Neophyte wrote: But it's seems as if companies won't even consider you unless you've previously worked in transportation etc. I'm just looking for an opportunity to embark on a new career with a R/R company willing to train and develop a new workforce.
Training engineers is expensive. And the railroad lifestyle is one that many can't (or won't) hack. Therefore, railroads don't want to spend a fortune training people that are just going to quit since they don't like being on-call or can't stand the safety culture, management structure, instability of jobs, etc. Previous RR employees (even if they aren't engineers) already have experienced the life. They know what to expect.