How To Become A Crossing Guard: What It Is and Career Path

What is a crossing guard and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Elementary school children usually need aid when crossing the road. This is why a crossing guard is necessary. Their responsibility includes helping these children to cross the road without running into an oncoming vehicle.

A crossing guard, otherwise known as a crosswalk attendant or safety patrol, is a volunteer for traffic management and is usually found on busy roads to help pedestrians cross the street.

They could be a school employee or a city employee. Nonetheless, the crossing guard does not have the power to effect an arrest. However, they can forward the plate number of a traffic violator for appropriate punishment to the appropriate quarters.

You must be familiar with the road terrain, rules and regulations, and road signs in this position. You must also be an active thinker and have outstanding communication skills. Knowledge of first aid methods is a must. On average, you can make $12.40 per hour as a crossing guard. A high school diploma can get you into this field.

ScoreCrossing GuardUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $32,761

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.9

Growth Rate 3%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.44%

Asian 2.43%

Black or African American 11.29%

Hispanic or Latino 20.17%

Unknown 4.67%

White 60.01%

Gender

female 76.53%

male 23.47%

Age - 56

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 56

Stress Level

6.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

4.9

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

10.0

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a crossing guard

Explore crossing guard education requirements

Most common crossing guard degrees

High School Diploma

39.9 %

Associate

21.4 %

Bachelor's

19.0 %

Start to develop specific crossing guard skills

Skills	Percentages
Patrol	11.04%
Kids	10.78%
Emergency Situations	7.89%
Vehicular Traffic	6.43%
Direct Traffic	5.76%

Complete relevant crossing guard training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New crossing guards learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a crossing guard based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real crossing guard resumes.

Research crossing guard duties and responsibilities

Maintain alertness of students trying to cross the street.
Patrol and secure building and surrounding property; monitor CCTV's and utilize radio communications.
Patrol and secure building and surrounding property; monitor CCTV's and utilize radio communications.

Prepare your crossing guard resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your crossing guard resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a crossing guard resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Crossing Guard Resume templates

Build a professional Crossing Guard resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Crossing Guard resume.

Apply for crossing guard jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a crossing guard job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do crossing guards rate their job?

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Crossing Guard reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2021

Pros

well i like kids to be safe and i want to be a crossing guard so that they will get to thee place that they need to be at safe. But im only 13 so what can i say about safty EVERYTHING

Cons

well the only thing that I dont like is that i have to stand in the heat all day but that is not a big deal