High Paying LIRR Jobs

LI 7285:

The qualification process is quite lengthy. I'll start from the very beginning....... When jobs are posted or advertised, applicants submit resumes to Jamaica. Possible candidates are called for an interview. Over the past few years, when hiring was abundant, job fairs were held in Babylon where approximately 300 hopeful candidates attended. The day consisted of a brief overview of the LIRR followed by 2 aptitude exams. One on math and one on vocabulary. If the candidate passed both exams, they were given an interview on the spot. The failures would be dismissed. If this first interview went well, the applicant would be invited back to Jamaica for a panel interview over the next few weeks. If that was successful, they would be invited to Hillside (where our training dept is located) to attend a full day class for a job description. There they would be given a manual containing all railroad definitions (approximately 70) and all signals (approximately 65). The applicants have to memorize all this information over the next 3 weeks and then return to Hillside for their entrance exam. 75% is passing. However, if ONE signal is wrong, the entire exam is a failure!

After passing the entrance exam, the applicants would now be admitted to a formal training class which lasts for 3 months. After completion of the course and passing a MIDTERM, FINAL, EMERGENCY TRAINING CLASS, TICKET CLASS AND AIRBRAKE CLASS, they would be awarded a job on the LIRR, provided that they pass a medical exam and survive the background check.

This process is only the beginning. Now, the employee is an Assistant Conductor, who must work in that capacity for at least 2 years before having to take a mandatory exam to qualify as a Conductor. This is where the fun begins!!!

If I didn't bore you too much and you would like to know how the Conductor Qualification process works, let me know............

Clemuel wrote:Haha... hardest thing I ever had to do was qualify on the LIRR.

Clem

I interviewed with the LIRR about two years ago, and unfortunately didn't get the job....that was my 1st major interview, and I think my nervousness showed. I remember them saying during the orientation that those of us who were selected for the training would be subject to a test, and would also have to draw a map of the LIRR trackage, from memory. Now...this map, how detailed does it have to be....like the basic map that's posted on the LIRR MTA website, or is it a detailed map they want, with sidings, switches, double main lines, branches, secondaries...and all the detail?

SK2MY,
thanks,

Let me know the rest. if u want u can PM it.

Long Island 7285 wrote:Bluebelly

i herd similar.. from a cndr once, he told be that it was the 2nd hardest, but i guess that artical says no

do they actully hold classes teaching you the railroad. or do they just give out the books and say learn on your own?

Well to a point. I think many do not realize that the 2-3 years you spend as an A/C before qualifying is meant to be training to be a Conductor and fail to take advantage of it.. If you view this time as such and make an effort to learn during that time, it is very helpful. If you go sleep in the cab after your ticket lift your time as an A/C will be wasted and it will be that much harder to qualify.
The Training Dept offerred Pre Conductor classes that you could attend on your own time.These classes covered the Book of Rules in depth, and touched on PC a little. I found then very helpful when I qualified.
When you actually go up to qualify you get a week of class before the Book of Rule exam, two weeks before P.C. and a week before Airbrake
In case you are interested, the link below is to an earlier thread where I described the qualifying process, just scroll down a little.
http://64.78.30.219/forums/viewtopic.ph ... ght=#55150

RPM, when you qualify on the PC, you must know a map of the entire road showing every station platform, switch and signal. They don't actually let you draw the thing; you are asked to recite it, as in,

"Going west on Number 2 Montauk, there is a trailing point hand thrown crossover with a center locking bar to Number 1 Montauk.... followed by a position light signal on a mast which marks the westward limits of .... "

If you qualify with a group of others, the examiner will go around the room and pick people for different portions of the Road:

"Joe, take me from Greenport to Central Islip. First, tell me the rules in effect"

However, if you have to qualify alone, you do the whole thing yourself, in about three hours.

Then there are the questions that are asked to determine if you've actually been out to these places:

"Joe, if I'm standing on the east end of Woodside, can I see Wood's Home Signal?"

This isn't the stuff that a class teaches you. To learn you simply have to ride the railroad and draw maps two thousand times.

Everyone has to test on the entire physical railroad in one sitting, though the Engineers have a test on a portion so they can begin train handling training then come back and have to do the entire railroad a few months later.

Managers transfering from other departments usually get no classes and simply have to ride around and learn on their own time and then schedule an examination.

There's much talk of making the test easier, perhaps testing in segments or by branch, but with the number of bad incidents occuring blamed on inexperienced employees, it's doubtful that requirements will be lightened any time soon.

Memorizing the physical Railroad is easier for some than for others. For me, it was an absolute beast, and I love the place and spent more time than most walking and riding.

Clem

RPM:

At the Orientation, they told you that you would be required to take an exam. The exam that they were talking about is an entrance exam for the Assistant Conductor Program (if that's what you were interviewing for). The exam consists of memorizing the signals and definitions of the railroad. Absolutely no PC (Physical Characteristics) is required at this time.

Some of the monotony of the grueling rules test is broking up by interesting answers from new employees.

Q: What sort of supermaket is across from Islip station

A: Bohack's(this was circa 2000)

Q: What does it mean when the engine bell is sounded

A: The doors are going to open/close

The latter was because the new employee sat on MU on the way into Hillside and kept hearing the bell ring when doors were closing.

whats the failure percentage of Assistant Conductors who attempt to take the conductors qualifying exam? for the CPA exam i believe its around 60%.
does this mean that quite a few A/C who don't pass the exam after 7 tries are currently being dismissed?

also, i was led to believe you actually had to draw the PC map, not just recite part of it. either way seems brutally hard, how many people can actually do that?

LIRailfan79 wrote:whats the failure percentage of Assistant Conductors who attempt to take the conductors qualifying exam? for the CPA exam i believe its around 60%.
does this mean that quite a few A/C who don't pass the exam after 7 tries are currently being dismissed?

also, i was led to believe you actually had to draw the PC map, not just recite part of it. either way seems brutally hard, how many people can actually do that?

Yeah that does seem hella difficult. I live in Westbury and I have been riding the train from Westbury to NYP all my life several times a year, sometimes within a relatively close timespan. I know Carle Place, Mineola...and then after that I forget the order, but I know it includes Maryline Ave, New Hyde Park, Hollis, and a couple others before Jamaica. You would think I'd be an expert by now. When I was growing up I was always the kid standing in the front door of the M1 or M3 with my face pressed against that front glass. I'm sure there are still finger prints on there from back in the day that I left up there. Every now and then I'll still ride at the front of the train and look out. It's harder with the M7s though, with that door that blocks off the whole cab area.

LIRailfan79 wrote:whats the failure percentage of Assistant Conductors who attempt to take the conductors qualifying exam? for the CPA exam i believe its around 60%.
does this mean that quite a few A/C who don't pass the exam after 7 tries are currently being dismissed?

also, i was led to believe you actually had to draw the PC map, not just recite part of it. either way seems brutally hard, how many people can actually do that?

I don't have access to that kind of info so I do not know what percentage fail to qualify and are fired. I know of the 30 people I hired on with 7 quit or moved to other departments prior to qualifying and of the remaining 23, 2 could not pass on the 7th try and were fired. I don't know if these figures are representive or not.
As for the testing & drawing . Drawing is how we learn the RR, or part of how we learn it since as Clem said there is a lot that you cannot learn from drawing alone. So they don't sit you down in a room and tell you to draw the whole RR, though there is some drawing on the test , if I recall I had 11 or 12 drawings on mine. But most of the written portion of the test consists of questions like:

Locate the 2nd eastbound facing point controlled electric lock switch east of Beth Interlocking on the Central Branch.
Or
List and locate the signals on the Port Jefferson Branch that can display an aspect of Absolute Slow Clear.

That kind of stuff. After passing the written test is a verbal. That consists of questions like Clem mention:
Your on 1 track in Montauk take me west. Or how many and what type of signals from the Storage Yard to 5 station via Dunton.
The only way to learn it is to draw , draw and then draw some more and learn the special instructions when you are not drawing.

I want to restate what I said in my orignal post, I did not read the article about the LIRR Cndr's exam being the 3rd hardest in the state myself, I was told about, so I cannot personally verify it.

More employees pass the Rules exam on the first shot as compared to the PC. The only way to do it on the first try is to start studying at least 10 months prior to the exam. This means studying every day! As far as percentages of failures, I could find out exactly for you. Right now, if I had to guess, I would say that approximately 80% pass the Book of Rules on the first shot while about 65% pass the PC on the first shot.

As far as silly answers from new employees............try this one.........
Definition of SIDING: the protective material that the outside of the train is made of!

The qualifying tests are no way as hard as the bar exam or CPA exam as stated earlier in this topic. I passed on the first shot for both. I studied the book for two months and only drew PC on and off during those two months. I had 11 weeks after the book before my PC exam and was able to draw the railroad, know all the study guides, and rules in effect in that short time. I got a 88 on my book and a 92 on PC with only studying for five months. I know some people might need some more time that others but it is not as hard as becoming an attorney or accountant.

In my own opinion, it's still quite an achievement to pass the LIRR's qualifying tests. There is so much more they could ask on their tests to make them much more difficult, but I'd say they are still a challenge.

I think trying to compare Railroad qualifying tests to a CPA or BAR exam is inaccurate. There have been people who hired on there with Master's Degrees and still failed or turned to be poor Operating employees. Still others yet, who passed the Bar and were no more distinguished as a Condr or Engr than anyone else.

Personally, the ordinary HS grad that is young, eager and asks a lot of questions is an excellent candidate for a railroad career and tend to master the job as well as or better than most.

point88 wrote:The qualifying tests are no way as hard as the bar exam or CPA exam as stated earlier in this topic...

Who stated that the qualifying tests are as hard as the BAR or CPA exam? It isn't in this thread. What was stated was that there was allegedly an article in Newsday that said it is the 3rd hardest test in NY State behind the BAR and the CPA. That would mean the BAR and CPA are harder.

xxxx