Arizona·Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations·SOC 49-3031

Best Bus programs in Arizona, ranked by enrollment

Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul buses and trucks, or maintain and repair any type of diesel engines.

5 schools in Arizona run programs that feed this job, graduating 382 people a year. The job pays a median of $61,680 in Arizona across about 5,140 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledBus MechanicTruck MechanicDiesel MechanicDiesel Technician (Diesel Tech)Boat MechanicBus OverhaulerFleet MechanicMotor Mechanic
Graduates / yr
382
in Arizona
Median pay · Arizona
$61,680
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
5,140
people employed
Schools
5
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
47%
across those schools
Median net price
$27,877
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Arizona that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

1 programs in Arizona that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Arizona (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Arizona page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 47.0605In Arizona
382
100.0%
5$37,089$11,790

Top 5 schools in Arizona

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 2 of the 5 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Universal Technical Institute of Arizona Inc
Avondale, AZ Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
312Diesel Mechanics Technology/Technician$39,45870%$27,877
2Miller - Motte College - Arizona Automotive Institute
Glendale, AZ Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
47Diesel Mechanics Technology/Technician$35,14761%$22,442
3Central Arizona College
Coolidge, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
13Diesel Mechanics Technology/Technician27%
4Yavapai College
Prescott, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
8Diesel Mechanics Technology/Technician34%
5Eastern Arizona College
Thatcher, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
2Diesel Mechanics Technology/Technician42%

All 5 schools in Arizona

Every school in Arizona with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Arizona that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Universal Technical Institute of Arizona IncAvondalePrivate for-profit3121
Miller - Motte College - Arizona Automotive InstituteGlendalePrivate for-profit471
Central Arizona CollegeCoolidgePublic131
Yavapai CollegePrescottPublic81
Eastern Arizona CollegeThatcherPublic21

What bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists earn in Arizona

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Arizona
$61,680
Mean annual
$63,820
Jobs in state
5,140
What the range looks like
10th pct$45,460Median$61,68090th pct$84,350
Versus the national median
-0.1%

U.S. median $61,770. Arizona pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.85×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Arizona

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
$63,330median
3,550 jobs
Flagstaff, AZ
$60,290median
100 jobs
Tucson, AZ
$60,370median
580 jobs
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ
$56,200median
200 jobs
Yuma, AZ
$57,950median
150 jobs
Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ
$56,740median
200 jobs
Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ
$55,180median
60 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+2.4%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
26,500
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
7,800
319,900 → 327,700
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Plus long-term on-the-job training

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists page.

How to become a Bus

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
On-the-job training
Long-term on-the-job training

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingSpeakingMonitoringActive ListeningReading ComprehensionActive Learning

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Arizona

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 2 majors mapped to Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 47.0605Diesel Mechanics Technology/Technician
  • 47.0613Medium/Heavy Vehicle and Truck Technology/Technician

Common questions

Answers for people weighing bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists programs in Arizona.

What degree do you need to become a Bus?+

High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Diesel Mechanics Technology/Technician, which awarded 382 degrees in Arizona in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Bus?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 382 people a year in Arizona.

How much do bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists earn in Arizona?+

The median is $61,680 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 0.1% below the U.S. median of $61,770. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists growing?+

BLS projects a +2.4% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 26,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Arizona?+

5 institutions in Arizona reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Bus Mechanic, Truck Mechanic, Diesel Mechanic, Diesel Technician (Diesel Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-3031.

Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists in other statesTexasKentuckyGeorgiaCaliforniaWyomingFloridaNorth CarolinaOklahoma

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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