How to become a Bus Driver: education, training and skills.
What workers in the job actually report about their education, experience and training, the skills to build first, and the stepping-stone roles that lead in.
- 84% High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 13% Less than a High School Diploma
BLS typical entry-level education: a high school diploma or equivalent
BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for workers in the BLS occupation “Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity” in the United States (Employment Projections, 2025–35). Most bus drivers report needing a high school diploma or equivalent (84% of workers surveyed by O*NET). O*NET places the job in Job Zone 1-2 of 5 (very little to some preparation). The most common answer for related work experience was “no related experience needed” (38%), and for on-the-job training “over 1 month, up to and including 3 months” (61%).
Data Government data groups this job as Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity (O*NET-SOC 53-3052.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.
What BLS lists for workers in the BLS occupation “Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity”
According to BLS 2025–35 projections data, workers in the BLS occupation “Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity” in the United States typically need no work experience in a related occupation to enter the occupation.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
Once hired, workers in the BLS occupation “Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity” in the United States typically need moderate-term on-the-job training (more than 1 month, up to 12 months) to become fully competent, according to BLS 2025–35 projections data.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
Six steps to becoming a Bus Driver
Data Steps 1 to 5 summarise BLS and O*NET data for the role; step 6 is advice.
- EducationPlan for a high school diploma or equivalent
BLS typical entry-level education, 2025–35 projections. In O*NET's worker survey, 84% report a high school diploma or equivalent. 100% report no college degree needed.
- TrainingExpect on-the-job training
Most common: over 1 month, up to and including 3 months.
- ExperienceRelated experience
Most common: no related experience needed (38% of workers).
- SkillsBuild the core skills
Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Service Orientation are rated most important.
- ToolsLearn the tools
Microsoft Windows.
- CredentialsCheck licensing where you live
Many occupations need a state license or certification. Requirements vary by state, so confirm with your state's licensing board.
What workers report
Data Share of workers giving each answer, O*NET.
O*NET Job Zone 1-2 (Very Little to Some Preparation Needed): Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Data Pay once you are in the job: the BLS median is $59,050; the lowest-paid quarter earn $47,530 or less. See the full Bus Driver salary data.
How this page is built
Education, experience, training and Job Zone come from O*NET 31.0 survey data for the occupation. The typical entry-level education, work experience and on-the-job training lines come from BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35. O*NET answers with low-precision estimates are not shown, and an answer is called the most common only when no hidden answer could be larger. Stepping-stone roles use our skill-match score: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- Licensing rules in your state.
- Requirements at a specific employer.
- How long the path will take you personally.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.
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