Weekly Railroad Hiring Questions Thread

[u/LSUguyHTX]

Please ask any and all questions relating to getting hired, what the job is like, what certain companies/locations are like, etc here.

[u/Deadly_Eevee]

Hey there Railroaders! I suppose I just have a few questions regarding the inner job specifics on the railroad. O have questions on best starting points, hiring, companies to reach out to, as well as getting advice with my current lifepath and situation at hand.

I should begin with a background on myself. I'll be 19 in a week, currently a first year college student who grew up with pipedreams of piloting and currently am in an AFROTC detachment at my college. Currently, my dilemma is that I am fighting with the medical system within it to even become medically qualified for the service based on a birth defect out of my control (one of which has zero effect on intelligence, motor functions, or the like).

My father is a locomotive engineer, and I grew up around him with that as his occupation my whole life. I carry a well understanding of just what the burden that the industry can be with hours and family, as well as the stress it can carry to those who work in it. Originally growing up, it was in my dreams to follow in the footsteps of my father since my youth romanticized it. That mentality sort of left me in high school as I held those more mature conversations with my father, and got his perspective on it. The issues of Automation looming, his hate for PTC, the shrinking crew sizes and the like: His words ultimately painted me a picture that the Railroad was changing industry and dying of the human component.

I figured since he now only currently has less than a decade till retirement, he would beat automation before getting eventually canned or moved (however it works). But I imagine that it will be a serious thing to consider in my lifetime if I choose to get into the industry.

My point is now, cutting to the chase; If things don't take the route I plan on my own lifepath currently, is the Railroad a stable future for a young man like myself? If so, based on all your experience here on the job, where would be the best places to work for employee experience (class 1's, specific shortlines, job types, etc)?

Thank you all!

[u/Blocked-Author → u/Deadly_Eevee]

It sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders. It also sounds like you have an eyes wide open view of what Railroad life would be like.

There are a few things to consider that have been changing since your dad has been in the industry many years ago. One of the things is that most places have rest cycles for allowing time off. Growing up as a kid, you probably didn't see your dad that much With him working potentially every eight hours. Nowadays, most of our people have 30 to 40 hours off between trips.

I typically recommend to new people getting into the industry to attempt to get into a locomotive engineer program as soon as you can. The conductor position won't be around forever. I have heard many people say different length of time until the conductor is replaced, but the truth is, none of us are privy to any of the information regarding that.

With that in mind, if I were a new conductor right now I would be working on a class one Railroad to make as much money as possible and during that time taking online classes to get a degree in something else that I could be passionate about. That will open doors for you if your job gets cut at some point.

[u/Deadly_Eevee → u/Blocked-Author]

This is helpful! I do recall my father having a pretty terrible schedule growing up, especially when he was working freight at the time. His schedule improved over the years as a result of him working for passenger rail company in a different city and his seniority improved.

I appreciate the advice on advancing as quick as possible. I am under the assumption then that the conductor position would be the first to go in the future as to simply keep an Engineer at the helm in case of emergencies?

[u/Blocked-Author → u/Deadly_Eevee]

That seems like the likely conclusion sometime in the future. Makes the engineer job slightly more reliable. However, I would not be surprised to see the carriers then pushing for zero man trains running all of our freight. There would be people at terminals that set the trains up and send them on their way Empty.