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

What is a rail car repairman 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 repairman. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.33 an hour? That's $50,607 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 RepairmanUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $50,607

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.4

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.78%

Asian 1.79%

Black or African American 6.00%

Hispanic or Latino 14.68%

Unknown 3.86%

White 72.89%

Gender

female 5.32%

male 94.68%

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 repairman

Explore rail car repairman education requirements

Most common rail car repairman degrees

High School Diploma

48.3 %

Bachelor's

17.2 %

Certificate

13.8 %

Start to develop specific rail car repairman skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Equipment	34.17%
Tank Cars	17.65%
FRA	11.62%
Torches	9.68%
AAR	9.04%

Complete relevant rail car repairman training and internships

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

Research rail car repairman duties and responsibilities

Perform monthly federal inspections and repairs on overhead pneumatic and electric hoists.
Change out turnbuckles and couplers.

Prepare your rail car repairman resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your rail car repairman 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 repairman 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 repairman resume templates

Build a professional rail car repairman 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 repairman resume.

Apply for rail car repairman jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a rail car repairman 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 repairmen rate their job?

-/5

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Rail car repairman reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019

Pros

Working on my own when necessary, working with fellow Carmen when necessary! As a Carman I worked as a welder, a truck driver, a wrecker driver, a train inspector and many other jobs. RailRoad work can be tough, but it is also very rewarding, good pay, good benefits and a good retirement pension.

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.