What's a good job for someone with ABA and admin experience?
March 12, 2013 3:01 PM Subscribe
My girlfriend got her B.A. in Psychology, then worked for 2 years doing ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy with autistic children. After that, she worked for 6 years in the family business: her parents are doctors, and she served as the admin, doing scheduling, billing, hiring/firing, account management/finances, building management, etc. Now, she is looking for a new job (one of the parents is retiring next month), but we are having trouble coming up with her next career step. Any ideas, MetaFilter? More details inside.
I've floated the idea of other child care jobs, but she's concerned that moving up in the relevant fields requires a graduate degree, and she doesn't want to go back to school (we're just over 30 and we're thinking about marriage, so grad school would be too much time/money). She liked that she made a meaningful impact in both of her previous jobs, particularly the ABA because she was working directly with a population in that job. Having a full-time job with benefits, etc. is also pretty important to her. She's very caring, and also artistic/creative, and I'd love to help her find a job that makes her happy but also builds on the quality work experience that she has. We're in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I've floated the idea of other child care jobs, but she's concerned that moving up in the relevant fields requires a graduate degree, and she doesn't want to go back to school (we're just over 30 and we're thinking about marriage, so grad school would be too much time/money). She liked that she made a meaningful impact in both of her previous jobs, particularly the ABA because she was working directly with a population in that job. Having a full-time job with benefits, etc. is also pretty important to her. She's very caring, and also artistic/creative, and I'd love to help her find a job that makes her happy but also builds on the quality work experience that she has. We're in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I've floated the idea of other child care jobs, but she's concerned that moving up in the relevant fields requires a graduate degree, and she doesn't want to go back to school (we're just over 30 and we're thinking about marriage, so grad school would be too much time/money).
I totally disagree with this. She should become a school psychologist. She would be great at it. Well worth the three years.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 3:34 PM on March 12, 2013
I totally disagree with this. She should become a school psychologist. She would be great at it. Well worth the three years.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 3:34 PM on March 12, 2013
A masters in ABA/autism therapy and then she can become a case manager for spectrum kids. There's a huge demand for case managers/program managers!
posted by ramix at 3:41 PM on March 12, 2013
posted by ramix at 3:41 PM on March 12, 2013
She could be in a good position to be a research coordinator, particularly for a pediatric study, where her experience working with kids and her organizational skills could give her a leg up over your average psych-major going for the same job without that experience. When I was hiring for a child autism study, I would have been absolutely thrilled to get someone with that combination of experience.
She could get one of these positions without further schooling - but quite likely the job would be with a university or hospital that might also provide some tuition benefits, if she wants to use that opportunity to work toward additional schooling for something like a psychologist or case manager position, or a more senior research study management position.
If she finds she likes being involved in research, in the longer term she might want to look into research administration (which would tend to involve dealing with research compliance, grant administration, etc. for a department or a university, rather than a specific research study.) My career path has been not unlike hers and has moved in that direction. You can do what I do by going back to school if you want, and I may get a certification or two at some point, but you can also come up through the ranks with 'equivalent experience' via research study coordinator positions.
posted by Stacey at 4:18 PM on March 12, 2013 [3 favorites]
She could get one of these positions without further schooling - but quite likely the job would be with a university or hospital that might also provide some tuition benefits, if she wants to use that opportunity to work toward additional schooling for something like a psychologist or case manager position, or a more senior research study management position.
If she finds she likes being involved in research, in the longer term she might want to look into research administration (which would tend to involve dealing with research compliance, grant administration, etc. for a department or a university, rather than a specific research study.) My career path has been not unlike hers and has moved in that direction. You can do what I do by going back to school if you want, and I may get a certification or two at some point, but you can also come up through the ranks with 'equivalent experience' via research study coordinator positions.
posted by Stacey at 4:18 PM on March 12, 2013 [3 favorites]
Maybe she would be a great business manager for a nonprofit organization that serves children with autism using applied behavior analytic interventions? Where I live (NJ) and I would guess Bay Area as well (given the amount of ABA out there), there are a bunch of organizations like these that could be a great fit! Organizations like this tend to have a lot of people ready to work with kids/clients but could really benefit from good admin that understands their needs and the services the org provides. Our PR/communications coordinator and our business manager both worked as trainers/supervisors in our organization (small, private, nonprofit school for kids with autism) prior to their current positions and I think their previous clinical experience serves them and the organization very well now. Especially for smaller or newer organizations, having a dedicated person to address tasks like building management, scheduling, front desk/general admin, business management is a godsend - otherwise it falls to management-level clinical staff who have a ton of stuff on their plates.
Best of luck to her!
posted by shortskirtlongjacket at 9:27 PM on March 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best of luck to her!
posted by shortskirtlongjacket at 9:27 PM on March 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
There is a shortage of special education teachers, and with her background she might not even need a masters to get provisional certification. If you're planning on having children yourselves a parent who has the same schedule as his or kids can make life a lot easier. Here is a link for programs in California.
I know in some states you can specialize in teaching children with autism.
posted by mareli at 6:22 AM on March 13, 2013
I know in some states you can specialize in teaching children with autism.
posted by mareli at 6:22 AM on March 13, 2013
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posted by Ideefixe at 3:03 PM on March 12, 2013