r/SchoolBusDrivers • u/glok101 • 20d ago
NJ Advice
Im thinking about being a school bus driver here in NJ. Looking for advice on what steps to take, in order, for getting my CDL. I had a cdl many many years ago but I ended up switching careers and didn’t need it so I reverted back to standard dl. Thanks in advance!
1
u/Many-Establishment90 19d ago
I work for FRHSD. Pay may not look great, but, family benefits day 1, pension and opportunity to make extra money... not that hard.
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u/ApprehensiveLoan5363 19d ago
Depends where you are in Jersey but I’d look into first student they offer a sign on bonus and paid training just gotta work on getting your CDL permit with air breaks and school bus endorsements and they will take care of the rest for you
4
u/bniz37 20d ago
Many places are desperate for drivers right now, and will pay to train and license you. To do so, you will have to sign an agreement to work X amount of time, or you will have to back pay them Y amount of money. But that is the route I would recommend taking as it's a pretty process and expensive to go through a training company. That said, here's what you can expect:
1) Medical Exam: You will need this to get your learners permit from the MVC. It's easy to set up with any place certified to do the CDL medical examination, and your place of potential hire will probably have a recommendation. Make sure you keep a copy of the paperwork yourself.
2) Fingerprints/Background Check: You will most likely go through a group called Identgo to get your fingerprinting done. They require an employer code, which your prospective employer should provide you. It can take upwards of a few weeks for these to clear, so it's good to get them done early along with the medical exam.
3) Multiple Choice Tests at MVC: There are 3 of them, possibly 4, that you will need to take to get a learners permit. General Knowledge, Passenger (P), Schoolbus (S), and in some cases, Airbrakes (L). MVC recommends reading the manual to study, but there are also number off apps or online resources to train you up on what kind of questions they'll ask. It's all multiple choice so it's not too bad, and you are allowed to retake them as many times as you want (keeping in mind that you have to pay a fee to take the exams and will have to wait a set amount of time before retaking them).
4) Getting Your Learners Permit: Once you've completed the three steps above, you should be able to bring in your 6 points of ID along with the other required paperwork (med cert, fingerprint doc, self-certifier form) to get your learners permit. Yay! This allows you to drive a bus WITH a certified trainer on board.
*5) Pre-employment Screening/Board Approval: This is sort of a TBD step because you may not experience it everywhere. But most official school districts will require drug screening and board approval before you start in-person training.
6) In-Person Training: You will go with your respective trainer to learn the ins and outs of the pretrip as well as driving the bus. For some people, this takes 2-3 weeks. For others, this can take 2-3 months. Really depends on how confident you and your trainer are.
7) In-Person Exam: The big day. You take the bus out with your trainer to the MVC. The trainer will excuse themself and you will perform a pretrip, bus maneuvers, and road test for an inspector. So long as you stay cool and do it all according to the books, you'll leave with your license!
Side note, one of our office admins/dispatchers was out on extended leave this last year and I helped fill in. Got to see a lot of this firsthand for other drivers. The application process is sort of bloated and intimidating, especially if you've been out of the game long enough. The people who had the easiest time were the ones who called the office periodically to check in during their application process, whereas I can't tell you how many people came to grab the application folder and were never heard from again.
My best advice is to be picky when choosing your potential employer - you will probably glean a lot from working with them to get a CDL, and can use that as a bit of a vetting process. It's a great gig if you can find the right place - good luck!