Career Explorer Protective services
Changing shape
School bus monitors
Maintain 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.
Changing faster than most: more resilient than 22% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it high), and US jobs are projected to change by -1.9% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on emotional intelligence.
AI can do many of the tasks, and hiring is expected to grow slower than average or to shrink. The job is likely to change, so build the human parts of it.
- Median pay (2025)
- $35,100
- Job growth to 2035
- -1.9%
- Openings a year
- 13,400
- People doing it (2025)
- 76,700
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- 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
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Assist individuals with special needs
- Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas
- Monitor traffic conditions
What the work looks like
- Buckle seatbelts or fasten wheelchair tie-down straps to secure passengers for transportation.
- Escort young children across roads or highways.
- Assist children with disabilities or children with psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues with boarding and exiting the school bus.
- Monitor the conduct of students to maintain discipline and safety.
- Evacuate students from the school bus in emergency situations.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as local school districts, which are faced with limited funding, are expected to allocate funds to other spending categories in lieu of bus monitors, who are not widely required by law. Lack of funding will continue to limit future demand for bus monitors.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Gambling change persons and booth cashiersHuman edge, steady, Index 41, -1.9%
- Farm labor contractorsHuman edge, growing, Index 82, +7.4%
- Shuttle drivers and chauffeursHuman edge, growing, Index 87, +7.1%
- Food servers, nonrestaurantHuman edge, growing, Index 76, +4.5%
Also known as: Bus Aide, Bus Assistant, Bus Monitor, Bus Paraeducator, Bus Attendant, School Bus Aide, School Transportation Aide, SPED Bus Aide (Special Ed Bus Aide).
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.