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

1.0

Mar 16, 2017

Terrible

School bus driver

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Part time hours, could bring my son to work when needed, loved interacting with the students more than coworkers, time off

Cons

Racist and incompetent management at Muskego terminal (they didn't remove the swastika graffiti from my bus until I switched to the Milwaukee terminal); very jealous and insecure female coworkers at the Milwaukee terminal. In hindsight, twas very comical since their many issues had no reflection on me, but at the time it was difficult to work in that trashy, high-school-like environment.

1.0

Sep 4, 2014

STAY CLEAR IN THUNDER BAY

School bus driver

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great if you like to drive.

Cons

If you get hired here, you will more than likely be sent not to the main terminal, but to the off site park-out. There are over 20 buses at site. There is also no electricity, building to keep drivers warm in the -30 winters, or a place to go to the washroom. Branch manager refuses to to put up facility. "Have to pee, don't drink coffee." There is also a large number of broken, faded, old buses. Safety only counts till it costs, most cases broken buses are down for months, and will often be scavenged of parts to keep less broken buses moving. There are also not enough spares in fleet to be used for runs as they are old and broken, or used for charters and not available to a stranded driver.

2.0

Jan 20, 2019

Management doesn't care about only body count

Driver

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Some of the kids are great I loved the job at first

Cons

When you pick a route at the beginning it should stay that way not add a bad school and tell you are stuck with it and if you don't like it quit that's not the way you treat your employees

Viewing 4 - 6 of 3,728 Reviews

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