apprentice electrician

conductor

laborer

electrician

revenue analyst

Norfolk Southern

Locomotive Engineer, Pittsburgh
   I've been an employee for 13 plus years. Everyone in Train and Engine service(T&E) hires as a conductor. When the company needs more engineers you are required to go to Engine school(Locomotive Engine Training). If you fail any of the 4 final exams you are given a retest. If you fail that you are terminated.  This is usually after 5 or more years. As a conductor you are the one on the ground directing the engineer to move the train forwards or backwards, by radio or hand signals. You are also responsible for throwing switches, proper lineup of the cars in the train, hazmat paperwork, and spotting car placement in industries. Plenty of walking and in all kinds of weather, day and night(more night than day)24/7. The conductors now are making less than they used to. Partially because NS has hired more so you don't work as much, and 12 hours rest is required which used to be only 8 hours. This is a good thing since the 8 hour rest was exhausting. The rules you must comply to are extensive, strict, and mandatory. They are necessary but sometimes are interpreted differently by trainmasters who actually hide and watch you work. A rule violation can and often does lead to suspension without pay. Conductors start at 80% of the wage scale and go to 100% after 5 years.  Most make 45k first year. Not much for always on call, nights weekends , holidays.    
   As a locomotive engineer you are responsible for the safe movement of the engines and train. sometimes it can be challenging and very stressful depending on the particular train and more so what terrain you are running on. Also you have to worry the conductor doesn't screw up and back you into the wrong track, or couple you into a car too fast and damage equipment or derail. The locomotives often have problems that cause them to run improperly. Mechanical, electrical, air pressure, you name it. It happens on a regular basis. 
  The hours are horrible. Many of the jobs are "called as needed". You are called 2 hours before your start time which varies EVERY day. You could be called at 10:35 p.m. to show up at 12:35a.m. one day and work for 12 hours. After you are off duty you must be rested for 10 hours before you could get called again but the call might or might not happen. Sometimes you are next on the call list and you're called as soon as you're rested, other times you at waiting a long time. This leads to many, many days of never knowing if you will be home with the family, or working when you have had improper rest. On the extra board we are on call for 6 days and off for 48 hours. This can vary in different locations. You could be called before your rest day starts and its mandatory you take the call. Forget about planning anything until your second rest day. There are guaranteed earnings on the extra board even if you don't get called as long as you are available. They randomly will analyze the "tapes" on engines to make sure you are operating it according to rules. 
  We are often stuck on a train when our 12 hours are up waiting for a cab or recrew. At this point we can't perform duty and many times left waiting for an hour or two for a ride. some assignments are paid mileage and we get nothing more for waiting(except for stress, anger, long days , missed time at home). This is very common   
  It's definitely a military like structure and work environment on the railroad, as a veteran I can attest to that. At the same time the equipment is massive, dealing with hazmat tanker cars, and enormous amounts of weight. If a mistake is made the results can be catastrophic, and tragic. The responsibility is serious. Increasing federal regulation is increasing the cost of transportation which of course is passed on to the consumers. Most engineers make at least 90K. Most with seniority of 15-20 years can definitely make 110-120K. Some with seniority holding the best jobs 130-150k. The average posted on here is definitely low. 
  Finally, management. Many of the lower and middle managers don't know how to actually do the job. They are number crunchers and good with a rulebook but can't switch cars or run a locomotive. Many tasks take much more time to complete than they a lot for. As a vet who also worked in other industries prior to working here I would put 51% of them in the below average column. Their lack of job knowledge being the main culprit. micromanaging second, interpersonal skills third.

Norfolk Southern, NS, has many long term contractors. I was one of them. I was there for almost 8 years as project manager for 3 IT groups - Web Services/EDI and Database Groups, then the Enterprise Windows Services group for the last 6 years.

My typical day would include visits with various team members to get updates and remove roadblocks to their getting work done. I usually have about 2-4 project meeting per day and a weekly management meeting to provide update, issues and status of the several projects I managed concurrently. I was responsible for cross-functional teams for most of my projects, and I covers many miles in the office to work with them and get our projects completed.

I learned a lot and worked with some great technical resources. I manages maybe more than 30 projects in that time period, and built great teams, collaborated with other IT groups - Network, Security, Application Development, AIX, Accounting, Transportation,  Administrative Services and several other departments to update their systems and provide the latest secure environment for their infrastructure.

I mentored, I went above and beyond to support my teams with what they needed to get the job done. I was called  "PM extraordinaire" by the then director and now AVP. If my team had an issue getting what they needed to get the work done, I would used my strong and strategic relationships throughout the company to alleviate their roadblocks.

The culture was very interesting and varied from department to department and from management to management. Overall it was a stable, hardworking and supportive environment. We celebrated with those with good outcomes, like weddings, babies, healing and we grieved with those who experienced loss. We went above an beyond with our support. 

In my organization, we had an annual family picnic at a park, nearing the end of summer, that our managers sponsored. We had a Holiday/Christmas party, that was fun too. There were poinsettia raffles just before the Christmas break. There was an annual  IT Safety breakfast for the entire IT department and several potluck lunches throughout the year.

NS was a big supporter of charity, United Way, DFCS Annual Toy Drive,Toys for Tots Drive, and several others, including hurricane and disaster support. The company provide support for their employees affected my disasters.

The hardest part of my job was at times getting management decisions/actions in a timely fashion.

The most enjoyable part of my job was my people. We had share responsibility, worked hard and had fun at the same time. They were creative, intuitive, and dedicated.

I hired at Norfolk Southern in April, 2018. The hiring program included time at the present HQ in Norfolk, VA. The orientation program there was good. Next, I traveled to McDonough, GA, for "Conductor Boot Camp." That was a great experience. I earned conductor certification through the company's operating department.

Finally, I arrived at my home location, the Pocahontas Division, headquartered in Roanoke, VA. From there, it was confusion and chaos. There was little to no communication from the Roanoke office about anything. If it hadn't been for my local managers my training would have been worthless. It was like I was on a different planet. I was supposed to have a set amount of time to train but they constantly tried to undercut and shortcut on my time. A great deal of my training time, 6 months, was WASTED doing things totally irrelevant to the job I ended up being placed into. 

When I first interviewed at NS, I was told that my position would be a "trainmaster," or "road manager." This held true for a few months, then it was changed without notice or warning. I was at a location that was terrible for a trainee. The experience went from bad to worse as changes happened in Norfolk. In December I was told that I was in "limbo," with no job in the location I had been training at. I was assured, however, that I would be transferred. This did not happen. They broke their word to me several times. In February, I was told again that I would be transferred to another NS location because I was a great employee with good ethics and attitude. This was a lie as well. A few short weeks later, I was given an option to resign, with no mention of being transferred or kept.
 
I couldn't have been more disappointed than I was. I hate being lied to. Dishonest upper managers who protect their own interests with no regard for the truth or honoring their commitments. NS talks a lot about ethics, honesty, and integrity, but they do NOT practice what they preach. I was sad that the company had invested so much money in my training only to let me walk out the door.

The railroad is not a great place for a new family to be a part of if in transportation. Have to put in at least 5 years before you can breath and not worry about getting laid off and not having job from month to month. If I knew half of what i was getting into i would have never even applied. Now some may love it and if you do, you will have a great career if your not laid off, great pay, decent benifits, good retirement, easy work but be prepared for 30+ years of no schedule leaving your house a 2-3 am for 2 days at time. Management for me has been fairly good as long as you are on call and dont tear up anything they tend to leave you alone, but i have heard horror stories. This job on paper sounds amazing but once your actually working and know what its like its hard to get used to. Great career if you can take it mentally and are willing to sacrifice about 75% of your free time and forget about keeping friends or a healthy social life. Final point is that if you have never worked a job where you are on call 24 hours a day 365 days a year or maybe military background( a lot of guys that work are ex military). I would think long and hard before applying. If you have a family with kids be prepared to go months without making any real money in the first years. Also the expensive dues to a union that is a shell of what it once was. you can go into management but then the company can relocate you anywhere they see fit at any time. Again great career and there are fewer and fewer places that offer any real career without a degree but you will earn it by being away from your home, family, and friends. Also company is very strict on health if you go for phisical and anything is wrong you will not go back to work until it is fixed and cleared by norfolk n southern medical dept NOT YOUR DOC we have seen it time and time again your doc says your fine but the company takes weeks even months to clear you back to work. If you struggle with high blood pressure, sugar, eye sight, anything...ive seen people taken out of service for months for sugar issues. 25 years of service and you could be taken off work for blood pressure of anything over 140 over 90. If you think you could live away from home then go for it but be prepared.

My job was as a dispatcher for 12 years.  You are required to be in a union and doing a quality job is meaningless only seniority allows you to move ahead, so you could be the best dispatcher but least seniority, you will not get the job.  While this part is not NS fault, NS does not allow adequate training in using a new dispatch system that was basically forced on all dispatchers and expected to learn on your own with little to no education on how to use it.  Do not expect to have a life outside the railroad, you belong to the railroad once you are hired, mark up and get years under of seniority behind you before you get off the extra board and stand for a regular job.  Even when you get that first regular job it will NOT be a Monday through Friday job on 1st shift.  Respectful managers are far and few now under the company's new regime to centralize the dispatchers in their new Network Operations Center in Atlanta, you are looked at as a number and the only way to get any break is to mark off sick because so many have retired or quit in the last year since the centralization of dispatchers began.  If you want a good paycheck and health benefits but could careless about seeing friends, family and having any outside life, this is the job for you.  One thing about it, every day is different so expect variety, there is lots of stress as you are basically a railroad equivalent of a air traffic controller and lots and lots of responsibility.  You are CONSTANTLY under scrutiny so do not expect a pat on the back for a job well done.  Expect disrespectful colleagues to relieve you and complain about everything you did or should have done before they got there.  I left abruptly as the stress, the living out of a suitcase life and no desire for the Atlanta lifestyle was a match for my future as Norfolk Southern Railway looks to consolidate everything into Atlanta, even their headquarters in Norfolk, VA there.  I have absolutely no regret leaving there.  But there are people in the field (train crews, track maintainers, signal maintainers) I will miss.

At nineteen I left home to go work on the railroad. Working in an all male environment I learned to appreciate sophomoric humor. The hazing was constant, and I discovered how to give it back in a respectful way. If your coworkers did not like you, they will not say anything to you. The company I worked for would not promote an employee without a four tear degree, so this started me back to college. I worked the 11 -7 shift and took classes early in the morning.
I had one supervisor that came up through the ranks that could not read the rule book. This rule book is forever in my mind because we would read two rules a day. Management was rough and gruff and I appreciated it. There was no mystery about their intent. I completed a three year apprenticeship on the shop track and before that an eight week training course in Mc Donough Georgia. The hardest part of the job was cleaning up derailment sites, and getting rail cars back on the tracks.This was overtime for hourly employees. I did one derailment, and then found a part time job for extra cash. Cleaning up derailments was dangerous, unpredictable work. I experienced a national strike. President George Bush put us back to work after one day and appointed an arbitrator. Another time the railroad locked us out of work due to the threat of a strike elsewhere. The courts said that they could not do that and we were paid for the one day we were out. The best time was working as a volunteer on the steam trains. I received the behind the scenes pass, helping to keep the passenger cars rolling. When not on the steam trains, I would slip out of the shop just to watch them go by.

I resigned after six years and moved home to start a family.

In 2013 the terminal I worked in ceased to be a classification point. The Hump shut down, and the Car Inspectors numbers are less than they used to be.

Mentally/physically challenged/occupied from the beginning to the end of each tour of duty. You must learn patience and flexibility in such a dynamic environment. When you leave the crew room there is almost nonstop movement around you until the end of your tour. Be aware not only for yourself but for the safety of others and the equipment around you. Make decisions based on training & experience not impulse & haste. 
Management changes regularly but co-workers rarely do. Be flexible/understanding. Remember that everyone works with different pace & perception. Perhaps a person is working to the best of his/her ability when others feel they are not. 
The hardest things about my job were leaving the house knowing that you may not return for twenty to forty hours & becoming complacent which could lead to acting without thinking,a dangerous habit. Each day at work presented new challenges,interaction with supervisors,train dispatchers,yardmasters,co-workers,different crafts & their restrictions as they relate to you and conditions including the changing weather. It was  a daunting task each day and truthfully 
I LOVED IT! I had a terrific job,never boring,constantly changing. Traveling by train through the countryside mostly following the rivers through forested land,encountering wildlife in their habitat and witnessing the beauty of nature. Meeting new people in different cities and towns and experiencing their different ways of life. You learn that to many,myself included,railroading is a romantic job. Believe me I could go on ad infinitum as to the most enjoyable parts of my job but I will simply end by telling you that they actually paid me to do it! "Find something that you enjoy doing and you will never work a day in your life." Eureka!

Things you must be willing to do succeed as CO @ ns - accept that you will not be able to make plans, accept that you will miss holidays and Family events, accept that unless you hired @ 18 years you will never hold the good day light jobs , ever . Accept even if you scheduled the day off   you may be stuck in another City and not get it . Accept that you are just a # . 
    
The training is on point , I was in the short 90 day program , but I was able to pick it up without issue. Its an easy job but mistakes have dire consequence’s. So those who have been dismissed for rules violation no matter how small , its  warranted.  I think Ns sets ppl up for failure somewhat by hiring people without the mental capacity to see a the big picture  that every action has a reaction. If you take the wrong action PPL can die. I'm very Leary around new CO's and wont entrust my life to anyone out here , Zero tolerance for safety infractions is great policy when dealing with 10000 ton trains .  

I do like my job , most of the ppl you work with are good folks. The job is not challenging what so ever. Its rather boring without an interesting co- worker to talk to . Like its been said in other  reviews the hardest part is staying alert after being up for 20+ hours.   The pay is decent , its not the most i ever made but for what i do its acceptable even @ 80% .   

I'm currently evaluating a position I was offered in engineering @ another company , Its probably the toughest the decision I will ever have to make career wise . I don't like the Sacrifice Ns requires of me But i knew that going in. My biggest Dilemma is Lack challenge That NS offers , I enjoy problem solving and finding solutions to problems , as a conductor I'm just # to the Transportation Dept. that can get freight from point a to b safely .   I'm not sure yet what my future will be .

I had to try it out. I saw the pay. I thought of all the goals I could hit with the income and got tunnel vision with the money to be made. You don’t really realize how much you take a schedule for granted until you don’t have one. 

There is 0 work/life balance. The railroad becomes your life and that’s all you will ever hear from the people you work with / instructors. That’s why it pays the way it does. The hardest part is that it’s not just a job it is a lifestyle and you convince yourself it’s worth it when you look at the money to be made. 

Never have I met so many divorced men, balding young men, or older men with nothing outside of work. (no family, no significant other, no kids)

 If you’re single, no significant other, don’t mind not seeing your significant other, family or kids for days at a time every week, and don’t mind not knowing when your shift is / being called at any hour of the day any day to come in then this is the job for you.

It didn’t work out for me because I’m a family man. For me there’s always another job out there, but the one thing we never get back is TIME and that’s what the railroad demands. Not just hours but days away every week, and you never know what day or time you’re gonna be gone. 

My first day they didn’t even tell me which yard to report to. And when I finally did find the right yard because I flagged an employee truck down I explained to the engineer and conductor what happened and all they did was laugh and said “welcome to the railroad” which is the most famous line you’re going to hear out there. 

Glad I tried it cause now I know the railroad is not for me. 

If you’re thinking about it. If you’ve got the invitation to go out to McDonough, GA for 2 weeks I just ask that you take the time to ask yourself. “Am I willing to accept this lifestyle?” Not this job. Not this money. This lifestyle. 

You will be paid decently, the retirement is great for a blue collar worker.....until norfolk southern can figure out how to go to as many contractors as possible....so they don't have to pay a decent wage....offer healthcare....or pay into retirement....so all you contractors are morons for working for less than reasonable wages and struggle paying for family to survive....and beg obama for healthcare handouts.    Norfolk Southern is a company that will demand safety as long as they are around....but when they are not around....push for you to get the job done any way possible....and when you get hurt.....expect to be pulled out of service and accused of breaking a rule....this happens everyday!  They're is an alternative....cover up the injury.....and management will play hear no evil.....see no evil!  The government needs to get more involed and people like myself will continue to urge congress and the union to put a stop to this practice by this southern railroad mentality! It's a great job....but as you can read.....there are some critical downfalls!  I pray for a more honest and family friendly railroad....but i wont hold my breathe....ih by the way the railroad gives 2 dirty nickles of care for military....so don't let them blow steam your way....i urge you to research and talk to railroad employees and find out for yourself.   They put in management that really aren't fit mentally and physically to do the job....but the railroad knows they are 2 dumb to question what they are being pushed to say and do on behalf of the railroad as a company official.   So yes you may make a decent wage provided they run you off in your probationairy period,   lucky enough to avoid any type of injury,  or know how to bs management as well as they bs you! Just want to be straight forward and not suger coat!

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