Hello Ryan,

Mechanical Engineering would be a great college major. The railroads generally gobble up people with these backgrounds as it's difficult to find people with engineering skills these days. Same for computer science backgrounds.

I don't recommend hiring out as a conductor for the exact reason you cited, the real possibility of one-man crews becoming a future reality. How that would be implemented, and where, remains to be seen. It would vary by railroad. The railroads have hired tons of young guys in the last decade. Many remain furloughed with the decline of coal and oil traffic. A guy I work with, his son hired out with the UP as a conductor, went through training, and was immediately furloughed. That was three or four years ago, and he's still furloughed!

You hiring out in the near future would put you beneath thousands of younger guys on the seniority rosters where you'd probably remain for a very long time.

Something else to keep in mind is why the railroads hired so many trainmen in recent years. When an oldhead conductor retires, that creates a vacancy on the trainmen (conductor/brakeman/switchman) side. The same thing also happens when an engineer retires since the railroads generally promote trainmen to be engineers. Both scenarios necessitate hiring more trainmen. If they go to one man crews, that's fewer jobs to fill and tons of younger guys ahead of you -- with more seniority -- who won't be retiring for awhile. Not good.

As for transitioning from train service to a RR mechanical or engineering job, it wouldn't be impossible but is very uncommon these days. Low level mechanical and engineering employees typically earn less (sometimes a lot less) than a conductor or engineer. That includes low-level positions requiring a college degree.

If I was you:
1. Decide whether you really want to work for the railroad and in what capacity.
2. Plan to attend college or a trade school regardless. You'll either need a degree for the RR job you want, or something else to fall back on.
3. If you pursue and get a RR job, great.
4. Don't blow all your earnings in the early years, put as much as possible into savings. You wouldn't want to be homeless or in bankruptcy if you get furloughed for an extended period of time. This happens more often than you think!

Mike R



GEVOryan Wrote:
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> Wow thank all for the help!
> Well, I'm interested in Mechanical Engineering but
> I don't know yet.
>
> I'm interested in going to at least technical
> school and try to meet most requirements for
> train service. My goal is to work conductor and
> later engineer if possible. Then go out to a field
> in the mechanical area on the railroads, not
> before participating in operations before PTC gets
> rid of crews.
>
> Any ideas with this?
>
> Ryan S.