimate to different aspects of life, such as: work, socializing, and participating in new things.

The best part of working at SARRC was the interactions with the kids and the strong staff that I was able to be a part of. Everyone working there shared a common goal, and it was nice to be able to share in that.

SARRC is truly a refreshing place to work. In my past jobs, I have never come across the level of support, honesty and positivity as I've encountered working at SARRC. They are very transparent about how the company is doing during this pandemic and our plans for success always include every team member. Management is open to feedback and encourage genuine opinions that help make changes happen. The sense of community working for SARRC is incredible.The possibilities of career paths are suprisingly vast, while each position has meaningful work towards helping families learn about autism. I'm proud to work here, and you will be too.

SARRC provides a great opportunity to work with a diverse population that have an ASD diagnosis. There are many opportunities for learning within the company and professional development is fully supported within the field of interest. Direct work in this field can be stressful but SARRC provides resources that could help employees cope. Not all departments are fully considered when offering enrichment or supportive activities but the majority (%50<) is definitely considered and is able to access these resources. Many kind and lighthearted people call this company home.

Coworkers are lovely, but the leads and supervisors would rather see you fail unless you fit into their clique. Training is minimal and unless you ask to be trained, you won’t be trained, it’ll just be expected of you to know what you’re doing. If you work hard, you will 100% only be rewarded with more work to do, and not even a word about it except how you should be doing better. You will be belittled, talked badly about, and if you take it to HR, ignored. The company itself holds wonderful values and clearly cares for their workers, but something needs to be done about management before I would even consider coming back to work here.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Behavioral therapist 13 salaries reported	$22.85 per hour
Registered behavior technician 3 salaries reported	$23.00 per hour
Preschool teacher 5 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour
Senior behavior therapist 2 salaries reported	$24.00 per hour
Plan manager 4 salaries reported	$74,750 per year

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