I applied for a dispatching position with the UP last summer, and I received an email invitation from the UP to attend one of their hiring sessions. The email detailed the pay structure, when/where the hiring session is and what to expect. I don't want to post the exact $ figure I was quoted, as the email was sent to me in confidentiality. I would recomend applying for the position, and if you get invited to a hiring session, the email should tell you the salary range. If you don't get invited, there's no need to worry about the salary.
Personally, I would wait on calling HR before you get invited to a hiring session. If you do get invited to a hiring session and the email does not indicate the salary, then I would call before making any travel arrangements since you will be footing the bill. I had the same question when I applied, but applied anyway. Even after I got the email, I still was not sure if they would pay for travel or relocation, so I had to call HR anyway. The woman I spoke to was nice, and it seemed like the questions I was asking here were fairly common questions. I think they understand that people from out of town are going to have questions since they are paying to get to the interview.
I will say it was a nice salary, and it is a management position, but from what I gathered, you are still required to work the extra board to start and should probably expect to work variable shifts including night, weekends and holidays. I ended up not going to the hiring session only because they were not offering any type of relocation assistance.
Also, if you haven't already seen it, check out
www.train-dispatchers.com - if you dig around on the site, I'm sure you can find additonal info regarding job despcriptions & posiibly the pay.
Good luck & keep us posted on what develops
DBD
---------
One last thing:
Here is a post I had copied down from some other message board when I was researching the position (sorry I can't remeber where it was from):
The work is in 8 hours shifts, with a max of 9 hrs on duty. The UP
dispatching is centralized, except for a Southern Region office in Spring,
TX (Houston), small joint offices in San Bernadino and Kansas City and a
couple terminal offices in N Little Rock and N Platte. Most new
dispatchers work in Omaha. The office is downtown in a building separate
from the new headquarters building.
You will go through dispatcher training, qualify on several positions and
will work on the extra board. For the first couple years you won't work
1st shift for safety /workload reasons. Eventually you will be able to
hold a regular assignment. Once you get a few years under your belt, you
can end up on almost any shift, even first, depending on the territory (not
all old heads want 1st shift). Normal workweek is 5 days, but depending on
vacations, sickness, etc there may be occasional extra days. Normally a
dispatcher works within a Region (there are 4 regions).
On the UP a dispatcher is a salaried, non-union, management position. The
next level up is any one of dozens of manager positions, both in the
dispatch center or field. It is a demanding, intense job. Safety is
crucial. Trust is crucial. Thoroughness and attention to detail are a
must. The crews and maintenance workers have their lives in your hands.
Being able to connect an abstract diagram of the railroad you are working
off of to the actual events going on and be able to anticipate what will
happen 4, 6, 8 hours from the time you make a decision is crucial. Ex air
traffic controllers who are now dispatchers say that dispatching is more
difficult (your can't have your train change to a different altitude). It
can also be very frustrating. Sometime you eat the bear, sometimes the
bear eats you. On the other hand, it can be a very mentally challenging
job, like playing chess on board 200 miles across. If you like seeing the
"big" picture, if you like a job where there is always something going on
all the time, then you would probably like being a dispatcher.