Locomotive engineer vs conductor

The differences between locomotive engineers and conductors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a conductor has an average salary of $58,690, which is higher than the $55,268 average annual salary of a locomotive engineer.

The top three skills for a locomotive engineer include safety procedures, locomotives and FRA. The most important skills for a conductor are switches, electrical connections, and locomotives.

Locomotive engineer vs conductor overview

	Locomotive Engineer	Conductor
Yearly salary	$55,268	$58,690
Hourly rate	$26.57	$28.22
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	1,005	567
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	47	45
Years of experience	2	-

Locomotive engineer vs conductor salary

Locomotive engineers and conductors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Locomotive Engineer	Conductor
Average salary	$55,268	$58,690
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $76,000	Between $41,000 And $83,000
Highest paying City	-	Tigard, OR
Highest paying state	-	Oregon
Best paying company	-	Barclays
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between locomotive engineer and conductor education

There are a few differences between a locomotive engineer and a conductor in terms of educational background:

	Locomotive Engineer	Conductor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Locomotive engineer vs conductor demographics

Here are the differences between locomotive engineers' and conductors' demographics:

	Locomotive Engineer	Conductor
Average age	47	45
Gender ratio	Male, 95.2% Female, 4.8%	Male, 86.9% Female, 13.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 1.9% White, 68.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 2.0% White, 72.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	12%	7%

Differences between locomotive engineer and conductor duties and responsibilities

Locomotive engineer example responsibilities.

Receive verbal directions via radio or hand signals from conductors and brakemen and subsequently follow directions accordingly.
Marshal 90-car coal trains for transfer to CSX.
Qualify on GCOR and CSX signal and operating rules.
Evaluate train make-up to properly handle placement of HAZMAT materials.
Master all rules, signals, equipment, and physical characteristics including those of Conrail and Amtrak.
Couple and uncouple rail cars by operating controls such as throttles, airbrakes, switches, gates, and wheel chocks.

Conductor example responsibilities.

Provide excellent leadership by training new conductors in railroad rules and regulations, while simultaneously managing the train yard.
Manage all commodities, crew, safety, and efficient delivery of each assign train and while following strict FRA guidelines.
Review and verify the train paperwork and train lists are accurate and in accordance with HAZMAT and other federal regulations.
Claim ladders to tops of cars to set brakes, make minor repairs to couplings air hoses, using have tools.
Qualify RCL operator and instructor.
Service customers including Paxon, Rhodia and Exxon.

Locomotive engineer vs conductor skills

Common locomotive engineer skills

Safety Procedures, 13%
Locomotives, 13%
FRA, 10%
Rail Cars, 6%
Conductors, 6%
Safety Rules, 5%

Common conductor skills

Switches, 28%
Electrical Connections, 16%
Locomotives, 14%
Conductors, 7%
FRA, 6%
Field Training, 6%