Railroad brake, signal, or switch operators: Salary, career path, job outlook, education and more
Railroad brake, signal, or switch operators control equipment that keeps the trains running safely.
Brake operators help couple and uncouple train cars. Some travel with the train as part of the crew.
Signal operators install and maintain the signals along tracks and in the rail yard. Signals are important in preventing accidents because they allow increased communication between trains and dispatchers.
Switch operators control the track switches in rail yards. These switches allow trains to move between tracks and ensure trains are heading in the right direction.
- Education Required
- Rail companies typically require a high school diploma or equivalent, especially for locomotive engineers and conductors.
- Training Required
- Locomotive engineers generally receive 2 to 3 months of on-the-job training before they can operate a train on their own. Typically, this training involves riding with an experienced engineer who teaches them the characteristics of that particular train route.
- Job Outlook
-
The projected percent change in employment from 2016 to 2026: -3% (Decline)
(The average growth rate for all occupations is 7 percent.) - Advancement
- Rail yard engineers, switch operators, and signal operators can advance to become conductors or yardmasters. Some conductors or yardmasters advance to become locomotive engineers.
- Licenses/Certifications
- Locomotive engineers must be certified by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The certification, conducted by the railroad that employs them, involves a written knowledge test, a skills test, and a supervisor determining that the engineer understands all physical aspects of the particular route on which he or she will be operating.
- Median pay: How much do Railroad Workers make?
- $57,160 Annual Salary
- $27.48 per hour
Careers for Railroad Workers
- Coal tram drivers
- Conductors
- Diesel locomotive firers
- Dinkey drivers
- Dinkey engine firers
- Dinkey operators
- Engine hostlers
- Freight brake operators
- Freight conductors
- Freight engineers
- Locomotive engineers
- Locomotive firers
- Locomotive switch operators
- Passenger car conductors
- Rail yard engineers
- Railcar switchers
- Railroad brake operators
- Railroad engineers
- Railroad firers
- Railway engineers
- Railway switch operators
- Switch couplers
- Train brake operators
- Train conductors
- Train engineers
- Yard conductors
- Yard hostlers
- Yardmasters