How To Become A Yardmaster: What It Is and Career Path

What is a yardmaster 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 yardmaster. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.81 an hour? That's $39,134 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 3,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreYardmasterUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,134

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.5

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.94%

Asian 2.12%

Black or African American 9.10%

Hispanic or Latino 9.43%

Unknown 4.91%

White 73.48%

Gender

female 10.22%

male 89.78%

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 yardmaster

Explore yardmaster education requirements

Most common yardmaster degrees

Bachelor's

48.1 %

Associate

19.0 %

High School Diploma

19.0 %

Start to develop specific yardmaster skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Procedures	28.67%
Federal Regulations	15.35%
FRA	11.15%
Train Crews	10.16%
Outbound Traffic	9.22%

Complete relevant yardmaster training and internships

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

Research yardmaster duties and responsibilities

Train and certify conductors and engineers.
Ensure proper make up of trains and that trains are built in compliance with all FRA safety and hazardous material regulations.
Deliver railcars and locomotives within their timeframe to transfer location.
Inspect locomotives after runs to detect damage and defective equipment.

Prepare your yardmaster resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable yardmaster resume templates

Build a professional yardmaster 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 yardmaster resume.