The challenge for most retirement-aged people looking for work is finding something part-time, has some flexibility, and enables them to interact with different people, allowing them to stay very much involved in their community. Pennsylvania school bus jobs seem to fit the bill for retirement-aged people looking for new career opportunities. Senior citizens driving school buses are a pretty familiar sight here in Pennsylvania and many other states.
When people hit the age of 60, and beyond, they should be enjoying their retirement. But not everyone wants to stop working, even when they’re 70 years old. Many keep their old jobs, work at a new company, or open a new business. Fortunately, our senior folks have many later-in-life jobs that allow them to show their expertise, earn extra income, or have something to do to stay busy. Many seniors also want to remain employed for insurance reasons.
Many senior school bus drivers are retired or semi-retired from public and private transportation companies. At this age, they are looking for not stressful or strenuous work and allow them to get sufficient rest between morning and evening. School bus driving is generally a four-hours-a-day job. Drivers come to work from Monday to Friday and for about nine months of the year. There’s the free time – midday breaks, holidays, summer vacations, and spring breaks.
Besides, older people are generally early risers – they don’t even need an alarm clock to wake them up! They love to be up early and get their day started, making school bus driving an ideal job for them as it consists of driving the kids to school in the morning.
Most senior citizens have become grandparents by then. They generally love being with children. While they may miss being with their grandchildren at the moment, driving a school bus allows them to interact with the other kids, and many of these senior drivers treat the students as if they’re their grandchildren. The sight of an aged gentleman or lady behind the wheel, greeting the students as they get on and off the bus, is enough to put the kids at ease. They will look up to senior drivers like their grandparents personally driving them to and from school.
Many people of retirement age love to spend their time being out and traveling as much as they can and driving a school bus offers this kind of opportunity. In addition to transporting students along designated school routes, school bus drivers might transport them to off-campus activities, such as field trips, sports events, or summer adventure camps hosted by the school. It’s like taking a day off or a holiday while still at work as a driver. Now you’ve understood where “busman’s holiday” came from!
As Pennsylvania is still working to address the school bus driver shortage, they might also be looking at the senior citizen sector as a potential employment pool. As long as interested older applicants are physically fit, mentally sound, have a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), and school and passenger endorsements (among other requirements), they can be eligible. Or, if they don’t have a CDL yet, they may undergo a CDL skills test at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) or any state-certified CDL third-party tester.
Are you now retired but still open to new employment opportunities and experiences? Learn why many retirees become PA school bus drivers. After reading that, you may come to see a school bus job might be your next career move! Check out part-time and full-time school bus driving job openings in Pennsylvania.