Hiring challenges in 2022

Activity on the employment forum has always seemed to ebb and flow with railroad hiring... the more active the hiring, the more active the forum. Roads are desperate for new hires now, yet the board here remains surprisingly quiet. Is the forum's lack of activity a reflection on prevailing attitudes about joining a craft within the industry? I'm curious as to how many are out there that were considering a railroad craft job at one point, but have now come to the conclusion that the job is not worth the associated lifestyle.

Can’t comment too much but I suspect that it is in part due to the fact this site mainly focuses on railway/railroad news. Hence it is geared towards enthusiasts or current railway/railroad employees rather than aspiring employees. You’ve got to scroll nearly to the bottom before you find the employment section.

Oh and just tell me which railroads you think are desperate enough to potentially sponsor someone for a green card lol

UK, rr.net is by no means a rail employment site, but if you look through the history of this forum, you'll see a lot more activity in times when railroads were hiring. It's just gone very quiet and I suspect it's a reflection of current prevailing attitudes about such careers.

PS: No US road is going to sponsor your Green Card (though I have seen it on the management side). Canada seems a no-brainer if you really want to move to N America.

Hello I applied and interviewed with amtrak over a month ago. For an obs train attentandant position in Chicago. My app still says under review. How long is the overall hiring process ? It's been a month am I still in the running or should I assume they went with other candidates. Any info would be appreciated.

In my opinion the crew shortage is self manufactured. In light of the PSR related goods shortages, the railroads have been encouraged to hire by the government. They still want to keep the employment levels low, in order to keep with the PSR business model. It seems like the railroads do everything in their power to make railroad employment as inhospitable as they can. This ranges from strict attendance policies, to more efficiency tests. Apparently something like forgetting to say "over" on the 378th. out of 982 radio transmissions on a yard job its to be turned into a major rules violation. Now the locomotives all have inward facing cameras. Say the window vibrates open .5" and your safety glasses are off......major violation.

I live where many comparable jobs exist. I've seen dozens of trainees come and go over the last half dozen years. Maybe the retention rate is higher where the job market doesn't have many good jobs. I also think that the desirable of a high paying job over one with a good work home balance might have something to do with crew shortages. That was a big sticking point in the recent national contract negotiations. The railroads dug their heels in. Maybe they need to realize that fewer are willing to be on call 24/7 isn't as desirable, no matter what pay scale as it used to be.