Still going-now how to move up (employees, apply, degrees, CDL)
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I had been a regular posting here and the unemployment forum. I am happy to say I am still with the same school district as a school bus dispatcher three years later. I have also earned my certification in the software we use for routing/dispatching. I am working on my boss to let me get my school bus driver trainer and 19-A examiner certifications. If I get them-I can write my own ticket to go to any district in the country. My ultimate goal is to become a Master Instructor-then I can freelance around the country and teach new trainers.
Now how do I prod him along to let me get this done? I've been wanting this since I started driving back in 1986. It will give me that chance to get to that next level, driver trainer/assistant transportation supervisor or even in a small outfit transportation supervisor. Dispatcher is always the first step to anyone of those. I've even offered to pay for the courses myself at no cost to the district. He gave me paper work to apply for a grant to take it. But he's always too busy or distracted to have a discussion with him. That's another whole ball of wax. But I know for a fact right now he's putting out feelers to get hired himself by other districts-he interviewed with the district I worked for previously and they asked me about him-he doesn't know I know he applied there. But I want to get this going before he bails-he told me when I was first hired he never stays in jobs more than 5 years-he's starting year 4 now. So give me ideas how to push this without sounding like I am hounding him about it. I don't want to start again with a new supervisor and keep waiting.
Are you sure this skill is as in demand as you think it is? I looked up requirements for Ohio and school bus drivers are trained by state DOE employees, so you would not come to Ohio and teach people how to drive a school bus. Have you filled out the grant form and turned it in? If you don't want to go that route, why don't you just sign up for the class? Don't you have to be an experienced bus driver in order to be a bus driver trainer? If you want to get into transportation supervision, a degree in transportation or logistics would be helpful.
Are you sure this skill is as in demand as you think it is? I looked up requirements for Ohio and school bus drivers are trained by state DOE employees, so you would not come to Ohio and teach people how to drive a school bus. Have you filled out the grant form and turned it in? If you don't want to go that route, why don't you just sign up for the class? Don't you have to be an experienced bus driver in order to be a bus driver trainer? If you want to get into transportation supervision, a degree in transportation or logistics would be helpful.
So in Ohio, state DOE employees do the training. Ok, but what are their requirements to do such? NYS has the same requirements it appears as you have to be certified through the education department to train new drivers. I have been a licensed CDL class B driver since 1986-back then it was just a class 2 license. So I have plenty of driving time in. I have gotten the form filled out for the grant-but it's the local chapter that decides who get it, it's not a guarantee. You can't just sign up for the class, you need to your district sign off for it to prove you are working in school transportation. I do have a degree-just in something unrelated, hospitality and tourism management. My boss has a degree in music therapy-yet he is transportation supervisor. Most people I know with degrees aren't working in what they got their degree in anyways.
Most people think anyone who's in school transportation are uneducated. It's a total misnomer. Most of my drivers have retired from other lines of work. Former police officers, correction officers, principals, Verizon, IBM, etc. They do this line of work because their last jobs they retired early and want to continue working. I always challenge people who think it's a easy job to go ahead and get their license. Then see how tough a job it really is. Not for the faint of heart that's for sure.
Driver trainers are worth their weight in gold. With all the new federal laws that need to be followed along with the said paper work that needs to be kept on all drivers-including twice a year in service hours, behind the wheel testing, physical performance tests, drug screenings, etc-employers need good people that are on top of those things because DMV's do come in and exam the files and you can get large fines for not having documentation in order.
I think that you need to do some more research on whether this is actually true or whether there's just some anecdotal evidence for it.
It's already clear that some (many?) states have their own special requirements to be a trainer or have methods in place to train drivers that appear our of your reach at this time.
It's definitely not true that you can just "write your own ticket all over the country".
I think that it's good that you are looking toward the future, just make sure you do your due diligence in figuring out whether the time and money you will invest in something is actually worth something when you are done.
Camping Mom, I am a long time poster and I remember your posts. You were having a very hard time financially and were greatly relieved(and understandably so) when you landed this job. You were also dealing with issues with your elderly mother who I believe lived next door. Perhaps your mother has passed(sorry if that is the case) and that is no longer an issue.
I totally understand that you get retired cops, Verizon workers, etc. because my own late father who retired at 55 from Verizon took a job doing charter runs for schools to give him something to do. It is not a job for the lighthearted( once he had a HS sports team throwing items out the bus on the Long Island Expressway which resulted in a car being damaged and he pulled the bus off the road).
They expect the bus driver to drive the bus and also have eyes in the back of their head, their own coach couldn't even control them.
But as others have posted laws and training vary from state to state and even county to county. I would do more research, and besides while traveling around the country might sound glamorous, have you been to an airport lately?
You might want to reflect back on how bad it was a few years ago and how things have now improved for yourself and your family, sometimes it is best to leave well enough alone.
Besides "training positions" are the first ones to go in an economic downturn.
Yes, things are on a even keel with me, my spouse is STILL looking for full time work. He's only working for 20hrs a week at $9.97 hour working as a transfill tech certified to work with liquid oxygen. Our area is very depressed for work-construction here is about gone, no new buildings or housing has gone up in more than 3 years. He's still trying also for a dispatcher job-after 21 years he can't find one at all. My Mother did pass two years ago and was 88-so she had a great life. We are in the process of selling her home and getting on with things. We have two years and it appears we will be relocating out of NYS to either NC or SC since all my family is native to those areas. So I am trying to plan ahead and get certifications I need to go to that next level before we go.
With CDL drivers the new federal requirements that need to be kept up on for the medical certifications are a nightmare. That's where also a 19-A examiner is needed as they keep all records of a driver up to date. It's not always the transportation supervisor that handles that in a larger operation. Plus added the behind the wheel exam every two years, the defensive driving test every other year and a written test every two-that's what a 19-A examiner does. We have a small outfit of just 54 drivers and two examiners. And if you don't keep up with these requirements and the state does an audit you can get HUGE fines.
I did a interview yesterday for a job as a operations supervisor with a major transportation company that has outfits all over the US. I would be required to get my 19-A certification with them. It would also give me the opportunity to go somewhere else that have a transportation hub in the the states we are looking at. It's slightly different from the school bus industry as it's with public transportation-but requirements for anyone with a CDL B with passenger endorsements are the same across the board. I am going to hear by Wednesday about the interview, but I was told I was their best prospect as I had the supervisory experience and computer background they were looking for. Not sure I will take it though as it's shift work and a 24hr a day operation seven days per week. One of the shifts starts at 3:30am. It's only a small amount more than what I make now and even through it's the county, since it's a private outfit that runs it, I'd not have my NYS retirement being contributed to. Lots to think over.
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