Posted: 2/7/2011 9:00:10 PM EDT
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I am currently a NJ resident aged 20 that just wants to get the hell out of this state and out from under my parent's roof. I decided to expand my job search outside of my state borders about two weeks ago when I stumbled in to looking at the rail industry. It seems to be quite appealing in terms of salary, the fact that you pay in to Railroad Retirement and not Social Security, the ability to move up, and the fact that I can make it in to a career. The general area I want to move in to is Eastern Ohio/Western Pennsylvania. I applied for open Freight Conductor positions in Pittsburgh, Connellsville, and New Castle. Can anyone out there tell me what to expect should I get the job? Can anyone possibly give me some pointers on how I'd be more likely to secure the job?
Any help or information would be great. Just want to make sure this isn't something completely different than what I expect. I worked for UPS once upon a time and everyone thought their drivers had it great until you saw their job first hand and realized they are treated like shit. I would really like to avoid this before I actively pursue a job 6-7 hours away from my current residence. |
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Good luck getting in, seriously.
A good friend of mine is an engineer for a short-line. He was an engineer for CSX beforehand. It's a travel intensive job in general. Just because the job says it's in Pittsburgh, it doesn't mean that's where you'll be working. It's basically impossible to get in unless you know someone, sadly. |
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Just something to consider;
They have a zero tolerance policy on alcohol. If they test and you have ANY in your system you're out. A friend went to 2 interviews and ended up turning them down due to that. It was explained that if you have more than one or 2 beers the night your week is over it can still show up positive on Monday morning, and if you drink at all when you're "on call", you are playing with fire. I don't know if it actually works like that in practice, but that's how it was explained to him. EDIT; I just talked to my friend, he interviewed with Norfolk Southern, not CSX., |
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I'm an engineer for SEPTA. Never came up hot on a random alcohol test after drinking the night before.
There is a lot of overtime in railroading and a lot of waiting around for signals and such. The railroad will take up a lot of your life, but the pay and benifits are great for a blue collar job. I started in my early thirties. If I could do it all over, I would have started when I was eighteen. It takes a while to build up seniority. Retirement is at 55 if you have 30 years on the railroad. |
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Quoted:
I'm an engineer for SEPTA. Never came up hot on a random alcohol test after drinking the night before. There is a lot of overtime in railroading and a lot of waiting around for signals and such. The railroad will take up a lot of your life, but the pay and benifits are great for a blue collar job. I started in my early thirties. If I could do it all over, I would have started when I was eighteen. It takes a while to build up seniority. Retirement is at 55 if you have 30 years on the railroad. I am 20 currently so i think this would be a great fit. Any tips on "getting in?" I have been reading that it is hard as hell to get in unless you know someone. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I'm an engineer for SEPTA. Never came up hot on a random alcohol test after drinking the night before. There is a lot of overtime in railroading and a lot of waiting around for signals and such. The railroad will take up a lot of your life, but the pay and benifits are great for a blue collar job. I started in my early thirties. If I could do it all over, I would have started when I was eighteen. It takes a while to build up seniority. Retirement is at 55 if you have 30 years on the railroad. I am 20 currently so i think this would be a great fit. Any tips on "getting in?" I have been reading that it is hard as hell to get in unless you know someone. SEPTA.org go to the careers sections and submit a resume and everything. check the job openings frequently, it changes almost daily. i know they have been hiring a bunch of coach cleaners and putting them in apprentice programs to become train and locomotive mechanics. |