School Bus Monitors
Also called: Bus Aide, Bus Assistant, Bus Monitor, Bus ParaeducatorMaintain 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.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 7 of its 18 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 1.9% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 0.9% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 9.0 hires for every 10 job openings in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, which employs about 47% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.9.0 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $28,210 | $24,370 to $28,820 | 130 |
| Alaska | $33,990 | $33,990 to $35,860 | 260 |
| Arizona | $34,560 | $31,300 to $36,040 | 1,570 |
| Arkansas | $28,260 | $25,150 to $34,820 | 780 |
| California | $38,360 | $36,570 to $43,450 | 1,260 |
| Colorado | $33,540 | $30,800 to $37,020 | 150 |
| Connecticut | $35,350 | $34,010 to $37,820 | 1,520 |
| Delaware | $36,560 | $35,570 to $39,900 | 280 |
| District of Columbia | $41,720 | $41,100 to $41,720 | not published |
| Florida | $34,110 | $31,490 to $36,270 | 4,080 |
| Georgia | $30,130 | $23,690 to $31,830 | 2,870 |
| Hawaii | $40,250 | $39,520 to $45,170 | 220 |
| Idaho | $32,230 | $27,570 to $34,390 | 340 |
| Illinois | $33,840 | $31,200 to $35,350 | 6,930 |
| Indiana | $33,590 | $29,910 to $36,020 | 2,020 |
| Iowa | $32,740 | $28,850 to $34,890 | 520 |
| Kansas | $29,420 | $27,790 to $33,820 | 1,240 |
| Kentucky | $28,220 | $21,310 to $30,240 | 370 |
| Louisiana | $25,250 | $19,980 to $29,750 | 1,170 |
| Maine | $38,060 | $31,460 to $43,800 | 160 |
| Maryland | $38,750 | $35,050 to $45,520 | 2,370 |
| Massachusetts | $36,020 | $35,360 to $38,470 | 2,300 |
| Michigan | $32,480 | $29,540 to $36,540 | 1,860 |
| Minnesota | $38,590 | $36,200 to $40,860 | 790 |
| Mississippi | $23,500 | $18,990 to $28,620 | 540 |
| Missouri | $34,220 | $29,550 to $36,340 | 1,530 |
| Montana | $34,740 | $32,200 to $35,730 | 200 |
| Nebraska | $34,750 | $32,800 to $42,780 | 480 |
| Nevada | $29,230 | $26,390 to $35,470 | 160 |
| New Hampshire | $37,620 | $33,750 to $41,880 | 120 |
| New Jersey | $36,100 | $33,280 to $37,410 | 6,100 |
| New Mexico | $36,250 | $31,740 to $42,330 | 330 |
| New York | $36,910 | $34,610 to $39,110 | 19,090 |
| North Carolina | $32,970 | $31,460 to $35,180 | 1,360 |
| North Dakota | $38,480 | $33,610 to $44,770 | 120 |
| Ohio | $28,110 | $26,950 to $35,520 | 1,000 |
| Oklahoma | $28,130 | $26,420 to $30,190 | 720 |
| Oregon | $40,900 | $37,300 to $46,850 | 380 |
| Pennsylvania | $35,290 | $30,830 to $38,250 | 3,180 |
| Rhode Island | $35,910 | $35,630 to $36,190 | not published |
| South Carolina | $26,240 | $18,840 to $30,720 | 1,180 |
| South Dakota | $34,380 | $32,820 to $35,000 | 140 |
| Tennessee | $27,250 | $25,330 to $35,000 | 830 |
| Texas | $29,300 | $26,180 to $32,640 | 2,610 |
| Utah | $38,020 | $36,820 to $45,900 | 470 |
| Vermont | $39,020 | $37,000 to $43,630 | 70 |
| Virginia | $36,510 | $30,240 to $42,600 | 1,920 |
| Washington | $42,330 | $37,790 to $47,480 | 470 |
| Wisconsin | $36,640 | $30,260 to $39,880 | 310 |
| Wyoming | $36,810 | $33,750 to $38,620 | 330 |
Nationally: $35,100. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 7 of its 18 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Monitor the conduct of students to maintain discipline and safety. | Not published |
| Not much | Direct students boarding and exiting the school bus. | Not published |
| Not much | Assist children with disabilities or children with psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues with boarding and exiting the school bus. | Not published |
| AI + software | Respond to students' questions, requests, or complaints. | Not published |
| Not much | Buckle seatbelts or fasten wheelchair tie-down straps to secure passengers for transportation. | Not published |
| Not much | Prevent or defuse altercations between students. | Not published |
See all 18 tasks
| AI + software | Talk to children's parents or guardians about problematic behaviors, emotional or developmental problems, or related issues. | 0.01% |
| Not much | Evacuate students from the school bus in emergency situations. | Not published |
| Not much | Direct students evacuating the bus during safety drills. | Not published |
| Not much | Escort young children across roads or highways. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean school bus interiors by picking up waste, wiping down windows, or vacuuming. | Not published |
| AI + software | Guide the driver when the bus is moving in reverse gear. | Not published |
| AI + software | Report delays, accidents, or other traffic and transportation situations to dispatchers or other bus drivers, using phones or mobile two-way radios. | Not published |
| AI + software | Write and submit reports that include data such as the number of passengers or trips, hours worked, mileage driven, or fuel consumed. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate a wheelchair lift to load or unload wheelchairs. | Not published |
| Not much | Open and close school bus doors for students. | Not published |
| AI + software | Monitor for trains at railroad crossings and signal the bus driver when it is safe to proceed. | Not published |
| AI + software | Announce routes or stops. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 1 of the 18 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 18 tasks fall under 13 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #11 Provide information to guests, clients, or customers
- #19 Provide general assistance to others, such as customers, patrons, or motorists
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provide general assistance to others, such as customers, patrons, or motorists | |||
| Provide information to guests, clients, or customers | |||
| Communicate with others about operational plans or activities | |||
| Assist individuals with special needs | |||
| Advise others on educational or vocational matters | |||
| Monitor individual behavior or performance | |||
| Counsel others about personal matters | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas |
Show all 13 activities
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Notify others of emergencies or problems | |||
| Operate transportation equipment or vehicles | |||
| Mediate disputes | |||
| Monitor traffic conditions |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Advice or a recommendation65%
- An explanation or answer19%
- An email or message4%
- A document or report4%
- An analysis or summary3%
How they worked with Claude
3% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for school bus monitors specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 51,391 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 11%
- 2 Security Guards Moderate +0.9% 10%
- 3 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 4%
- 4 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 4%
- 5 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 41,335 moves in
- 1 Security Guards Moderate +0.9% 8%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 6%
- 3 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 5%
- 4 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 4%
- 5 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 3%
The resume data uses 2010 occupation codes. This occupation comes from “Protective Service Workers, All Other”, which today also includes the occupation still called “Protective Service Workers, All Other”, so these figures cover it too. Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 14% less than high school
- 53% high school
- 17% some college
- 7% associate's
- 7% bachelor's
- 2% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 414 people surveyed.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/33-9094.00