Throughline

Skilled trades

Bus and Truck Mechanic / Diesel Engine Specialist in the United States

47 postings read · sampled 2026-09-01 · source ats

What employers actually ask for

Credentials named in the 47 postings we read, ranked by how many mentioned each one.

What it costs

Exam and application fees plus typical self-study hours. Almost nobody needs every credential on this list — start with the top line.

Most-asked-for, on its own
$200CDL-A · ~160 hrs
asked for in 7 of 47 postings — 15%
If you earned all 1 of them
$200
fees checked 2026-08
160 hrs
160 hours — about 16 weeks at 10 hrs/wk

Not in the total: Associate Degree — cost varies by institution.

Lower signal for this role

Credentials that barely appeared in this sample. That is not a claim they are worthless — plenty are valuable for a different job, a different city, or a promotion later. It is a claim that employers here mostly did not ask.

What the official taxonomy says

O*NET surveys people already doing this job. That describes who got hired over a long window, not what employers are asking for now — where it disagrees with the counts above, the counts are the more current answer.

  • Post-secondary certificate39%
  • High school diploma or equivalent37%

Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

O*NET 49-3031.00 · pulled 2026-09-01 · percentages are of surveyed workers, each rounded separately, so they need not total 100

What it pays

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. A different survey from the postings above, so the two do not share a sample.

$44,530
10th percentile
$61,770
median
$88,740
90th percentile

Every credential above costs $200 — less than a day's pay at the median.

Who was hiring

Employers with at least one matching posting in this sample.

Premier Truck Group · Cogent Talent Solutions · Truck Centers Inc · Nuro · Kodiak Robotics · PS Logistics · SpaceX · Via · Zum Services · Atlas Energy Solutions · Charlie's Produce · DeAngelo Contracting Services · Freightliner of Hartford · Manitoulin Group of Companies · Saronic · Scheffer Truck Service

Next

  • Roast and Resolve — Now aim your résumé at this target. Free roast, paid rewrite.
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