How To Become A Flag Car Driver: What It Is and Career Path

What is a flag car driver and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a flag car driver. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.93 an hour? That's $45,614 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 20% and produce 72,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreFlag Car DriverUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $45,614

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 20%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.65%

Asian 15.28%

Black or African American 18.21%

Hispanic or Latino 20.48%

Unknown 4.83%

White 40.54%

Gender

female 22.86%

male 77.14%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a flag car driver

Explore flag car driver education requirements

Most common flag car driver degrees

High School Diploma

66.7 %

Bachelor's

11.1 %

Diploma

11.1 %

Start to develop specific flag car driver skills

Skills	Percentages
Pickup	100.00%

Complete relevant flag car driver training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New flag car drivers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a flag car driver based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real flag car driver resumes.

Research flag car driver duties and responsibilities

Perform a variety of tasks such as mowing, trimming, laying sod, creating rock walls, etc.
Ensure all rail safety requirements are meet, report any repairs before departing rail yard.

Prepare your flag car driver resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your flag car driver resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a flag car driver resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable flag car driver resume templates

Build a professional flag car driver resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your flag car driver resume.