What is a train conductors job like? The hours? Pay?

Question

I am reporting that answer to the police!

Answer 1

I am a conductor and can give you some insight. The job is great. There is nothing physically hard about it. The pay differs from railroad to railroad, some pay a basic days pay and others pay per trip. The pay overall is higher than any other job I know of that does not require a college degree. The average pay for a conductor in a Class 1 railroad is about 60-65K a year. If you stay "marked up" you can make more. The hours suck much of the time. You will be on call 24/7, literally. Like they told me when I hired out, "we pay you for the inconvenience not the job difficulty".

Answer 2

I wanna see it!  What did it say?!!

Answer 3

I'm sorry I don't know the answer to your question.  I reported the above answer to Yahoo!.  That's disgusting and should not be on here.

Answer 4

Hmm, wonder what all that is about. Being a freight train conductor has its up and downs. The job is very demanding and you will work in any and all types of weather from rain to sleet to snow to freezing rain. It can get brutal out there in the winter time. Like somebody already said, you're on call 24/7/365, on the railroad there are no holidays or birthdays or family picnics. Celebrating your birthday would be in the form of connecting air hoses and coupling cars..lol. I know that sucks but it's the truth. First starting is rough, you won't make as much as qualified conductors, once you're marked up you will make more money. The more you work and the longer you stay marked up, the more money you make of course. Everything is about seniority on the railroad. If you don't have much seniority you will be stuck with the jobs that the others do not want. Once you gain a lot of seniority then you can get the more desirable jobs like a 5 day/week local and have the weekends off. The most rewarding part of the railroad is the retirement. If you start young and retire at 60 or so you will have a TON of money coming to you from retirement. Railroad retirement is one of the best, if not, the best retirement plan around. On Norfolk Southern, you pay in some and then they match what you pay. It's probably the same for the other railroads too. Overall, it is a good job to have, it's not hard but it takes some getting used to. It would be the best for your family in the long run.

Answer 5

I don't know what the pay or working condiitions are either but the person who posted the 1st answer should be locked up