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

What is a railroad engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Libby Toping

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a railroad engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.11 an hour? That's $54,315 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 3,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a railroad engineer?

Libby Toping

Engineer intern, Crafton Tull

It has definitely been a unique time to start my first job. COVID-19 has caused many of my peers to struggle to find a job, so I think it has caused me to recognize how thankful I am to have a job that I enjoy working and that allows me to improve my community, even in the midst of a pandemic. There are certainly struggles with virtual meetings and mask-wearing, but learning to be flexible and adaptable are skills that I think will make me a better engineer in the long run!

ScoreRailroad EngineerUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $54,315

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.0

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.56%

Asian 1.92%

Black or African American 13.35%

Hispanic or Latino 9.40%

Unknown 4.85%

White 69.92%

Gender

female 4.17%

male 95.83%

Age - 47.5

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 - 47.5

Stress level

9.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a railroad engineer

Explore railroad engineer education requirements

Most common railroad engineer degrees

Bachelor's

43.1 %

Associate

23.5 %

High School Diploma

17.6 %

Start to develop specific railroad engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
FRA	47.33%
CSX	23.92%
Safety Rules	9.41%
Rail Cars	6.13%
Switches	5.15%

Complete relevant railroad engineer training and internships

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

Research railroad engineer duties and responsibilities

Inspect equipment, locomotives and all appliances to be used, reporting or correcting any safety issues discover.
Preform daily safety inspection of locomotive to ensure safe operations according to FRA and company policy.
Qualify on all NORAC rules and physical characteristics of the regional territory.

Prepare your railroad engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your railroad engineer resume.

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