Pros
1) Good for the experience. ABC hires people with little or no experience. 2) Good training opportunities. ABC sends you to Sacramento for trainings under BCBA's. 3) Variety. ABC (Walnut Creek branch) sends consultants to work with children and adults, in school, home, and community settings.
Cons
1) Because they hire with little or no experience, ABC managers are slow to promote from within their own ranks and they cite "inexperience" regardless of how long you've been employed with them. If you're inexperienced after two years, then what is their training plan for you? These criticisms only seem to come up if you are requesting a promotion. 2) Despite the training, they don't provide enough training on behavioral assessment. ABC could brush up on their functional behavioral assessment techniques. I had a supervisor (non-BCBA) that recommended inappropriate interventions for problem behaviors. 3) The Walnut Creek branch didn't have any direct BCBA oversight when I was there... and their program managers still aren't certified. People who earn the certification are not moved into managerial roles. 4) The pay isn't competitive with other agencies. Expect to make around $60K if you're a BCBA. 5) Program managers and SBC's were inexperienced and unprofessional. Meetings that should have been held in private were taking place in public locations. Disagreements about treatment plans were automatically dismissed by program managers and senior behavior consultants (it seemed that unless it was their idea, it wasn't correct). Employee privacy is not protected... managers would speak negatively about current employees or former employees to me and others.