How to become a school bus monitor
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.
Steps to get there
Most employers expect usually requires a high school diploma or ged, though some occupations may not..Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
What school bus monitors do
- Direct students boarding and exiting the school bus.
- Prevent or defuse altercations between students.
- Respond to students' questions, requests, or complaints.
- Guide the driver when the bus is moving in reverse gear.
- Talk to children's parents or guardians about problematic behaviors, emotional or developmental problems, or related issues.
- Buckle seatbelts or fasten wheelchair tie-down straps to secure passengers for transportation.
Skills that matter most
- Monitoring
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
Is school bus monitor a good career?
On the numbers, this job is close to the average across occupations. Median pay is 31% below the all-occupation median. Whether it fits you depends on the work itself, the schooling you are willing to do and where you want to live.
Where it pays most
- Washington $42,330
- Oregon $40,900
- Hawaii $40,250
- Vermont $39,020
- Maryland $38,750
School Bus Monitors salary by state and city
Sources: O*NET® 31.0 (CC BY 4.0, USDOL/ETA) and BLS Employment Projections 2025–35. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025.