School Bus Monitors
Maintain order among students on a school bus. Duties include helping students safely board and exit and communicating behavioral problems. May perform pretrip and posttrip inspections and prepare for and assist in emergency evacuations.
What it pays
School Bus Monitors earn a median of $16.88/hr — about $35,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $13.52/hr; the top 10% earn $20.79/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
School Bus Monitors earn a median of $16.88/hr — about $35,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $13.52/hr; the top 10% earn $20.79/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Announce routes or stops.
- Assist children with disabilities or children with psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues with boarding and exiting the school bus.
- Buckle seatbelts or fasten wheelchair tie-down straps to secure passengers for transportation.
- Clean school bus interiors by picking up waste, wiping down windows, or vacuuming.
- Direct students boarding and exiting the school bus.
- Direct students evacuating the bus during safety drills.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
The feel of the work
Much of the work happens outdoors. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 0% of school bus monitors are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are people-focused, organized and detail-focused and hands-on.
Work a simulated shift in this job — freeMake the real decisions this job involves, then see what your choices say about you.Related careers
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- Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
- First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers
- First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers
- Detectives and Criminal Investigators
- First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives
Quick questions
- How much does a school bus monitor make?
- The median pay is $16.88 per hour — roughly $35,000 a year, with the real range running from about $13.52/hr (10th percentile) to $20.79/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a school bus monitor?
- The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
- What does a school bus monitor actually do all day?
- Announce routes or stops. Assist children with disabilities or children with psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues with boarding and exiting the school bus. Buckle seatbelts or fasten wheelchair tie-down straps to secure passengers for transportation.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.