What kid doesn't watch a train going by on the railroad tracks, and make a vow that someday they will be a train engineer? It's the best of both worlds as far as career choices. It's travel and it's also the mechanical dream of those who are mechanically minded. Chances are, every cab driver, airline pilot and sea captain wishes they were a railway engineer instead.



To achieve the status of railway engineer, one must first spend a few years as a yard laborer. Small beginnings are sometimes the only way to greatness. Rail jobs require that the engineer has good vision and hearing, and he must be in good physical condition, as the job can be quite streunous. A criminal background test and a drug test will also be required before you can look into railroad jobs. People lives are depending on it.

After a few years of working in the rail yard, you can then become eligible for additional training for rail engineers jobs. You must first complete a formal training program, which comply with federal regulations. This training will include classroom instruction, training on a simulator and hands-on instruction. You can receive this training through a technical college, or choose a course administered by a railroad company. After the training course, you must then pass a comprehensive exam to obtain your engineering license. And once you obtain your license, you will still be required to be retested occasionally, and be subject to frequent alcohol and drug screening and physical exams.

You can apply with a railroad company directly, to begin work as a yard worker, or if you already have rail yard experience, you might be accepted into a training program directly. Union websites or internet job sites will have these positions posted.

Your railway engineer job will provide regular shifts in comfortable working conditions, unless you work with freight, in which case you might have more difficult assignments. There will be shorter runs involved, and frequent stops to load and unload cars, which can be physically demanding and dangerous. Strength and endurance are required for this, as it often involves long hours.

With regular hours, the salary is quite nice for railway engineers. You can make anything from $24/hr up. And if there's overtime, your paycheck will be quite nice. However, this salary amount is usually earned after you have been with a company for some time.

There is a very good outlook for advancement in the railway career. After you have accumulated seniority by working for a number of years, you can then advance to a more desirable job, such as being promoted from road service to yard assignments, or even to a railroad inspector position.

The outlook of employment as a railroad engineer is expected to decline for the next few years. Even though the economy and transportation need could expand, computerization has been replacing the train engineer to a certain degree. However, if a large number of engineers retire in the next decade as expected, there will be more jobs available.

So the next time you see a train going down the tracks, remember that a dream in the railway business is not only a dream, it's a pretty good possibility!

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