Hi everyone just a quick question on railroad careers. I’m thkinking of trying to get a conductor job. I know that conductors can often become engineers but what opportunities are there for conductors and/or engineers to eventually move into middle management (and what would be a typical middle management job a former conductor/engineer would fill) and subsequently upper management? I’m Canadian so information on CN or CP would be most useful but I’d also be interested in how they do it in the States.
just have to watch being hired off the street for managment positions… if you didnt come through the ranks as a T&E employee…if and when the railroad big shots want to do some lower level house cleaning…you will have nothing to fall back on… alot of supervisers that came through the ranks still retain thier senority in any craft postions so that should they get fired as managment…they can still have a job on the railroad… one that hires off the street…should they get the axe…will end up right back where he started…on the street…
that is something that one might want to consider too when looking for mangament jobs…
csx engineer
I wouldnt work for CN if I was you. I know quite a few CN employees, and CN doesnt really give a d*** about their employee’s. BNSF would be a good company. UP should also be good and they are both hiring like crazy.
sorry, bubba. None of them give a *** about us. That becomes more apparent the more years you put in. Everything nice they do is not motivated by their care for their employees. They are motivated by annother huge force…dollars. Safety? lawsuits. Rules to move trains safely? FRA and cost of loss…etc.
Oh. Thats too bad. I knew it was bad but not that bad. At least there are some nice employees to work with. That is why if I choose to go work with a railroad (depending on where my athletic career takes me) I WILL get a college degree so I have something to fall on. If htey treat me bad, I can just say, “screw this” and go use my degree to get another job.
It’s not a horrible job. My point is that they are about the same. I just read about a BNSF hogger getting personally sued for a de-railment back East by the company. I’m talking about cleanup, Amtrak delay and damage to structures and equipment…he couldn’t re-pay that in 100 years. TALK ABOUT OWE YOUR SOUL TO THE COMPANY STORE!
CSX_engineer hit the nail on the head. I started on the RR as a conductor and kept applying for train dispatcher. I was lucky enough to become a train dispatcher, but I still pay union dues to uphold my conductor seniority because you never know. You can also move up into a management positon such as Trainmaster, Road Foreman, etc. If you do end up that route just don’t forget where you came from and you can still keep the respect of your coworkers. I work with dispatchers and chief dispatchers that treat the crews like the enemy, and let me tell you it’s a two-way street! The more cooperative you are all around the better off you’ll be!
Thanks for the responses guys. Just to clarify I have no railroad or management experience so being hired off the street as a supervisor isn’t an option. I was more wondering about options ten to fifteen years down the road. I just like to know the option of moving up the ranks is there before I start a career.
I hope you live in Western Canada, I know CN hasn’t hired Conductors in years and years in Eastern Canada. May I suggest trying a short line owned by a big company (ie. Rail America). Out of High School I tried to get on with CN. I now have a good paying job so I don’t want to risk it going to our local shortline. I golf with one of the guys in management and could probably get a conductor job. On nights like to tonight, 12 plus inches of snow and no snow ploughs in sight sometimes I think maybe I should be climbing on board a train instead of a Tractor Trailer
I would advise trying a shortline or regional before a class 1. They are generally more emplyee friendly. Alot of times they also take better care of their power.
I know that some of the Class 1 carriers in the US have formal testing and qualification programs available to internal employees to see if they qualify for management opportunities based on their work experience. I know on the BNSF career website, this is referred to as “Front Line Supervisor (FLS) certification” and on UP these testing programs are called something like the “Operating Test Battery” or some such.
they will brainwash you …im sorry…i mean train you…if you hire off the street…they will put you into mangment training classes or something like that…
csx engineer