Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between train engineers and railroad operating engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a train engineer and a railroad operating engineer. Additionally, a train engineer has an average salary of $82,531, which is higher than the $39,170 average annual salary of a railroad operating engineer.
The top three skills for a train engineer include pi planning, release train and scrum. The most important skills for a railroad operating engineer are track maintenance, switches, and hand signals.
Train engineers and railroad operating engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Train Engineer | Railroad Operating Engineer | |
| Average salary | $82,531 | $39,170 |
| Salary range | Between $50,000 And $133,000 | Between $27,000 And $56,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | - |
| Highest paying state | Washington | - |
| Best paying company | Chevron | - |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | - |
There are a few differences between a train engineer and a railroad operating engineer in terms of educational background:
| Train Engineer | Railroad Operating Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Civil Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between train engineers' and railroad operating engineers' demographics:
| Train Engineer | Railroad Operating Engineer | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.0% Female, 19.0% | Male, 98.1% Female, 1.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 1.9% White, 69.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 14.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.1% Asian, 1.9% White, 68.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |