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The differences between school bus drivers and bus monitors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a school bus driver has an average salary of $37,607, which is higher than the $26,958 average annual salary of a bus monitor.
The top three skills for a school bus driver include vehicle inspections, customer service and safety rules. The most important skills for a bus monitor are customer service, behavior problems, and kids.
| School Bus Driver | Bus Monitor | |
| Yearly salary | $37,607 | $26,958 |
| Hourly rate | $18.08 | $12.96 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 112,230 | 11,422 |
| Job satisfaction | 1.5 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | High School Diploma, 47% |
| Average age | 58 | 58 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A school bus driver is responsible for students' safe transportation during school days or any related events. Aside from ensuring that the students get to their destination on time, a school bus driver must ensure to abide by the traffic laws and regulations at all times and follow particular routes for picking-up and dropping off students. Furthermore, a school bus driver must ensure students' safety at all times by conducting daily bus maintenance and maintaining order inside the vehicle.
A bus monitor is responsible for supervising students on school buses and coordinating with bus drivers, ensuring a safe transport service for everyone. They are in charge of monitoring the students' behavior, assisting the students with mobility issues, maintaining order, and enforcing the safety rules and policies. During a school or field trip, they also handle attendance sheets and execute roll calls to ensure no one is left behind. Moreover, there are also times when they must produce progress reports and coordinate with school administrators when addressing and resolving student conflicts.
School bus drivers and bus monitors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| School Bus Driver | Bus Monitor | |
| Average salary | $37,607 | $26,958 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $46,000 | Between $21,000 And $33,000 |
| Highest paying City | Springfield, MA | Soledad, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Washington |
| Best paying company | Epic Systems | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Education | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a school bus driver and a bus monitor in terms of educational background:
| School Bus Driver | Bus Monitor | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | High School Diploma, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between school bus drivers' and bus monitors' demographics:
| School Bus Driver | Bus Monitor | |
| Average age | 58 | 58 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.7% Female, 55.3% | Male, 18.8% Female, 81.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 2.6% White, 69.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 2.5% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |