Few professions allow you to work with so many different types of people in many different environments. Working as a railroad professional is an excellent choice if you want to learn and progress constantly, yet the duties you undertake will differ according to the position.
Railroads are some of the most in-demand jobs nowadays, with demand expected to increase further in the future. This is due to their rapidly expanding workforce and excellent earning potential. But, before you make up your mind, let’s take a closer look at what being a railroader entails and if it’s the right career choice for you.
Is Railroads a Good Career Path?
Yes.
Railroads is a good career path due to the growing demand for this sector and its various employment opportunities.
What Are the Types of Railroads Jobs?
Some of the available railroad jobs are listed below:
Crew Member
Average Salary: $24,149 per year
The primary responsibilities of a train crew member are to safeguard the well-being and protection of passengers while traveling by train. They can answer questions posed by passengers and assist conductors in performing their responsibilities to ensure passenger safety.
Train crew personnel can also conduct customer service-related jobs, which helps guarantee that customers have a positive experience while riding the train. In addition, the crew members of a train can run the equipment necessary to offer passengers various types of food and drinks.
Cook
Average Salary: $25,605 per year
The primary responsibilities of a cook aboard a passenger train consist of preparing cuisine according to the precise instructions provided by customers. In addition, they can carry out activities associated with preparing food, such as washing, peeling, and slicing fruits and vegetables.
Cooks on trains may also take on the additional responsibility of supervising other workers in the train’s kitchen. A railroad chef is also responsible for ensuring the kitchen on the train has enough food to serve the number of passengers and the duration of the intended trip.
Train Engineer
Average Salary: $65,444 per year
The primary duty of a train engineer is to ensure that the train moves toward its destination safely and effectively. They can check the train before it departs and keeps an eye on both manual and digital equipment to operate a railway properly. Train engineers can read radio messages from dispatchers and monitor weather conditions, allowing them to make alterations to their routes as required. In addition, freight train engineers can change their driving style to accommodate the varying weights and kinds of freight they are transporting. You’ll need to ensure – are all passenger trains running properly?
Conductor
Average Salary: $76,404 per year
Conductors are railway employees that control the activities of a train’s crew to guarantee the safety of passengers and the proper scheduling of a train. The management of a train’s staff is one of the primary duties. For example, on passenger trains, they can take payments and let riders know where the train will stop.
In addition, they can ensure cargo loading or unloading occurs before a train departs the station regarding freight trains. Conductors of trains are also in a position to ensure that all members of a train’s crew and passengers comply with all applicable corporate and government safety rules for trains. You can get this role on passenger and freight trains.
Utility Clerk
Average Salary: $25,938 per year
The primary responsibilities of a utility clerk in the rail sector include contributing to the smooth and risk-free movement of train cars through rail yards. In addition, they can place orders for various items, including components for trains. Therefore, the smooth operation of a company’s trains might depend on the utility clerks’ ability to handle clerical work. A utility clerk may also be required to do many tasks, including cleaning and sorting lost and found items.
Dispatcher
Average Salary: $32,178 per year
The primary responsibilities of a train dispatcher include coordinating the movement of trains following schedules to guarantee the safety of a train’s passengers and cargo. They can communicate with train engineers regarding the timetable of a train and the weather conditions that may lead to a change in the schedule. In addition, train dispatchers are responsible for managing the resources of a rail yard to assist freight trains in keeping to their scheduled times.
Trainyard Manager
Average Salary: $36,878 per year
The primary responsibility of a train yard manager, sometimes referred to as a yardmaster in specific contexts, is supervising the activities at a rail yard. They can delegate tasks to personnel in the rail yard, such as putting railcars on the tracks, completing rail car inspections, repairing rail cars, and reading train timetables. To ensure the delivery of cargo to the correct destination, a manager of a railroad yard can also keep an eye on and regulate the contents of each car that makes up a freight train. Sometimes the more technical people in this role are called Rail yard engineers.
Welder
Average Salary: $37,398 per year
Welder’s primary responsibilities include repairing and maintaining railroad tracks as part of their employment with railroad companies, which helps guarantee that train movement is safe and efficient. In addition, they can utilize the equipment to drive railroad spikes and finish making repairs to the railbed. Welders also can check railroad tracks for any signs of damage or faults, which helps train firms assure and maintain the track’s quality.
Diesel mechanic
Average Salary: $48,402 per year
The primary responsibilities of a diesel mechanic include carrying out inspections and maintenance and repair work on diesel locomotives. Furthermore, they may ensure that trains respect passenger and cargo safety standards established by businesses and governments. Diesel mechanics goes under training to handle heavy machineries, such as forklifts and other types of tools. In addition, diesel mechanics can utilize their understanding of the mechanical system of a locomotive to detect problems with a train’s functions using this information.
Signal maintainer
Average Salary: $50,190 per year
A signal maintainer’s principal duties include completing preventative maintenance to ensure that a railway’s signaling equipment remains in working order. By conforming to the government’s standards for railway signals, which they may access online, they may help businesses comply with signaling regulations. Maintainers of signs may also conduct routine inspections and testing on the apparatus they work with to ensure that it continues to function correctly. In addition, these railroad personnel can work extra hours to handle equipment issues outside of regular business hours.
How Many Railroad Jobs Are There?
There are more than 50,000+ positions available in the Railroad industry.
What Railroad Job Pays the Most?
Director of Engineering is the highest paid job in Railroads.
The Director of Engineering for a railroad is accountable for managing a group of engineers, ensuring that all routers are built on time and under budget, as well as most safely and effectively feasible, and supervising their work. It is one of the top paid occupations in the railroad industry, with an annual income ranging from $130,000 to $150,000 on average.
In most cases, the Director of Engineering is in charge of supervising a group consisting of between 2 and 20 engineering managers. These managers collaborate to ensure that all Railroad’s engineering operations coordinate adequately. The following are examples of some of the obligations associated with the job:
- Eliminating wasteful expenditures is one way to save money.
- Collaborating with top management to come up with innovative new strategies
- Make sure to follow the appropriate precautionary procedure all the time.
- Bringing projects in on schedule, without exceeding their allotted spending, and without deviating from their intended scope
A few occupations in the railroad industry need nothing more than a high school education or a General Equivalency Diploma (GED). Still, to become a Director of Engineering, you will generally need at least a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. In addition, if you want to advance in your career, you should have a Master’s degree and several years of relevant work experience.
What Is the Best Railroad to Work for?
Union Pacific is the best Railroad to work for.
Here are some of the reasons why it is the best Railroad to work for:
Employee Benefits
You will be part of a union if you are an employee in a position that is not management. You will experience the following health benefits:
- Insurance against death and incapacity
- Insurance for medical expenses and prescription drugs
- Insurance for both vision and dental care
These employee perks are collective bargaining agreements between management and the union.
Retirement and Financial Planning
Employees of railroads are eligible for retirement benefits. It is comparable to the system of social security. Numerous characteristics of the two strategies are closely related, some of which are as follows:
- Earnings credits
- Benefit payments
- Taxes
The 401(k) Comprehensive plan facilitates retirement savings. It offers a range of investing options, including funds and potential investments. After an additional year of service, employees become eligible to participate.
Childcare and Support Services
The railroad industry never stops running; thus, working there may be a very demanding profession.
Bright Horizons Care Advantage is an excellent resource that gives you and your family access to various helpful services in multiple settings. The following is a list of the supportive services provided by Union Pacific:
- Babysitters and nannies
- Care for the elderly
- Childcare
- Housekeeping
- Pet care
- Tutoring and help with schoolwork
Union Pacific offers a one-of-a-kind service for nursing women on the road that pumps and delivers breast milk. It goes by the name Milk Stork, the pioneering and pioneering only support program of its type.
Wellness Program
There is a program for system health facilities, and Union Pacific collaborates with various fitness centers all around the United States. The corporation makes it easy for its workers and the families of those workers to take better care of their health. As a result, health-conscious workers frequently do better in their employment.
Fitness centers and gyms are in areas adjacent to businesses with enough employees to justify their placement. For example, Union Pacific Center staff members can access the Omaha Health and Fitness Center during lunch breaks.
Other Benefits
Union Pacific offers several extra benefits, including:
- Extend available premium payment choices
- Make use of group buying’s ability to negotiate cheaper costs for you.
- Streamlines the process that employees go through to spend money and enroll in benefits
Included among the optional advantages are the following:
- Automobile insurance
- Financial wellness materials
- Insurance for homeowners and renters
- Pet insurance
- Protection against the theft of one’s identity
An educational aid program is also given to workers as a supporting service via the University of Nebraska. Through this program, you can attend classes at the university either in a traditional classroom setting or online.
Because Union Pacific makes direct payments to the institution, there is no cost to you as a student. Therefore, you have the opportunity to get a degree or participate in a class that will contribute to the growth and development of your professional career.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Working in Railroads?
Pros
Strong Demand
Passenger trains transport millions of people daily around the UK, and for many of these people, being able to do so is crucial to how they live. In addition, people will probably be encouraged to travel the train over the following years since the government wants to reduce pollution and harmful emissions.
There is a good chance that there will be a high demand for qualified employees to work in the sector for the foreseeable future, given the rail industry’s continuous importance. This is excellent news for anyone interested in working in the rail industry but has not yet found employment there.
An Encouraging And Promising Future
One more of the many compelling arguments in favor of a career in the rail business is that it is a sector that is seeing rapid expansion. For example, the High Speed 2 (HS2) project will connect London to Birmingham, then Manchester and Leeds, via a new route that will reduce travel times and considerably influence the UK economy. This will be one of the most critical developments in the lengthy history of the sector, and it will get underway in the next few years.
According to estimates, the project’s first phase will create almost 40,000 new jobs. After completion, it will probably still support many new roles. In the future years, in addition to the construction of HS2, the rail infrastructure of the United Kingdom will continue to undergo improvement, and qualified personnel will be required to make this happen.
Travel Across The Countryside
The opportunity to travel around the United States and potentially even beyond as part of one’s job responsibilities is a benefit offered by a significant number of rail industry positions. For example, people who work on trains in the United Kingdom are entitled to free travel to all cities and towns, as rail services span the length and breadth of the country. In addition, those who are fortunate enough to land a job with Eurostar can also get the opportunity to travel around France and Belgium as part of their job duties.
A Diverse Group of Companies As Employers
The re-privatization of the railroads in the United Kingdom in the 1990s resulted in many commercial operators providing job possibilities in the industry. In the UK, there are currently 28 companies in charge of running the rail systems.
Cross-country Trains, Virgin Trains, and London Midland are some of these businesses. In addition, there is a company known as Network Rail, which is in charge of regulating the sector as a whole and is accountable for the timely arrival of trains and the upkeep of the rail infrastructure.
Variety
Working in the rail sector has many perks, one of which is the sheer amount of diversity the profession offers. As a result, a diverse selection of work may be made in this industry, ranging from providing customer service and operating trains to functioning as engineers and signalers.
It suggests a greater likelihood of finding employment that utilizes your unique skills and experience. According to the StageCoach Group, there are presently 190,000 individuals engaged in rail. Because of the range of jobs available in the sector, there is a strong possibility that you already have the skills and expertise necessary to become one of those 190,000 people.
Cons
The Railroad industry doesn’t have many cons. However, the only con is that it requires physical labor and can be stressful.
Final Words
So, that was “Is Railroads a Good Career Path?” answered! Railroads is a good career path, and those looking for handsome salaries along with brilliant job prospects and outlooks make sure to get employed in this sector.
Jump along freight and passenger trains and enjoy the travel!