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Freight engineer vs detector car operator

The differences between freight engineers and detector car operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a freight engineer and a detector car operator. Additionally, a freight engineer has an average salary of $55,585, which is higher than the $46,526 average annual salary of a detector car operator.

The top three skills for a freight engineer include safety rules, locomotives and FRA. The most important skills for a detector car operator are law enforcement, patrol, and .

Freight engineer vs detector car operator overview

Freight EngineerDetector Car Operator
Yearly salary$55,585$46,526
Hourly rate$26.72$22.37
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs8,88931,614
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age4747
Years of experience22

Freight engineer vs detector car operator salary

Freight engineers and detector car operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

Freight EngineerDetector Car Operator
Average salary$55,585$46,526
Salary rangeBetween $40,000 And $76,000Between $25,000 And $83,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between freight engineer and detector car operator education

There are a few differences between a freight engineer and a detector car operator in terms of educational background:

Freight EngineerDetector Car Operator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common majorBusinessCriminal Justice
Most common college--

Freight engineer vs detector car operator demographics

Here are the differences between freight engineers' and detector car operators' demographics:

Freight EngineerDetector Car Operator
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 88.0% Female, 12.0%Male, 80.0% Female, 20.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 1.9% White, 70.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 6.6% Asian, 1.9% White, 74.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between freight engineer and detector car operator duties and responsibilities

Freight engineer example responsibilities.

  • Develop and manage technical procedures for quality control to comply with ISO laboratory accreditation.
  • Pull and push track switches to reroute cars.
  • Perform duties to get freight and locomotives to final destination safely and on time.
  • Interpret train orders, signals, and railroad rules and regulations that govern the operation of locomotives.
  • Conduct geotechnical and environmental subsurface investigations.
  • Design electrical layouts in commercial & residential buildings using AutoCAD.

Detector car operator example responsibilities.

  • Operate and perform basic maintenance on locomotives.
  • Report any facts concerning vehicles maintenance, to management.

Freight engineer vs detector car operator skills

Common freight engineer skills
  • Safety Rules, 42%
  • Locomotives, 20%
  • FRA, 17%
  • DOT, 10%
  • Air Pressure, 10%
Common detector car operator skills
  • Law Enforcement, 85%
  • Patrol, 15%

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