How To Become A Light Rail Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a light rail operator 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 light rail operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $20.65 an hour? That's $42,958 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 3,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreLight Rail OperatorUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $42,958

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.38%

Asian 5.73%

Black or African American 12.43%

Hispanic or Latino 22.37%

Unknown 4.07%

White 54.03%

Gender

female 26.72%

male 73.28%

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

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.1

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a light rail operator

Explore light rail operator education requirements

Most common light rail operator degrees

Bachelor's

52.9 %

High School Diploma

25.5 %

Associate

13.7 %

Start to develop specific light rail operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Switches	26.84%
DOT	19.29%
Emergency Situations	19.06%
Customer Inquiries	8.36%
FCC	7.04%

Complete relevant light rail operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New light rail operators 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 light rail operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real light rail operator resumes.

Research light rail operator duties and responsibilities

Operate switches through controls or manually; performs operations necessary to restore movement by trouble-shooting problem conditions.
Comply with all rules & regulations including knowledge of signals, speed & switches.
Monitor rail station CCTV equipment.

Prepare your light rail operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your light rail operator 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 light rail operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable light rail operator resume templates

Build a professional light rail operator 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 light rail operator resume.