Norfolk southern cunductor?

Question

what is the requirements for being a conductor for norfolk southern

do i need a g.e.d or a deploma i didnt graduate high school so would that be a problem getting this job?

Answer 1

I am glad you responded to this, Randy.  I'm sorry for your accident, but you did manage to get out alive.  This should also be paid close attention to by others still pounding up and down the rails.

Statistics support that railroad employees who are at most risk for serious injury or death are those with less than two years experience and more than 15 years experience.

I'm thankful to God no one was seriously injured or killed when I was sitting behind the throttle.  But, between 1983 and 1998, however, people working off our home board weren't as lucky.

One swung off a caboose to make a rolling inspection of a passing train but, never to be explained, he swung off right in front of the train he was trying to inspect.

Another person was knocked off the end of a car by a closed gate that was "always open", and lost his leg in the same place as you did.

The worst of all was a man getting coupled up.

These were all old heads and very conscientious where their job was concerned.

The lesson is, new hires beware, old heads regain your respect for the beast.

Answer 2

u need a GED plus you will need to take a test and then sent to collage for schooling and if you pass u will become a conductor. u need about 4 grand for the schooling.

Answer 3

As a retired Norfolk Southern conductor, all I can say is that they send you to special training in McDonough, Georgia, which is a "suburb" on the south side of Atlanta, where you learn (aka: memorize) their "Book of Rules" and pass their final exam and airbrake and hazmat exams with a score of 85 or better.  Now, I did that back in 1998 or '99, and I have three college degrees, so I didn't have to worry about that, but, I did have to pass the tests, and luckily I had passed BNSF's exams only a year earlier, and they required a 90% or better score.  Oh, and the reason I am "retired" from NS is because my engineer obeyed orders from the guys in the tower, not me, his conductor, which is what he's ordered to do by Federal law and the Book of Rules, and the guys in the tower sent him right down on me where I was checking the brakes on a lumber car, and he ran over me, knocking me down and running over my right leg and crushing it off just above the knee and dragging me down the track 187 feet, so, when they're preaching safety, pay attention.  It could be your leg, or life, they talk about next.  But don't let my accident scare you away.  I've got two young men to work for railroads (UP and BNSF) and they both know about my accident and have seen me with my prosthetic leg, so don't let it scare you away.   Although NS isn't the best RR to work for, it's okay, and the money's great, if you work regularly and don't take a lot of days off.  I wish you the  best.  I truly wish I could still work for the railroad.  It kinda gets in your blood, and then it's just something you "gotta" do, unless you've worked there for decades and are ready to retire, as my engineer was, and then you're more than ready to retire and never see a train again.  God Bless you.

P.S.:  I'm not sure that lawncare1211's answer on how much money it takes to go to their school is accurate, but I just don't remember.  He may be right on the G.E.D. stuff though.  God Bless you.