Calling all railroad men!

[controlfreq]

17 and already an expert in things never seen or done..

Yep, that's what 17 y/o boys do. You so old you already forgot being 17?

 

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[Force_of_Iron]

I am currently 17, and looking to get a job on the railroad as soon as I am done with school (18-19). I've been wanting this job for a long time, so it's not just a spur of the moment thing. I am not going to college, (socialist generating, indoctrination facilities) for several reasons, one being the aforementioned reasons in parenthesis, and because no one can afford it. Anyway, the job I am looking for is to be a conductor. I actually have several rule books and such that I've read, one being as recent as 2007 (and no I ain't tellin' ya which railroad!). I am familiar with the job, as I've been around conductors and brakemen for a good chunk of my life, but I never thought to ask, how do I get hired? Do I just waltz right into the office and say, "Hey, I wanna job" ?

Any questions, please ask them, and please, the more advice, the better.

Yes you can get hired. Its a young mans job though. You have to be young without many attachments to get through the years as low man on the boards. You will be sent everywhere at any time. It could be an adventure for a young man starting out.

What I advise my younger son who has no desire to go to college is to learn electrical / instrumentation tech. It pays very well. Is a in demand job where you can work almost anywhere near civilization. Its hard to find good ones so if you know what you are doing there is a lot of job security.

Also if you apply yourself and get a degree down the road you can get into electrical/ instrumentation on the mgt end. Those guys make big money and perks.

 

[RustyRelics]

17 and already an expert in things never seen or done..

Is that supposed to be sarcasm?

 

[Jbabycsx]

Good luck to you in whatever you decide to do. I’m only 38 but man what I wouldn’t give to go back to 17 and try again!

 

[Duckshot]

Socialist generating indoctrination facilities? There wouldn't be any modern trains if it weren't for college/university taught engineers to design better engines. There would be no metal detectors, they are also deigned by folks with higher education. You couldn't watch TV if it hadn't been for college educated people. NOTHING in our modern electronic world would be here if not for higher education and we'd all still be dying off in huge numbers by the time we were forty if not for the advances in modern medicine by folks with many years of college. People who study hard and pass tests get scholarships as do some athletes, there are ways to get a college education without a lot of money. Most states have reasonably priced community colleges. I don't believe college is right for everybody but to call colleges socialist generating indoctrination facilities is beyond belief. If you have been around conductors all your life why not ask one of them? My father worked for the railroad, you may not be able to get a conductor job right away, you may have to work your way up to such a position. My dad had to start as a janitor for the RR and worked his way up to mailroom duties before he completed his college and got a better job. Again, ask the conductors you know.

Now there wouldn't be modern trains if not for the state universities?

Now I heard everything.

Do you know what university Thomas Edison attended? None, yet he still manage to build a lightbulb that would burn a bamboo filament for 12 hours, a marvel for its time. Edison was home schooled by his mother for the most part.

The limiting factor in modern education is not the big stuff, you can't teach invention. And that is the problem with modern education. The universities try to teach big ideas instead of focusing on basic facts and allowing students to draw their own conclusions. They teach rhetoric when they should be teaching grammar.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Is that supposed to be sarcasm?

I do believe so...

Truth be told, I think your comments regarding today's institutions
of higher education are spot on.

...and I ain't 17.

 

[Muddyhandz]

Would you want to leave her at home all alone for several weeks straight?

 

[RustyRelics]

Would you want to leave her at home all alone for several weeks straight?

I don't plan on having a her. Like literally, I want to get this job as soon as I move out, so nothing like that can happen.

 

[Force_of_Iron]

Would you want to leave her at home all alone for several weeks straight?


Man.. good post that's a catchy tune I had never heard before.

As to the rest of it Rusty Relics if you want to do this job do it. You are young. Even if you work there 5-6 years and hate it to quit in the end you still have plenty of time to do other things provided you make sure you never stop learning and building your skills.

I didn't have my first real job until I was 26 years old. I was duty bound to work with my father until I realized that that was a certain dead end built on lies. I had to start work in an old and very dangerous old school manufacturing plant but it was just a stepping stone. I knew how to work and had a lot of practical experience fixing things with my father. I worked and went to school part time graduating at 35. Now I am a manager in one of the largest production facilities in the country.

Just keep a good work ethic. Always look to learn something better than anyone else wherever you go and you will not fail.

 

[RustyRelics]

Work ethic is no problem.

I think when I get to 18, I'll have to talk to Andy Glass, a friend of mine who happens to be VP of operations, Reading Blue Mountain and Northern. I'd like to go to a class 1 however.

 

[Jbabycsx]

Yeah don’t waste time on anything other than a class 1. The pay at smaller lines is basically chump change. It’s actually funny to read what you’re saying. I was exactly the same way. I had two uncles and a step dad at CSX so that’s all I ever wanted to do growing up. I saw the big houses, expensive cars, boats and toys......I never saw the men that actually owned them though! At your age I was in my uncles boat every weekend with my cousin (now a CSX conductor) offshore fishing. It worked out great for us. Uncle was always on a train somewhere and we got to enjoy the 4 story house on the inter coastal waterfront and his boat. He would come home just long enough to cut the grass and maybe do some gardening and be gone again. My step dad retired as a conductor after 42 years of being gone. He left my mom a house, cars, money and a good retirement. He died less than 10 years after retiring. My uncle just retired early after getting “injured” due to a broken hand rail on front of an engine. He hit what’s called the “railroad lottery.” Basically you work until you’re about to retire, fake an injury, get a huge settlement and retire. His son is following the same footsteps. Works 24/7 because his dad expects him to maintain the railroad legacy. The cycle never ends.

 

[RustyRelics]

My dad was a firefighter for over 30 years, so I know wacky scheduling. As long as I don't get a wife and kid, I'm good.

 

[RustyRelics]

So once I apply, do they tell me where to take the class?

Do I have to pay for it?

I guess I'd get interviewed before I get to any classes.

 

[Force_of_Iron]

My dad was a firefighter for over 30 years, so I know wacky scheduling. As long as I don't get a wife and kid, I'm good.

Leave me in your will please.

 

[Jbabycsx]

Once you apply, if you get selected for it, they send you to the school program. They are probably doing them at a local technical college or some other place of learning. Though the program is not part of the actual school. I’m pretty sure the NS conductor program is free. When I went through the course it was almost $6000. Start planning for how you will pay for living expenses while in the program. You won’t be getting paid while you are there. If it’s not local you will have to have a hotel or family to stay with. It adds up quick! You have to pass a few physical fitness things which aren’t an issue for 99% of people. They will take a hair sample for drug testing. Our class was 6 weeks long. 5 days a week 8 hours a day just studying the rules and signals. You had to learn the definition of the signals verbatim. Any deviation from the definition of the signal meant you had to retest on them all. Even adding an additional “the” or “and” was considered wrong. You only got two chances at it. Take it seriously and study it. Every day is just studying and learning. After that everyone in the class will draw for seniority. They used numbered ping pong balls for it back when I started. Wherever you draw number wise is where you will be on the seniority roster. Higher is better. You want to be number one as it will make claiming jobs possible. Seniority is everything at the railroad. After that you will be assigned to either yard or road service to train for 8-10 months. After that you will do qualifying runs while shadowed by a mentor. If you pass you can mark up and start working.

 

[Force_of_Iron]

Once you apply, if you get selected for it, they send you to the school program. They are probably doing them at a local technical college or some other place of learning. Though the program is not part of the actual school. I’m pretty sure the NS conductor program is free. When I went through the course it was almost $6000. Start planning for how you will pay for living expenses while in the program. You won’t be getting paid while you are there. If it’s not local you will have to have a hotel or family to stay with. It adds up quick! You have to pass a few physical fitness things which aren’t an issue for 99% of people. They will take a hair sample for drug testing. Our class was 6 weeks long. 5 days a week 8 hours a day just studying the rules and signals. You had to learn the definition of the signals verbatim. Any deviation from the definition of the signal meant you had to retest on them all. Even adding an additional “the” or “and” was considered wrong. You only got two chances at it. Take it seriously and study it. Every day is just studying and learning. After that everyone in the class will draw for seniority. They used numbered ping pong balls for it back when I started. Wherever you draw number wise is where you will be on the seniority roster. Higher is better. You want to be number one as it will make claiming jobs possible. Seniority is everything at the railroad. After that you will be assigned to either yard or road service to train for 8-10 months. After that you will do qualifying runs while shadowed by a mentor. If you pass you can mark up and start working.

Best post so far.....

 

[RustyRelics]

$6,000 for the railroad school, or if they send you somewhere else? That's insane!

Norfolk Southern it is, lol! Harrisburg will probably take me on, and I have family up there.

 

[Jbabycsx]

CSX is free now as well. They stopped charging not long after I started there. Charging weeded out a lot of the bad apples that can’t figure out the rules or aren’t serious about the job.

 

[Escape]

I am not going to college, (socialist generating, indoctrination facilities) for several reasons, one being the aforementioned reasons in parenthesis, and because no one can afford it. Anyway, the job I am looking for is to be a conductor.

I don't know who put that idea in your head but that is totally messed up. There are forces at work who's aim is to keep people uneducated by propagating this kind of nonsense. Because an uneducated population is easer to control. If that's your reason for not continuing your education, you're making a big mistake.

 

[Force_of_Iron]

I don't know who put that idea in your head but that is totally messed up. There are forces at work who's aim is to keep people uneducated by propagating this kind of nonsense. Because an uneducated population is easer to control. If that's your reason for not continuing your education, you're making a big mistake.

Yes but do both. You have to be able to know the real world and the academic.