Also called: Train Engineer, Freight Train Engineer, Passenger Engineer
Drives freight or passenger trains, controlling speed and braking for trains that may be two miles long.
You climb into the cab, check your train's makeup and the track bulletins, and roll out. You manage throttle and brakes carefully over hills, because a 15,000-ton train can take a mile to stop. Freight engineers are often on call and can be away overnight.
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 2 years after high school. High school diploma; railroads train conductors who later qualify as engineers (several months of training plus federal certification).
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; openings come from retirements.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Railroads push to shrink crews and automate trains; two-person rules hold through 2031, but pressure grows after.
Classes: Physics, Driver's education, Geography.
Official data: O*NET occupation 53-4011.
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.