How To Become A Rail Maintenance Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a rail maintenance worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a rail maintenance worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.66 an hour? That's $45,060 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 14% and produce 69,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreRail Maintenance WorkerUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $45,060

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.9

Growth rate 14%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.32%

Asian 2.62%

Black or African American 10.34%

Hispanic or Latino 16.08%

Unknown 4.10%

White 64.54%

Gender

female 4.04%

male 95.96%

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

5.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a rail maintenance worker

Explore rail maintenance worker education requirements

Most common rail maintenance worker degrees

High School Diploma

64.7 %

Bachelor's

11.8 %

Certificate

8.8 %

Start to develop specific rail maintenance worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Rail Cars	78.96%
Railcars	21.04%

Complete relevant rail maintenance worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New rail maintenance workers 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 maintenance worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real rail maintenance worker resumes.

Research rail maintenance worker duties and responsibilities

Involve using shovels, heavy duty jacks, tamping bars, sledge hammers, backhoes, and heavy vibrating machinery
Analyze boiler water for acidity and alkalinity and maintain cleanliness and upkeep of equipment.
Dismantle devices to gain proper access and remove defective parts, using hoists, cranes, handtools and power tools.

Prepare your rail maintenance worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your rail maintenance worker 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 maintenance worker 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 maintenance worker resume templates

Build a professional rail maintenance worker 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 maintenance worker resume.