How To Become A Train Inspector: What It Is and Career Path

What is a train inspector and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Robert Shepherd

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a train inspector. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.95 an hour? That's $39,421 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -17,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a train inspector?

Robert Shepherd

NAESA International

People entering the workforce for the first time and recent grads cannot become elevator inspectors do to prerequisites required, which cannot be attained in any sort of schooling supplied in the world, there is none in existence. Th only way you get to be a certified elevator inspector is by successfully attaining a diploma from the school of hard knocks, so OJT is the only way!

ScoreTrain InspectorUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,421

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.2

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.81%

Asian 7.33%

Black or African American 10.84%

Hispanic or Latino 20.02%

Unknown 4.66%

White 56.34%

Gender

female 34.89%

male 65.11%

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

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.4

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a train inspector

Explore train inspector education requirements

Most common train inspector degrees

Bachelor's

32.5 %

Associate

27.1 %

High School Diploma

20.5 %

Start to develop specific train inspector skills

Skills	Percentages
Technical Manuals	27.71%
R	11.77%
Quality Standards	8.44%
NDT	5.39%
ISO	4.15%

Complete relevant train inspector training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New train inspectors 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 train inspector based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real train inspector resumes.

Research train inspector duties and responsibilities

Develop training content for eLearning and instructor lead classrooms by evaluating Predix user experiences.
Conduct dimensional and visual inspections procedures on CMM machines to ensure geometrical characteristics of the product are in specification.
Inspect, monitor and GPS recording of all water installations to ensure compliance with requirements and specifications.

Prepare your train inspector resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable train inspector resume templates

Build a professional train inspector 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 train inspector resume.