How To Become A Rail Car Repairer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a rail car repairer 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 rail car repairer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $28.05 an hour? That's $58,335 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 17,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreRail Car RepairerUS Average

Salary

4.6

Avg. Salary $58,335

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.4

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.68%

Asian 1.59%

Black or African American 3.79%

Hispanic or Latino 11.53%

Unknown 3.68%

White 78.73%

Gender

female 2.86%

male 97.14%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.0

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a rail car repairer

Explore rail car repairer education requirements

Most common rail car repairer degrees

High School Diploma

44.4 %

Associate

22.2 %

Master's

11.1 %

Start to develop specific rail car repairer skills

Skills	Percentages
Hand Tools	66.51%
Torches	33.49%

Complete relevant rail car repairer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New rail car repairers 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 rail car repairer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real rail car repairer resumes.

Research rail car repairer duties and responsibilities

Ensure that work center technical publications and safety bulletins are up-to-date at all times and adhere to AAR standards.
Change out turnbuckles and couplers.

Prepare your rail car repairer resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable rail car repairer resume templates

Build a professional rail car repairer 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 rail car repairer resume.

Apply for rail car repairer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a rail car repairer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do rail car repairers rate their job?

-/5

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Rail car repairer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019

Cons

As a RailRoad Carmen, you may have to work all kinds of shifts, my first 4 years I worked from 11PM to 7AM with Tuesday and Wednesday off. You may also be required to work overtime. Although as you acquire seniority, you are able to get better assignments.