Also called: Conductor, Trainman
Is in charge of the train and its crew, managing paperwork, switching cars, and following orders from dispatchers.
You make sure the cars on your train match the paperwork, then ride in the cab with the engineer. At yards and customers' plants you climb down to throw switches and couple and uncouple cars by hand, in any weather.
Railroad pay is often by the trip or hour with significant overtime; figures approximate BLS railroad occupation data.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school diploma plus several weeks of railroad training.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Certification. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Railroad Operations (some community colleges).
Growing slowly (about 1% over 10 years). Slow growth with many retirement openings.
Medium risk for 10 years. Railroads want one-person crews and automated yards; conductor hiring faces real cuts if the rules change.
Classes: Algebra I, Geography, PE or fitness.
Official data: O*NET occupation 53-4031.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.