How To Become A Railroad Conductor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a railroad conductor 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 railroad conductor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $28.05 an hour? That's $58,338 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 3,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreRailroad ConductorUS Average

Salary

4.6

Avg. Salary $58,338

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.5

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.90%

Asian 2.03%

Black or African American 8.75%

Hispanic or Latino 11.11%

Unknown 4.82%

White 72.40%

Gender

female 5.19%

male 94.81%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

8.5

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.5

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.7

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a railroad conductor

Explore railroad conductor education requirements

Most common railroad conductor degrees

High School Diploma

36.1 %

Bachelor's

24.1 %

Associate

21.1 %

Start to develop specific railroad conductor skills

Skills	Percentages
Switches	15.83%
Rail Cars	13.40%
FRA	12.72%
Air Brakes	9.43%
Locomotives	6.87%

Complete relevant railroad conductor training and internships

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

Research railroad conductor duties and responsibilities

Travel from terminal to terminal by rail while strictly adhering to all FRA rules and regulations.
Inspect locomotives after runs to detect damage and defective equipment.
Project problem solving and analysis skills to maintain interaction with coworkers and supervisors.
Follow all GCOR and SOI rules with no injuries.

Prepare your railroad conductor resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable railroad conductor resume templates

Build a professional railroad conductor 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 railroad conductor resume.