Thank you so much. I know I have a long time to think about what I want to do. I have taken those career placement tests in Careers Class (Yes that‘s an 8th grade class now.) Each time I have scored a 50 or higher in “Logistics” which includes the occupation Locomotive Engineer. I still think I at least want to try it. And if I don’t get on as a train crew member at first you know, I could maybe get on as something else like switchman or brakeman maybe. If I don’t try to get hired on I’ll beat myself up forever that I didn’t try. If I don’t like it, I guess that I could always fall back on another career like maybe a trucker or something.
Thank you all for the very helpful information I really appreciate it. I’ve been thinking about taking Fundamentals Of Ag class. I hear that you use your hands a lot and I like that, you also get to be outside a lot, that is a plus for me as well as I like to be outside. Also, I hear that when employers go to hire you they look at you social networking accounts and places you visit on the internet. So being smart on places like facebook, and on Trainsmag.com will pay off to.
Logisitics! How’bout dispatching, trainmaster, yardmaster, road foreman of engines. Study hard, reach higher. And, yeah, worry about learnen’ now and doin’ later. Ya gots a lotta time.
I would like to offer some advice. Plan to attend at least one semester of junior college. If your high school offers you to go to college while in high school (usually you have to be a senior though), go for it. I went to a junior college and never regretted it. I now have an associates in management.
I am now completing a B.S. in Human Resources. I always tell someone to aleast give college a chance and attend for one semester. If you don’t like, then you can always quit and you haven’t tied up too much money in it.
Good luck on your education. Your high school years will go by fast so enjoy it.
When I first got out of the army, in 1962, I was a Polish linguist. There wasn’t much demand for that skill! I went to work for my father’s construction company. I considered applying with New York Central, but I made three-times what the railroad was paying! Over the years, I developed a network and friends with the NYC, as I worked with them, but then Penn Central happened! Bad timing! I’m sorry I missed the opportunity to work for a railroad. I have always regretted not going with NYC. “Water over the dam”. I ended up going back with the army, after a time-out as a Professional Ski Patrolman in Vermont. Cool, but it paid less than the railroads did! I guess, the number one consideration is DO SOMETHING YOU LIKE and forget the money. The railroads pay very well, nowadays. The hours might not be great, even for a dispatcher, but I never had great hours in the army. Ask any cop. They’ll say the same. Do master the English language. It can, actually, be fun! I speak five languages and never got much benefit from them, jobwise, other than in the army. Sure helps with my NYT Sunday Crossword, though. Piece-of-cake!!! Whatever you do, enjoy it! Now, I wish I had learned Latin…
like the idea of a yr of Junior College before going into military. Many careers like technical writing skills so going to college that is a subject with definite pluses especially if eventually going into management.
Justin: Paul North, Hayes, henry6, Oltmann and others have all given you excellent advice. As a retired professor, I would strongly recommend attending your local community college for at least one semester after high school. Classes are small in size (30-40), taught by experienced faculty with degrees (at least a masters) as opposed to many introductory classes at four year universities taught by graduate assistants. They also have much cheaper tuition.
In high school and at least the first year or two of college, try to get a well-balanced liberal arts education that will prepare you for many fields and for the changes in the economy that the future holds. English composition and literature, history, plenty of math, some science, other social sciences (psychology, for example), and a foreign language will be very important for you, whether you become a railroad engineer or go in some related or totally different direction. Math and writing skills, as well as mastering what educators like to call “critical thinking” (I prefer to call it analytical reasoning) will prepare you for success at whatever you do in life if you apply yourself and take advantage of the opportunities you are given. As Bill Hayes said (paraphrased): you don’t get a degree, you earn it.
Some people have also suggested me going to a Technical School for a degree in large diesel engines. They said the railroads would like to see that when you go to apply.
Glad I didn’t listen to the guidance/ career counselor when I was in school. (I often wonder how much was paid under the table to channel people to some VocEd operation [V])
Surveyors are outside a lot… So are civil engineers. Both get their hands dirty for different reasons and like it. I enjoyed history classes at every level, but was not sure I knew where that was going to come in. Paul and I know now, especially when you wind up trying to retrace what somebody did 50-100 years ago and why. Five years from now, you may have decided to go totally another direction.
Hey guys! I have found this thread to be very helpful to me, as I’m going through a similar situation as Justin. I was hoping to get some insight as to whether you guys think I have a shot to get hired by a RR. I’ll be 18 in May, and I’m planning to go to an NS interview for conductors this summer, as they are hiring in many different towns near me in Georgia and Alabama. I recieved my GED last winter and I have completed various Math, English, and Speech classes this past year at a Technical college as well, but have since taken a leave of absence due to some family issues. My Job expierience consists of a summer unofficially volunteering at a resturaunt, mainly loading/unloading new appliances into the building. I have also played various sports throughout the last decade as well, so I’m in pretty good shape. I’d really love to go to Modoc this summer, but I heavily doubt that would be possible due to constraints of the financial variety.
Stay away from Modoc. CSX and NS will NOT hire railroad “trade school” graduates. Each wants to hire you off the street and train you up “their” way. A short line might hire you out of Modoc, but usually they (at least the ones I’ve talked to) prefer to hire people with Class 1 experience.
Otherwise, as long as you can pass the physical, drug and personality tests, you should not problem with NS.