I wanted to be thorough about this. My time with Gateway was valuable because it taught me how to value myself as a worker and how to manage a work environment without growth.
Compensation and Pay for R/S/BT’s
I started off in the SJ region (NorCal) with a starting pay of $22.50 then transferred to San Diego (So Cal). The most they would offer is $19.75 even though the cost of living differs by only 3%. They cut my pay by 13%. Keep in mind, the rate we are talking about is only the clinical rate pay. The pay is NOT negotiable. I have a bachelor's degree in Social Work with extensive experience working with all types of populations.
You will have 3 different pay rates
1. Clinical rate: which is your highest pay.
2. Drive time: which is the minimum wage in your state.
3. Office time: which is 75% of your clinical pay rate.
Lastly, you get paid mileage between clients, which is the state’s reimbursement rate for mileage. You do not get paid for your commute to and from your first and last session. You only get mileage for driving from one session to another. This is the same concept for drive time.
Time Commitment and Flexibility of the Work
Gateway expects that you will give your all if you want anything in return. I worked 9:30 am in La Jolla, which was 2 hours away from my house, and ended at 6:30 pm 45 minutes from my house (mostly because of traffic). You can set your radius for work, but you can’t expect to get a full-time schedule without making the sacrifice. Expect to put 10,000+ miles on your car a year if you work full-time for Gateway.
The time demand grew to be too much for many of my co-workers and was why they left. Ultimately, I left because I started grad school. Still, Gateway changed its policy requiring BT’s to work 3 days a week between peak hours of 3-7, which I couldn’t commit to. I also don’t think they have done enough to protect BTs from COVID since they allow BTs to enter homes with families who won’t wear masks. They did offer PPE, but there is no accountability for clients and little to no remote session options for RBTs.
With my promotions, I was expected to use 7 minutes of time a MONTH per BT that I mentored over. If I did go over the allotted time I was given, I would get an email from the Regional Director and Talent coordinator about using too much time. I believe in quality work, and don't feel that the time Gateway gave mentors allowed for quality work to be produced.
RBT Support
I will say that the BCBA’s are fantastic people. I felt the most support from them. BCBAs are client case supervisors who will give you feedback and support on cases. They often responded to emails in a timely manner. They would take the time to teach RBT’s how to manage challenging behaviors. I really felt supported by the BCBA’s.
There are some politics in the agency. They have promised people new positions but did not follow through on their promises. This is not an excellent way to make employees feel appreciated or retain their employment.
The rest of the company, however, I felt was out of touch with RBT’s and would often shoot down RBT’s suggestions for growth, especially when it came to financial compensation. The learning curve with this job is more challenging than advertised, so people will make mistakes, even people who have been with the company for a while. There just didn’t seem to be much mercy for that. My mentor took days or weeks to respond to my emails, which meant some things never got done or answered because of it. Gateway expects a lot of its employees and does not hire enough people to conduct all the work efficiently, but that is not uncommon in healthcare settings.
Growth and EXTREMELY Competitive Promotions
Gateway often uses “growth with the company” as their selling point. Recently, they developed ONE paid promotion to RBT’s, which was the mentor position, which included a .50 cent raise for MUCH more work. They talk about guiding RBTs in becoming BCBA’s, but that is only possible if you enroll in a 2-year master program. That isn’t practical for people who need to work full time to support themselves. The only promotions an RBT can get are Senior Behavior Technician (SBT), which is a dollar raise after one year of being an RBT, and the Mentor position, which is only a .50 cent raise also only offered to employees who have been there for one year. You also get $1 raise after passing your exam to become an RBT after being a BT. So, if you decide to work there for a long time, and got all the possible promotions that would only be $2.50 total, forever.
So, in my 2 years of working there, I received a $2.50 raise, which sounds great at first, maybe, but that was all I would ever get. I ended up making $21.25 for my clinical rate, which was STILL less than my starting pay in the San Jose region, which would have been $25, and honestly, it felt pretty insulting. I also came to the cold reality that $21.25 was simply not enough to pay my bills, so in addition to working long days, I had to pick up a second income.
I even mentioned everything I listed above in my annual feedback and asked the company to respond to me, but they never did. As someone who was a mentor, the company asked us regularly to find areas where Gateway could improve their RBT retention rate. The majority of people I knew left because they could no longer afford to support themselves with the pay. They didn’t want to become BCBAs, OR they felt the time commitment became more than they bargained for.
I felt that Gateway could see the hard work I put into providing my client’s best services. I wasn’t perfect, but I did try very hard to bring excellent services to the households I served. Gateway and my BCBA’s told me that my client’s enjoyed my company and work, but that was about the only appreciation I got. I care about this population and their families. However, I did not feel that Gateway could provide any more growth or compensation to make me stay. I do not recommend this job to anyone looking for full-time work UNLESS you want to become a BCBA. This would be an excellent summer job or college job since there isn't room for growth.
You will not grow anymore with this company as an RBT other than the potential $2.50 (best case) they offer, otherwise.
