First Student reviews

3.7

69% would recommend to a friend

(3,730 total reviews)

John Kenning

70% approve of CEO

65% positive business outlook

First Student has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 3,730 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 Transportation & Logistics industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

4K reviews
3.0
Sep 5, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Making a positive experience for children. In its basic function this is an easy job, and gets you out to see the lovely landscapes of fall and winter. After working inside every day all day, this was a bright spot in the chasm of unemployment. It is a prime occupation for those in retirement, or only able to work a few hours of the day. Also some companies/districts allow the drivers children on the bus during their route-so no daycare costs.

Cons

Again, making a positive experience for children can be very challenging from the position of bus driver. Everyone is potentially your enemy-the students, the teachers, the parents, policemen, other drivers, etc. It is generally a thankless job. My experience entailed driving two autistic children to and from school. They themselves were a small challenge, but meaningful. The hardships came primarily from the district, the politics that place the driver between a rock and a harder place, and in once case an officer who had nothing better to do than harrass a bus driver. First student as a company did not inspire me to continue working for them, though rumor has it there are worse companies to drive for. Given the level of responsibility the pay is rather low, however the requirements are also low: clean driving record, pass drug tests, show up on time. First student is owned and operated by a company in the UK.

1.0
Sep 1, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The people are friendly for the most part , the kids are great to work with. It's part time hours.

Cons

Don't get paid enough. All branches around us get paid more then we do. The family needs to be taken under control and made to have the same options as all other workers not special treatment.Management needs to find out what is going on and do something about it. Need to make changes in who is in charge there.

1.0
Aug 28, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

co-workers are willing to help you. Pay is not terrible. Atnosphere is pretty quiet.....

Cons

benefits are expensive with very high deductable, you ask a general question to supervisor or manager that has not been covered because you want to do your job correctly, they answer you and then you get crap for it later because they claim it was covered but when you ask other co-workers they don't know the answer either. They don't want a "defensive" atmosphere, but you have no choice but to feel defensive, supervisor answers you with colors, red being a favorite, they have a quarterly bonus plan that nobody could explain to you how it works. When they LET YOU GO, FIRE YOU, they ILLEGALLY collect your personal belongings while you are being let go in another room and when you ask for days off near a holiday, they tell you that they have decided to determine WHO gets off by attendance and performance which, by the way, is ALSO ILLLEGAL to do. You cannot eat at your desk at all and cannot have your cell phone in visible site, no matter WHAT the circumstance.

Viewing 3688 - 3690 of 3,730 Reviews

Glassdoor has 5,104 First Student reviews submitted anonymously by First Student employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if First Student is right for you.