2024: The Unexpected Year of the Behavior Analyst

2024 has been a landmark year for no shortage of reasons: it marks the Year of the Dragon, hosted a global round of major presidential elections, opened a new political chapter for Syria, and wrapped Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour. But according to fresh data from job search platform Indeed, 2024 also earns an unexpected title: the year of the behavior analyst. Between December 2023 and December 2024, the number of open behavior analyst job listings on the platform jumped a staggering 383% — a growth rate that outpaces every other role tracked by Indeed by a wide margin.

What Is a Behavior Analyst?

Behavior analysts are specialized practitioners trained in the scientific study of human behavior. Their core work focuses on observing individual behavior patterns, then adjusting surrounding environments to help people build lasting, positive behavior changes.

“We ask: what factors around us are shaping how we act?” explains Bridget Blakely, an associate clinical professor at Drexel University with specialized training in behavior analysis. “We observe and assess each person to understand what’s impacting their ability to interact with their environment, then develop targeted strategies to teach new, functional skills.”

While behavior analysts are most widely recognized for their work supporting autistic people, they practice across a huge range of settings, from private therapy clinics to in-home patient care. In K-12 schools, they help children catch up on core skills like reading and math. In hospitals, they support older adults living with dementia, or help premature infants learn basic life skills like chewing. They also work in professional sports, helping athletes refine habits to boost on-field performance, and in corporate spaces, where they design systems to improve overall workplace efficiency.

How Do You Become a Behavior Analyst?

Becoming a certified behavior analyst requires three core milestones: earning a master’s degree in a relevant field, completing 2,000 hours of supervised fieldwork, and passing a national certification exam. Blakely estimates the full process typically takes one to two years to complete, with the timeline shifting based on how many fieldwork hours a student can complete each month and the structure of their university program.

Salary ranges for the role vary by experience and location. Indeed lists the current median annual salary for a behavior analyst at $79,846. According to Adel Najdowski, professor and director of the Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis program at Pepperdine University, entry-level positions start at $15 to $25 an hour. Board-certified behavior analysts generally earn between $65,000 and $85,000 a year, while senior clinical director roles earn roughly $120,000 annually. Top regional clinical director positions can pay upwards of $150,000 a year, depending on the cost of living in the region.

“It’s incredibly rewarding work,” says Najdowski, who decided to pursue the field at 19 after watching a behavior analyst work with a nonverbal 4-year-old child. The practitioner broke speech into tiny, manageable steps, reinforcing each small win, until the child was finally able to name everyday objects. “I could see how fast he was learning, and how happy and proud he was of his progress,” Najdowski recalls. “Caregivers were in tears, they were so overjoyed.”

What’s Behind the Surge in Demand?

Both Blakely and Najdowski agree that working as a behavior analyst comes with real challenges. Clients often struggle with severe behavioral issues such as self-harm or aggression, which can be emotionally draining. For practitioners who work with clients in their homes, the job requires constant travel between appointments, with many eating lunch in their car between visits. Even so, for both experts, the rewards of the role far outweigh these hardships.