Railroad Job Guide - Sean Martin

Is it worth pay $40.00 ? Is he legit ?

I'm new and planning to attend a Union Pacific career fair in Raleigh, NC in February. Thanks for the response.

UP job fair in NC? That seems a little odd being as the UP doesn't run anywhere near that area. As for the get a railroad job guide, save your money and read these forums. There's more than enough good information on here from guys who have all been there.

Georgia Railroader wrote:UP job fair in NC? That seems a little odd being as the UP doesn't run anywhere near that area. As for the get a railroad job guide, save your money and read these forums. There's more than enough good information on here from guys who have all been there.

http://www.unionpacific.jobs/careers/ap ... OrgnId=645

Thanks for the response. Should I wear a suit or casual clothes to the career fair and interviews and what should I expect from them ?

Are you trying for a train service job or something else? The link goes directly to something that looks like it's for an internship and not train service. The only train service position I saw advertised was for somewhere in Texas. Still odd for UP to hold a job fair in NC imo?

You can wear a suit or just go casual with slacks, a dress shirt and some nice dress shoes, that's up to you. When I went to my hiring session with NS everyone wore a mix of pretty much everything, not everyone in a suit got an interview.

As far as what to expect: Expect to be there all day, be on time whatever you do.

It is odd, but I don't care. The fair is open to the students, alumni, and general public. I'm trying for a train crew position. I have an Associate's in Computer Science-Programming and have done some volunteer work since I moved to VA in '09. I'll have my resume with me. However, I'm willing to take a clerk position and work my way up to becoming a member of the rail crew.

Don't knock the clerks, one of the best jobs on the railroad still!

The truth is the railroad guide is just common sense. Just talk up safety A LOT, and let them understand in crystal clear terms you can dedicate your life to the RR. I think that is what most of not all the guys on here who have been hired will in a nutshell tell you. Good luck.

The Career Fair is for those students who will be graduating later that year and looking to work for the UP in jobs/careers other than TE&Y (read Corporate, Management, Accounting, Sales, IT, etc.). The UP only goes as far east as Memphis and they do not actively recruit college students outside of the western third of the country for TE&Y positions. As a former engineer with UP working for Amtrak, you would be better suited to look for the TE&Y jobs on the UP website, apply on-line and then travel/fly to the location where the UP is hiring for said TE&Y position. And be sure you wish to work/live within that city/region. Once you are hired on within that UP Subdivision, you will find it is an uphill climb (nearly impossible, and why I quit to go to Amtrak) to transfer elsewhere.

Since this a college recruiting event, dress the part.

Forget the book/guide. In looking for information about the author, Sean Martin, I find no info. as to what RR he works for, what his experience is as far as HR and Mgt. preferences go for each of the Class 1 railroads out there or how many times he has interviewed for various Class 1 jobs.

Nobody can write a guide about the various nuances with each Class 1 railroad out there. CSX is vastly different from the UP. The UP and the BNSF are very similar. Trying to hire on with Amtrak in Emeryville is vastly different from Amtrak in Boston, even for a T&E job. Forget the money on the guide and spend some time in this forum looking around. You have a ton of guys who have been here since 2004 working for everyone of the Class 1's that can give you an idea about that railroafd and their hiring preferences.

Sean Martin works/worked for CSX. If I remember correctly he put out this guideline back during the hiring frenzy in 2006-7. CSX , NS, UP ect...they're all different with hiring tactics. I've advised people interested on a railroad occupation to check out this site.

blitzz2 wrote:Don't knock the clerks, one of the best jobs on the railroad still!

I'm not. I'm a former clerk.

slchub wrote:The Career Fair is for those students who will be graduating later that year and looking to work for the UP in jobs/careers other than TE&Y (read Corporate, Management, Accounting, Sales, IT, etc.). The UP only goes as far east as Memphis and they do not actively recruit college students outside of the western third of the country for TE&Y positions. As a former engineer with UP working for Amtrak, you would be better suited to look for the TE&Y jobs on the UP website, apply on-line and then travel/fly to the location where the UP is hiring for said TE&Y position. And be sure you wish to work/live within that city/region. Once you are hired on within that UP Subdivision, you will find it is an uphill climb (nearly impossible, and why I quit to go to Amtrak) to transfer elsewhere.

Since this a college recruiting event, dress the part.

I don't mind the locations and work schedules. If it takes me to get an administration job (clerk) to get the position that I want then so be it. Gotta start somewhere.

Thanks everyone and I hope I make a good impression with the UP reps at the fair in February.

If you're going for a conductor job then that's the job I would apply for. Once you hire on in a particular field it can be damn near impossible to transfer to another. I dont know many who have successfully done it, though anything is possible. That's just my 2cents.

The job fair is for college graduates/college students graduating in May. UP recruits from about 30 different schools all over the U.S. for professional positions or the operations program.

Here's a breakdown of what they're generally looking for:

http://www.unionpacific.jobs/careers/ex ... jors.shtml

So bear in mind these aren't for train crew jobs -- the closest to that would be the Operations Management Program and that is a non-agreement position that requires a degree in something like engineering or supply chain management.