Hey all- Seeing how I am going to graduate college here shortly... 8-1-06, i have been looking maybe to work for the rail road. The only thing im not to excited about is the whole 24/7 deal, but i also looked at a few shortlines that are bringing people on.... what is it like to work? comments? Travis
Well, what kind of position are you looking at? What did you take in college to prepare you for a railroad job?
Well, i want to know how much they get paid and so forth... I just have a business degree (marketing). What else is there option wise? For the most part, i think the rail roads would be a safe job, of course theres no perfect job security. but of course, i think it would be a good job, especially the benefits and the retirement!
The big class 1's are sometimes looking for marketing, look into their websites. Depends on the shortline, hours maybe ok but pay and benifits will not be as good as say BNSF, UP or NS,
Travis- Are you interested in office type work or road work. There are a lot of positions out there right now. Marketing and advertising usually are regular office jobs. Then there is operations Management, Maintenance management, Cars, Locos, and Track. These positions have the potential for working weekends and holidays. Of course you could try for a conductor position, that leads usually into engineer positions. What part of the country you're in depends on how much work you'll see. Be prepared for furloughs and crappy assignments first. Search around Trainboard there are tons of posts regarding working for railroads. I second 7173s comments, Start out at each companies websites. BNSF and NS probably are the easiest to navigate, UP is more dificult, and in three years I have rarely even seen a job opening at CSX. A friend of mine that I was in college with was hired by NS Operations Management, in 6 years, he moved 7 times. Just food for thought! Good Luck and keep us posted. Brad
Well, The Iowa Interstate Railroad has a conductor postion open. I have worked in an office before and to tell you the truth, i dont know if it is what i want to do for the rest of my life. I would rather be on the road for iowa interstate, due to the fact it is where i want to live and the farthest it goes is from ohmaha to chicago, and this will be especially helpful when it comes to raising a family and so forth, that way i wont be to far from home.... i will definately search around though.
Having spent 38 years in the business and never working in operations, you will find that many so-called "office" jobs on the railroad require a good bit of traveling. I spent well over a decade as an off-line sales representative, which involved overnight travel 8 to 12 nights per month. I spent the last 18 years as Director, Marketing and Sales (title changed twice, same job) for a short line with 100 miles of track and 100 employees. While I spent the majority of my time in the office, I attended various meetings around the country about 6 times annually, as well as calling on the railroad's customers (11) both locally and at their national HQ (usually combined with meeting attendance). As to short line salaries, some don't pay anywhere near what class I's do, others pay as good or better. The closer to the top you are, the better the comparison is likely to be. I will offer one observation - you pay a lot more for Railroad Retirement that you do for Social Security, and the railroads pay yet more, but when you retire and if you're married, you may find your take home pay is actually larger than your last railroad paychecks! BTW, most Class I's are looking for MBA's for their marketing programs these days. :cat:
