Railroad Forums 

  • Conductor trainee

  • General discussion about working in the railroad industry. Industry employers are welcome to post openings here.
General discussion about working in the railroad industry. Industry employers are welcome to post openings here.

Moderator: thebigc

 #591175  by derek166
 
I have been doing some research on the railroad industry. I am fresh out of college with a degree in education. I don't know if I want to pursue anything in teaching so I am exploring my options. A conductor trainee position caught my eye and I want look into it more. I have one big question that needs to be answered before I apply for the position. After you complete and pass the training, do you automatically get a job as a conductor. do you work the yard for a couple of years, or do you just have to wait until there is a conductor job open?
 #591290  by csxt43
 
once you complete your training and you mark up, you are a conductor. however, as everybody on here will say, depending on where you're working at, you could be furloughed as soon as you mark up. but some are lucky and are never furloughed. also, the first few years of your career you can more than likely expect to be furloughed or have to chase work at other terminals until you gain senority. but again, it depends on where your hired out of. as for whether you work the yard or the road, that im not sure. again, i think it depends on where you hire and what that locations needs are. perhaps someone else can shed light on this.
i recommend taking time to read alot of the posts on here. i myself have a teaching degree and considered the railroad. actually i had an offer and my date to go to redi for csx. however, i had a change of heart and backed out just before i was to go to redi. the risk of furlough was to great a chance to take. i wish that i would've found this forum before i applied though. reading these posts was very informative, especially when your out in left field with regards to this field. good luck.
 #591364  by derek166
 
I am a little unfamiliar what a furlough is. I know it means a leave from work but what does that mean for the railroad. Are you absolutely not working during this furlough or are you doing some other job besides a conductor?
 #591395  by trekker
 
If you check in Websters it defines furlough as the time a railroad employee spends hunting deer, and catching fish.
 #591444  by qboy
 
Try reading through the form furloughs are dicuss all over. Just do little search plenty of info just gotta search.
 #591454  by changed
 
Furlough is the same thing as being laid off no work. If you have 1 yr in with the RR you can draw railwoad unemployment that pays I think $62 a day. Alot of places hire and furlough as soon as you get marked up but if you can relocate for a year you may be able to temp. transfer somewhere for a year or 6months! If you can do this it pays good you get like 2k for going then you get paid whatever you work at the place you transfer they will pay for your lodging if you stay in a hotel or you can find your own place and they will pay you $750 a month for rent if your rent is $100 you keep whats left. at the end of the tranfer you get another $8k so if you get furloughed you may still have other options! Good luck to you even if you get furloughed its a great job and well worth it. you most likely would make more just training then what you would as a teacher!
 #591546  by derek166
 
Thank you very much for the information changed.
 #595146  by Stevenony
 
Hello, Right now when you get hired on as a conductor trainee you get your paid training (pay is somewhere around $850 a week toward the end of your training, I dont follow the conductor contracts that much anymore so I dont know what it is exactly). After you mark up most places are short of guys so you probably wont get furloughed, if you do you can chase the work around but for the most part the bonuses for transferring attract seniority. Texas did take a bunch of conductors last year with a pretty good bonus but they are stuck for three years before being able to return to their home terminal. Some of the guys who went there were engineers working on the ground (ground hogs) who cant transfer their seniority unless they want to go to the bottom of the senoirity roster (SENIORITY IS EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!! on the railroad).
Its a good job for someone who is just starting out, but but remember BNSF = Better Not Start Family. The pay is good (especially since the conductors extraboards are paying alot more than the engineers extraboards), the hours are hard sometimes and the weather will always suck (yes even in California). The training is the same as the guys who are paying a RR college, and you are guaranteed a job, even if you get furloughed,.... eventually. The training just gets you ready to start learning your job...you wont be worth a damn for a year or two and you will know it.
If you decide to go with it, remember that most of the rules were written in blood. Its not the same RR that the oldheads hired out with, its changed alot even since I hired out, rules compliance is priority over customer service. Your number one job is to go home everyday. Good luck.
 #595230  by RRhuntinFF72
 
trekker wrote:If you check in Websters it defines furlough as the time a railroad employee spends hunting deer, and catching fish.
This has to be the best explanation I've heard...ever....lol
 #595537  by rwallace2fan1
 
RRhuntinFF72 wrote:
trekker wrote:If you check in Websters it defines furlough as the time a railroad employee spends hunting deer, and catching fish.
This has to be the best explanation I've heard...ever....lol
I always thought that was the definition of "FIRED" :-D