How To Become A Coach Driver: What It Is and Career Path

What is a coach driver and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average coach driver salary is $38,679. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an business major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a coach driver. Coach drivers with a Commercial Driver License (CDL) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 90,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCoach DriverUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $38,679

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.78%

Asian 3.44%

Black or African American 12.00%

Hispanic or Latino 17.96%

Unknown 4.57%

White 61.26%

Gender

female 30.56%

male 69.44%

Age - 49

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49

Stress level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.6

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

1.4

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a coach driver

Explore coach driver education requirements

Most common coach driver degrees

High School Diploma

29.9 %

Associate

26.6 %

Bachelor's

24.9 %

Start to develop specific coach driver skills

Skills	Percentages
CDL	29.09%
Transport Passengers	22.87%
DOT	13.89%
Customer Service	8.84%
Passenger Safety	5.41%

Complete relevant coach driver training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New coach drivers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a coach driver based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real coach driver resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed coach driver usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed coach driver in most of states. 18 states require coach drivers to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Kentucky	Specific course required	State exam required	School Bus Driver
Maryland	Specific course required	State exam required	BUS DRIVER, SCHOOL
Alaska	Specific course required	State exam required	Bus Driver, School
Idaho	-	State exam required	Commercial Drivers
Illinois	Specific course required	State exam required	COMMERCIAL DRIVER (TRUCK AND BUS OPERATOR)

Research coach driver duties and responsibilities

Wheel chair lock down and GPS training are provided at time of hire.
Transport patients who are either require wheelchair/stretcher transport from facility/home etc to their request destination.
Deliver customers to their destination/homes/doorsteps with luggage/baggage groceries

Prepare your coach driver resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your coach driver resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a coach driver resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable coach driver resume templates

Build a professional coach driver resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your coach driver resume.