I'm currently registered to begin my AuD in June, but now I'm having second thoughts. I work as an RBT currently, which I love, so I'm considering becoming a BCBA instead.
The biggest difference is cost. As a BCBA I'd make around 10-15k less than an Audiologist per year, but there's some big factors. BCBA is a two year degree, so I'd be joining the workforce two years earlier. It's also a degree where you can work full time while pursuing it, vs the AuD I'd only be able to work a little bit while I'm school. And last, my AuD will leave me about 250k in debt (including undergrad), while the BCBA will only be about 90k of debt. So the debt to income ratio is wildly different. But I feel like choosing the BCBA route is completely wasting my postbacc (and the 40k that it cost).
I love working in ABA, but the stress level is also insanely high compared to audiology. But I'm unsure whether the stress is better than potentially being very bored eventually as an audiologist, as I'm not someone who does well being bored. Both jobs I'm passionate about, so it's not as easy as following my passion. I'm just passionate about them in different ways.
Does anyone have any advice about which path they would choose? There's no wrong answers, I just want some honest advice.
The biggest difference is cost. As a BCBA I'd make around 10-15k less than an Audiologist per year, but there's some big factors. BCBA is a two year degree, so I'd be joining the workforce two years earlier. It's also a degree where you can work full time while pursuing it, vs the AuD I'd only be able to work a little bit while I'm school. And last, my AuD will leave me about 250k in debt (including undergrad), while the BCBA will only be about 90k of debt. So the debt to income ratio is wildly different. But I feel like choosing the BCBA route is completely wasting my postbacc (and the 40k that it cost).
I love working in ABA, but the stress level is also insanely high compared to audiology. But I'm unsure whether the stress is better than potentially being very bored eventually as an audiologist, as I'm not someone who does well being bored. Both jobs I'm passionate about, so it's not as easy as following my passion. I'm just passionate about them in different ways.
Does anyone have any advice about which path they would choose? There's no wrong answers, I just want some honest advice.
