Does First Student pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, First Student employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.5 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at First Student. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at First Student?

70% of First Student employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated First Student 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.5 for culture and values and 3.6 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at First Student?

School Bus Driver (493) , Graduate Student (365) , Software Engineer (195) , Bus Driver (164) , Driver (124) , Student Worker (67) , Data Entry (63) , Software Developer (59) , Internship (51) , Working Student (45) , Intern (43) , PhD Student (33) , Web Developer (30) , Bus Monitor (25) , Mechanical Engineer (25)

What are the pros of working at First Student according to real employee reviews?

"Pay is good and they are flexible with hours" ((in 166 reviews)); "Worth ethics is good and people are supporting" ((in 118 reviews)); "Good Workplace and good environment" ((in 51 reviews)); "CDL Training for later use in life" ((in 45 reviews)); "Good Work life balance all time" ((in 39 reviews))

What are the cons of working at First Student according to real employee reviews?

"Bad management but now its good" ((in 106 reviews)); "Not enough hour No benefit Not enough hour No benefit Not enough hour No benefitNot enough hour No benefit" ((in 78 reviews)); "Low salary and no retaining of interns" ((in 76 reviews)); "Hours are long and do not let you sleep." ((in 52 reviews)); "Very difficult company to work for umess you have a good manager." ((in 27 reviews))

What are employees saying about First Student layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about First Student layoffs and their outlook for job security at First Student in 2026.

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First Student

First Student reviews

3.7

70% would recommend to a friend

(3,728 total reviews)

John Kenning

70% approve of CEO

65% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.9

Diversity & inclusion

3.8

Work/Life balance

3.6

Career opportunities

3.5

Culture & values

3.5

Compensation and benefits

3.4

Senior management

First Student has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 3,728 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The First Student employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Transporte y logística industry (3.5 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

4K reviews

2.0

Jan 21, 2010

Very Reactive, Not Proactive

Planning & analysis

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Decent pay, lots of room for analytical improvement

Cons

Nothing is planned out. The senior leadership operates under a "ready ,fire, aim!" paradigm that cripples those who work in ranks. The majority of decisions are short sighted and tactical, not long term and strategic. Numbers are all important, but knee-jerk reactions and orders from the higher ups must be followed immediately, without proper research or analysis. "My way or the highway" is a way of life at First Student.

2.0

Mar 29, 2009

Wages tend to to be low and varies, along with policies, depending on the site.

School bus driver

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The School Bus Driver job is part time, and so has the benefit of using the off hours for other pursuits. The company talks continuely about safety. Some kids are wonderful and some are not so great, but mostly they're a positive aspect of the job.

Cons

The pay is terrible and then pay is scaled down for any not driving tasks. So office work or bus maintenance is at mininum wages. My understanding these policies are very location dependant, so check before being surprised.

4.0

Mar 7, 2009

Good job with reservations.

Driver

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

This job cannot be outsourced! If you need local work, it's steady. The schedule allows a few free hours in the middle of the day, so you can get other things done. Summers off, unemployment available. We work the school schedule, so 2 weeks off a Christmas, Scattered holidays throuout the year. It's a tremendously safety conscious company!

Cons

Pay is low compared to other transportation companies. and the benefits are poor. Most doctor's won't even take the insurance they offer. Employee coverage is very expensive, let alone family coverage. It's not full time work.

Viewing 3724 - 3726 of 3,728 Reviews

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