Pros
The families and individuals are so awesome! It is so rewarding to see the progress an daily interactions. The relationships that are created are great! Being part of making a difference is also rewarding and I feel so grateful to have been a part of those interactions with the families I served. Good pay for someone starting out in the field. Good career opportunities if thats all you care about not your own values.
Cons
Driving, driving, driving. Thats all I felt like I did. Some clients are so far away. Each one is worth it though! The milage tracking is the worst. I don't understand why there isn't an app to deal with this hassle. On top of it being annoying, if you do not keep track of these documents you might not get paid accordingly. Luckily I did screenshots of all my entries and in this way after many emails I got my money. The flexibility that is announced in the job posting is semi true. You get to pick and choose what days to work but after you commit to these times and days you are stuck for a whole month. Which does not seem like a huge deal but if something unexpected comes up there is no sympathy from management. This seems unfair to me as we cannot predict our availability sometimes and as it is expected that the company is flexible as they state this is not true. It also takes management a really long time to reply to concerns (2 weeks for me). Supervisors are usually great at getting back but managers and scheduling take days if it is not convenient for them unless it is brought to their attention that there is a lack of communication issue. Behavior Specialists are usually part time which works great if there is another part time job the hours can be easily accommodated. Since it is a part time position not only do they not get paid for holidays but are also expected to work if the family asks. That did not work for me because getting the paperwork signed off is difficult if there is no make up session plan. Which makes sense to be fair but the make up sessions is when they really get on your case and usually leave it up to you to discuss with the families of when the make up should be. But if you wish to change your schedule even if the family is okay with it, they make it a huge deal and say that they need to arrange those changes which does not make sense. Most of the problems I had and have mentioned could be solved with better training. Knowing policies beforehand really makes a difference because if you are not aware of something then you should not be held accountable. Training is 3 days and is hardly enough time to get to know the expectations. Working there is learning as you go which is great but there is no support. Again a training issue is using a tablet they give you to track data. Someone coming from an child development field and not a psychology background makes it difficult to know the terms used. What makes it more difficult is that it is hard to get proper training for it and some supervisors even seemed annoyed. It is frowned upon to question authority which does not create a comfortable team environment.
