I just recently applied online for a position with NS as a conductor out of Bellevue, OH and recieved an e-mail saying my application was reviewed and I am considered for the second step. I have to attend a session in Sandusky Ohio Aug 2nd. What does this entail, and what attire should be worn to this. I am currently Army active duty awaiting discharge which is slated for August 29th.
While in Iraq, I experienced mild hearing loss, will this affect my employment as a conductor? It was bad enough that I am recieving a pension from the VA. Also, my vision is somewhere around 20/60 corrected. Will any of this affect my employment as a conductor?
Ray,Not to put a damper on your job prospect but,unless the railroads change your mild hearing loss and eyesight may sink you…When I hired out on the Chessie the psychical,hearing and color blind test was very strict…Even with my glasses on I just made the eye test at the bare minimum.20/30 corrected if I recall correctly.
First, make sure you are early to the session. NS is well known for locking out anyone not arriving in a timely fashion. Also wear decent clothes. Khakis and a decent shirt with a collar should do fine. NS loves military so if you are ship shape (from my Navy days) you’ll be fine.
As to the eyesight. As long as you are correctable to 20/20 you should be fine. Hearing loss. NS has limits on hearing loss. See if you can find out what they are. If you know someone on the NS in your area ask where NS does physicals there. Check with the medical facility directly what the test requires. You will have an audio test in a sound proof booth at your physical so don’t fudge it.
I dont think my vision is correctable to 20/20, I believe it is 20/100 correctable in my left eye, 20/20 in the right. I believe thats what my last military physical said…
I’m not sure what the hearing guidelines are…but your vision must be no worse then 20/40 corrected.
You’ll find the most long term railroaders have some hearing loss anyway, particularly in the higher ranges. I do, my father does, my grandfather did.
Be sure you on time, or a little early. Khaki pants, and a golf shirt should suffice. Also make sure you emphasize you’re a veteran. Railroads love vets.
It’s been years since I hired, but this is basically what happened…
When you go the session, someone from NS will probably give you a speech about how hard the railroad life is, the dangers, being away from home, and all that. Then you’ll take a battery of tests - usually math, industrial reading, and sometimes a personality test. If you pass all the tests, you will be scheduled for an interview, either that day, or a day or two later.
If you pass the interview, NS will direct you to some industrial health facility for your physical and drug screening. If all that goes well, you’ll get a date to report for your training class. Some people have said you’ll get a strength test, at some point prior to reporting for training. However, I took mine the first and second days of training.
I’m assuming you have glasses or contacts. I also wear glasses and can pass the eye test fine and my vision isn’t the greatest without them. I know we aren’t the same, but I would be very surprised unless you have eye damage or disease if you cannot be corrected to 20/40 with lenses of some sort. While you are still in the service see if you can get in to see an Opthamologist (eye M.D., not an optometrist or optician) and get an exam. At least that way you can get an answer. You can also self test if you can get to a doctors office with a regular eye chart and do the cover one eye method. Most charts have the 20/? next to each line of the chart.
I attended a couple NS hiring sessions four years ago. I was among roughly 200 or so others and only 40 conductor spots open with 60 interviews to be done that day. Your military background will be a plus. Dress nice and be early. Yea they close the doors when the session begins but I saw something at the last session that got me ticked. Fifteen minutes after the thing began a group of guys walked in with with oversized jerseys down to their knees and huge baggy pants falling off their ass. 3/4 of the ones in that group got interviews, while people like me who were early got sent home with no interview. they didn’t take my railroad background into consideration at all. Oh well enough whinning good luck with everything.
In trucking we had two tests for hearing. A whisper test from the rear at 5 feet… in a room with other people constantly talking, that is pretty much a wash out.
The second and better test is a Audioligist to provide you with a sound proof chamber and have you respond to the variety of sounds provided you. As long you are accurate in your responses (And they will test it too…) you will generate a chart of your hearing.
In trucking Im required to hold 500, 1000 and 2000 hertz at 40 db or better with or without hearing aids. Since that is down where the range is for human voices and engine sounds that is not a problem for me. If you cannot hear these three sounds at less than 40 db you dont pass the hearing test.
They test you from 20 Hertz all the way up to about 10,000 hertz from 0 db to about whereever it takes to max out or get a response out of you. I dont hear anything above 3500 hertz so that sound proof is really emitting high notes that kills the doctor trying to find my limit. =)
However, it is possible to be grandfathered in based on past safe driving but that comes out of DC on the federal level or restrict you to non-ICC Commerce and cannot take freight across state lines, similar to Pilots in General Aviation who cannot venture into Controlled airspace if they are deaf.
I dont know anything about railroads and thier hearing requirements but that will get sorted out along with your eyes. But most certainly you will be either passed or failed because they dont want to have problems out there on the line.