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

What is a motor coach operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a motor coach operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.43 an hour? That's $38,328 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 32,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreMotor Coach OperatorUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $38,328

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.0

Growth Rate 5%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.15%

Asian 4.90%

Black or African American 25.13%

Hispanic or Latino 17.04%

Unknown 4.12%

White 47.66%

Gender

female 28.62%

male 71.38%

Age - 56

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 - 56

Stress Level

8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.8

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.6

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a motor coach operator

Explore motor coach operator education requirements

Most common motor coach operator degrees

High School Diploma

28.7 %

Bachelor's

28.4 %

Associate

21.0 %

Start to develop specific motor coach operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Transport Passengers	36.81%
Safety Regulations	12.77%
Customer Service	10.91%
DOT	10.29%
CDL	7.78%

Complete relevant motor coach operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New motor coach operators 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 motor coach operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real motor coach operator resumes.

Research motor coach operator duties and responsibilities

Edit and revise CDL training manual for content and grammar.
Receive a certificate of completion with CDL license in driving passenger buses.
Perform a complete visual safety check of each bus driven on a daily basis, completing daily pre and post-trip checklists.
Used personal extensive knowledge of local area to develop the most efficient routes for MTA runs.

Prepare your motor coach operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your motor coach operator 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 motor coach operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Motor Coach Operator Resume templates

Build a professional Motor Coach Operator 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 Motor Coach Operator resume.