What do you have to do to get hired by BNSF railroad?

Question

do you need to take any college classes or do they pay to have u trained or what iv been thinking about trying to work there as a carrer option and im jsut wondering waht are the recuirements and what not any information helps thanks

Answer 1

College courses for the most part arent required but that would depend on the department you are applying for.

For entry level laborer in the track department you just need to be able to demonstrate you are willing and capable of hard work.

If you are wanting to get into operating department (train service) all job training will be on the job, there are a few railorad academies around the country, you can google that and find them.

Talk to a railorad human resources person, you will still need to be trained but gradudates of these academies have a leg up on other applicants because they have shown a strong desire and commitment to work in the railroad industry.

You will need to be willing to relocate to wherever they need you, at least for a time, you need ot be able to pass a physical of course and be drug free.

If you in any way color blind you will not be able to work in train service.

A lot of railroad work is nights and weekends so being willing to work odd shifts is a plus in an interview.

Good Luck, as stated the pay is usually quite good and good benefits and retirment.

Answer 2

I hired on with the BNSF in 1990 (BN then). The college I had then had nothing to do with railroading. I applied for train service, so the college didn't mean anything anyway. I went to a city funded employment service where the BN had a major terminal (The City of Grand Forks, MN employment service.) The city, at that time, did most of the screening and interviewing for BN at that location. I don't know if it still works that way. The only educatoinal requirement is a high school diploma. In preparation before hand, I found four BN employees locally and after introducing myself and explaining my intentions, asked if I could use them as references on my application. I was hoping that this would give me an edge and make my application stand out. It worked. I got a call for an interview. It was a somewhat underhanded method of getting noticed, but it worked. The logic is, if an applicant knows railroad employees as aquaintences already, he should know more about the job already over someone with no exposure to this type of work. After that, I was tested for communication skills (very important for the job), and on mechanical aptitude. Not that you'll do anything like mechanical repair. But mechanical ability is part of the analytical problem solving in railroading.   i.e. How do you reverse the direction of your train - put the locomotive on the other end - using a siding track that holds 44 cars, and your train is 49 cars long? I don't know if they still test for this though. Anyway, that's how I got myself into railroading. I started as a Brakeman, then Conductor, and now am an Engineer. If you wish, you can E-mail me with questions, or let me know of your progress with hiring.

Answer 3

A friend works for BNSF, you can apply online. The pay is good, and the amount of education required depends on what position you seek. Good luck.