Got my blood pressure under control and will re-test in March. Not too worried about it (140 over 90 now). I feel fine.
Problem is that I have another job, tying to bring in new business for a geotechnical company in Columbus (soil testing and NDT for new construction). Pay is $40k, with a self-funded 401-k, self-funded health insurance, and a typical vacation, holiday package. 40-hour work week, with a little bit of travel. Not very exciting stuff, but it IS indoors, and it HAS been -20 wind chill here the last few days. How much time will I actually spend outside at NS?
Can’t decide which to do. I really like the security that the freight conductor job offers. With the overtime, it will likely end up being more $ (but maybe less take-home). How much do you make in the first year? The interviewer said $50-55k.
Is the RR retirement that much better then Social Security? I need to play ahead. I’ll probably only be able to work 10 of 15 years (I am 45 now).
The local here pays a reduced scale the first several years. I think you only get like 80% of regular pay the first year, 85% the second, etc, taking 5 years before you are actually taking home the advertised rate.
With RRT you will pay an extra 4.9% over and above Social Security. I believe you will have to work to 67 to get best pension under either system.
How is medical package where you work? Railroad is pretty good but you will have to pay at least $130 per month as your share. If it is less someone please chime in.
More food for thought: IF railroads get their one man crew demand on the next contract you may well be 50 (+) and unemployed.
you pay 4.9% extra for railroad retirement but the railroad pays even more extra. If you get the full retirement amount it will be a lot more than social security, but that requires 360 months of service.
Railroads are pushing in new contract to raise healthcare up to around the $300 mark, but give a raise over the life of the contract. Right before I started with BNSF they paid nothing for healthcare. Then about the same time I started it was $100/ month, then went up to $130 and now is close to $140.
I am glad that I hired on with the railroad. My first full year I made $76K, can’t find many jobs that pay that well without a college degree. 3 years later and I am starting my engineer training on Monday.
Though there are lots of things that aren’t so great about the job. When I work the road I can’t make any plans till last minute because I don’t know when I will be working. If I work the yard I can make plans but I have to work afternoon or night shift and weekends. O and I forgot about having to work when its -20 degrees out.
But still I like the job, but I am also young and haven’t many full time jobs other than this.
Sounds like a toughie. If you’re concerned the cold might be too much for you, I’d advise against taking it. On the other hand, a pair of Carhartt lined overalls, along with the requisite hat, gloves, jacket, etc., will keep the average joe comfortable right down there. But in the end, you won’t have much control over when you get to get on and ride a through freight, where you’ll have little exposure to the cold, and when you’ll be pulling pins on the hump, where there’s just no protection from that north wind. Trouble is, seniority is everything, and you start out with none of it. That means you’ll have just plain no control over where you work, when you work, etc., at least for a while.
Exciting stuff happens out there. It’s best when nothing too exciting happens. But it’s one thing that can be said for railroading: there’s plenty of excitement between those boring moments.
Railroad Retirement is much, much better than social security. You’d be a fool to plan on social security making up more than, perhaps, a third of your retirement income. Railroad retirement is more secure and pays much bigger dividends. However, remember this: you’ll pay into it no matter what, but unless you stick around for five years, you won’t be vested and won’t collect a penny of it back. In fact, that’s a big part of why railroad retirement is so good–so many people pay into it, but many of them won’t stick around long enough to get vested. In fact, senior railroaders can thank young bucks like me for donating to the cause and leaving before we get anything back.
First, I’d like to say, YOU WILL BE IN THE WEATHER either working in the yard or out on the road. It comes with the job. You may only be out there for a roll-by, tying your train down (do that alot on UP!), or switching out cars, etc. It’s hot, cold, wet, dry, whatever mother nature can throw at you. So if weather is a concern to you this may not be for you, and we haven’t mentioned the critters!
As for one man crews, it’s going to be a long, long battle, but eventually, it will happen. Unless we get Joe Citizen behind us, and we can get them to vote (I say this with tongue firmly in cheek since I’ve been to the Middle East to give them the right to vote,(and get to go again next year yepee) but these retards in this country are just to busy! SORRY[soapbox].
The main thing nobody has told you is that you can retire at age 60 but to get the full railroad retirment you haft to put in 30 years. that for you is age 75. you can not draw social security and railroad retirement at same time in fact once you go to the railroad retirment you wont get your social security. nor will your wife. all your retirment will come from the railroad retirement.
I don’t know where you are, but there are already one man crews on quite a few short lines and several class 1s. I have watched 1 man RCL crews hump trains at UP’s Roseville Yard and the Indiana Railroad uses them on coal trains and in certain local switching operations now. I agree that they are likely to be deployed elsewhere eventually. Given some of the recent issues such as the fataility at CSX Dewitt, NY yard that recently resulted in a new FRA advisory concerning RCL the spread of 1 man RCL crews will likely slow a bit.
First, as Zapp says, as a conductor you WILL be out in all sorts of weather. Whether you work in the yard or on the road won’t make a difference. To give you examples I have during my career been a road conductor and walked 2 mile long TV trains in 100+ degree heat (90%humidity) and the same winter pulled pins on the hump as a switchman at Frontier Yard (Buffalo, NY) in screaming wind at -8 degrees (not including wind chill). If these extremes and everything in between is not for you may wish to consider an “inside” railroad job such as clerk or yardmaster.
I worked as a clerk and a trackman. if you decide to be a trainman then weather will only be a minor issue. We had to wear hard hats that would almost freeze to your head. Or in the summer they would slide off because of sweating. But for me working outdoors in the spring and fall was worth the other extremes. I guess my point about weather is if you are wondering about it now maybe you wont like the extremes. GOOD LUCK!
ok…i have to add my 5 dollors worth of input here…
1…YOU WILL BE OUT IN THE COLD RAIN SNOW BAKEING SUN…even the nice road trains where the conductor just sits there most to the time…at some point you will have to walk your train to fix a problem… walk back to make a cut that is a boat load of cars from the head end for a pick up or set off…not forgetting haveing to stand in the weather to put your train away if you make it into the final terminal and your train requires yarding…
2… depending on what the senority is like at the termianls where you have the rights to work…you might find it hard to make a days pay becouse of getting bumped… the railroad is a senority based system and if a guy older then you is bumped and looking for a place to go…you got a target on your back…as well as people that like to sharp shoot the boards (sharp shooting is when someone either wants to try and make as much money as possable in as few days as possable by bumping head out to get train after train… or the other kind of sharp shooter is the one that trys to get out of work by bumping to a spot that might be on a off day or a turn that is all the way at the bottom of the board so he/she dosnt get called out for a while) also when things slow down… the lower you are on the roster… the greater your chances of getting forlowed or haveing to go far away from your home terminal to follow your senority just to make a pay check…
3… as far as what the interview said…that is the average wages…you can make more…and you can make ALOT less… see point 2 agin…
4…as far as the wages…the number he said is also your gross…not your net… after you take out RR tir 1 and 2…federal state and local taxes… the health insurance premiumes… union dues… your net will be about half of what your gross is…
5… as someone said already…to get a full pention…you need 30 years of service… without the 30 years of service… you get less of a pention then you do a
You might want to check into how much the self funded health care at the other job is going to cost you, with the UTU on NS we pay around 148 a month for very good health care, the NS also offers a 401k plan you can participate in on top of RR Retirement. If your district is busy like most NS terminals you will get a lot of overtime, especially in the summer - fall months. I’ve been with the NS 2 1/2 years and for the most part really enjoy the job. The training period was rough, but once you get past that the money is good and work interesting.