Being a PA school bus driver used to be a traditionally male profession. However, an increasing number of women have taken the same route, so to speak. It’s pretty usual to see women school bus drivers nowadays. In fact, according to a Zippia research in 2018, 53.3% of all school bus drivers in the US were women while 42.7% were men.
Mothers make up a considerable portion of female school bus drivers. They are the ideal candidates for this profession for the following reasons (including a couple of unexpected ones):
- They have strong communication skills – Having communication skills is a must for all bus drivers regardless of age and gender. Women may have a different way of communicating with their young passengers, like how a mother communicates with her own child. A career driving school buses also means communicating with teachers, school officials, and other parents. Empathy and understanding are a must when it comes to dealing with anxious kids or concerned parents. Mothers are naturally equipped with those traits that will serve them well as school bus drivers!
- They enjoy working with kids – Being mothers, they enjoy being with their own children. It’s pretty much the same satisfaction they get when they drive their young passengers to and from school. Mothers have the natural instinct of making children feel comfortable and that’s just as important as knowing how to drive a bus. School bus driving moms love to greet kids as they get on and off the bus. They love interacting with students as they do with their own children and look forward to doing this every school day. Many have developed a special relationship with the students as they see them grow into adolescence, like seeing their own children grow up.
- They care about the student’s safety – School bus drivers make the safety of their young passengers a priority. This explains why the number of school bus accidents every year is very small. Mothers have the protective instinct that makes them particularly concerned about the safety of the students as they are about the safety of their own children. Like any good school driver does, school bus driver mothers make sure to monitor on-the-bus conduct and see that the children make it into the school and their homes safely. Their motherly instincts can put them into a reasonably disciplinarian mode as soon as the students get on board, but kids should understand that they do this for their own safety. This will put the youngsters feel at ease knowing there’s a protective “mother” behind the wheel who’s taking them to and from school every day!
- They love a flexible schedule – A bus driver typically works early in the morning and again late in the afternoon with a break in-between. It’s the perfect time for school bus driving mothers to rest or do errands, such as doing grocery shopping or paying household bills, doing some side jobs for extra income, going to a bookstore or a coffee shop to relax and unwind, or spending on studying. They also enjoy their summers and holidays off that allows them to spend time with their own families. The flexible schedule allows school bus driving mothers to achieve a proper “work-life balance,” which is an important factor for career satisfaction. If you are looking for a way out of the usual 9-to-5 job, a career as a school bus driver can be a great option.
- It’s a good-paying job – A career in the bus industry can mean making up from $34,000 to $44,000 per year, so it’s a job that pays handsomely. Due to the flexibility and extra free hours that this job offers, school bus drivers can also have an opportunity to pick up other jobs and positions (such as substitute teaching), earning additional income along the way. For mothers, it is a good enough job to support them and her family.
- It’s the job with benefits – Many school bus driving mothers admit that they wanted this job not really because of the salary but mostly because of the benefits. Whether you want to work full-time or part-time, there are school bus driver openings all over Pennsylvania that offer competitive wages, incentives, healthcare benefits, retirement plans, etc.
- School bus driving frees mothers from childcare costs – Many mothers who drive school buses have said that bringing their own children to work frees them from having to pay for child care or baby-sitting. Not only it saves them a significant amount of money, but it also allows them to look after their own children. One thing about being a school bus driver is that they can also drive their own kids to school (given that they also go to the same school) and get paid for it.
Are you a mother who’s looking for a job that allows you to interact with children, pays well, offers great benefits, and still lets you spend time with your family? Do you want to find Ways School Bus Services Benefit Their Communities and how you can, too? Choosing a PA school bus driver career will give you all these perks… and a lot more! Check out https://schoolbushero.com/jobs and explore available school bus driver openings in Pennsylvania.