Diversify Your Career as a Behavior Analyst

Diversify Your Career as a Behavior Analyst

While more than 80% of BCBAs work with individuals on the autism spectrum, many find themselves seeking variety, flexibility, or deeper autonomy in their careers.

1. Online Business

As a BCBA, you can use your behavior analytic foundation to create digital offerings: CEUs, courses, memberships or resources. This path enables scalable impact and offers strong autonomy.

2. Organizational Behavior Management (OBM)

OBM applies ABA principles to improve workplace systems, culture, and performance. It’s less about individual clients and more about organizational impact: performance management, behavior-based safety, leadership, and systems analysis. Behavior analysts inside of our OBM Pathways membership and OBM Practitioner program are learning the concepts and frameworks to design and implement OBM projects to improve their workplaces and expand their careers in organizational consulting.

Want to learn more? Visit obmceus.com

3. Coaching

This role involves coaching clients (parents, professionals, or anyone with the problem you solve) using behavior analysis frameworks but in a broader context. Instead of treatment, you draw on your clinical expertise to address the challenges you’re most passionate about solving. Many BCBAs successfully branch into areas like parent coaching, social skills development, health and wellness coaching, executive functioning support, and beyond, creating impactful, flexible services tailored to diverse client needs.

Try This: Specialize → Experiment → Replicate → Market

Step 1: Specialize - Define Your Niche

• Online Business: Choose a target audience (e.g., parents of developing toddlers, educators facing behavioral challenges in the classroom, professionals seeking personal development, etc).

• OBM: Select an industry (e.g., healthcare, education, corporate), and identify performance challenges you can solve.

• Coaching: Define your expertise - e.g., confidence coaching for professionals, public speaking behavior, habit formation for wellness.

Focus on your passion + transferable behavior analytic skills.

Step 2: Experiment - Test in the Real World

• Create minimal viable offerings: a free CEU or webinar, a few client sessions, or pilot training.

• Use low-stakes platforms: social media, webinars, niche communities or Facebook groups.

• Gather feedback, measure engagement, iterate.

Step 3: Replicate - Scale What Works

• Once you’ve identified a format that resonates (e.g., 1:1 coaching, group programs, corporate workshops), document your process.

• Build systems: templates, online course content, coaching frameworks, or tools for consistency and scalability.

Step 4: Market - Build Visibility & Trust

• Share success stories, case studies, or client testimonials - centrally feature on a professional website.

• Leverage content marketing and networking:

  • Write blog posts or LinkedIn articles

  • Present CEUs or workshops in relevant communities

  • Join professional OBM organizations or ABA networks

• Position yourself as an expert in your niche, spotlighting your behavior analytic roots plus the specialized direction you’ve chosen.

Why This Works

Specialize: Cut through the noise so clients know exactly who you serve

Experiment: Low-risk testing to validate your offering

Replicate: Efficient and consistent client delivery

Market: Builds credibility and draws in ideal clients

This framework is actionable from day one and designed to grow with you, whether your goal is flexibility, impact, or entrepreneurship.

Your Turn

By diversifying your career path, you can design a fulfilling, flexible, and scalable career. Whether you lean into online business, OBM, or coaching, your behavior analysis expertise gives you a distinct edge. Use the specialize → experiment → replicate → market roadmap to launch and sustain your business effectively.

At Clinical Boss, we help BCBAs, SLPs, and therapists confidently step into new opportunities - whether that’s diversifying your career, launching creative projects, or building a thriving coaching practice. We do everything from website development to hands-on training and support.