Career
Railroad conductors and yardmasters
Lead train crews and manage rail yards.
$78,000
Median pay
+0.9%
Job growth, 2025–35
3,000
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Observe yard traffic to determine tracks available to accommodate inbound and outbound traffic.
- Receive instructions from dispatchers regarding trains' routes, timetables, and cargoes.
- Direct and instruct workers engaged in yard activities, such as switching tracks, coupling and uncoupling cars, and routing inbound and outbound traffic.
- Signal engineers to begin train runs, stop trains, or change speed, using telecommunications equipment or hand signals.
- Direct engineers to move cars to fit planned train configurations, combining or separating cars to make up or break up trains.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Observe yard traffic to determine tracks available to accommodate inbound and outbound traffic.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Coordination, Monitoring, Speaking, Critical Thinking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $78,000 a year and 3,000 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Railroad and Railway TransportationCIP 49.0208
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Locomotive Engineers$81,410 · +0.5%
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers$68,840 · +0.8%
- Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers$60,600 · +0.8%
- Subway and Streetcar Operators$86,380 · +3.7%
- Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance$50,340 · -0.7%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.