Do railroads hire 18 year olds?

Engineer Spike wrote:I'd like to add something to my posts. My intent was not to discourage you from a railroad career. The first few years can be tough, at least until you gain some seniority. My goal was to get you set up right. I want you to be prepared. My uncle was an engineer, and gave me much of the same advice. This is why I finished college before giving the railroad a try.

I appreciate it. Railroading is just something that I have always wanted to do, and I at least wanted to try it out before writing it off because of the rough lifestyle. I noticed in your post you mentioned "cut off" and "recall". How often does this happen and is it an 100% guarantee that this will happen eventually if you are hired?

Some guys are lucky and hire out at the right time, and never get cut. I've been on two railroads, and was cut out of a terminal a few times. Once I was totally totally cut off for a couple of weeks once. I got back in an unfortunate way though. I was the senior guy cut. One engineer had a massive heart attack, and died at work. This got me back to replace him. The next guy below me was off a couple of months, so if not for the unexpected death, I would have been off that long too.

Look at the size of your seniority district. Some are small. Sometimes road and yard are separate seniorities, with no reciprocal rights. Go where you have the most options. Big districts give more options of places to bump to, if things are bad.

This is why I encouraged you to have a backup skill. I work with a guy who is a professional chef. A few times he got the old knives out, when cut off. Another guy was an electrician. He had better benefits on the railroad, vs. his own business. He had the skill though, if need be.

It sounds like you are fairly serious about giving the railroad a try. You may or may not like it. If you don't try, you may wonder what could have been. It is a good career, but the first few years are rough sometimes. This has been my point in getting you to set up for tough times, or an out, if you don't like it.

You are young enough to learn a trade, go to college, or even enlist full time. You can still get a full pension at 60, from age 30, if you don't loose any time. Why not be a kid for a while and learn. You may find a career which blows this away. The main point is to be prepared for everything, and also to keep yourself more marketable in the workforce.

My last point is that the military is a good starting point, which you have. Railroads like people who have kept large commitments, since you put in so much more than a 40 hr. week. Besides the military, college, and long held jobs show this. Most 18 year olds just have had a part time job somewhere, which is not enough commitment to show a good track record, which they require.

Railroads will occasionally hire a good candidate straight out of HS. I hired at 18, in mid '07, but I can't lie and say I didn't have help. I had a contact that got me a look, and most times that's all you need. If you're fortunate enough to have help, don't waste the opportunity. That's rule #1.

#2 is don't rule any company or position out before you're even working. You have to be flexible. Get in somewhere. Start as a switchman on a freight railroad - doesn't matter where - or hire as a conductor, and go into engine service when you're forced or have an opportunity. Very few railroads hire engineers off the street, Amtrak being an exception, but don't waste your time putting all your eggs in that basket. If you're putting all your effort in to one specific job like that, you run a great risk of missing a good opportunity to learn some real railroading before you join me in the ranks of the predominantly talentless in passenger service.

And #3 - follow the work when you're young as best you can. Run on as many different railroads, different rule books and work for as many different companies as you can if the opportunities are there. Be exposed to as many different operations and railroaders as possible and it will serve you very well in your future.

Best of luck!

MikeEspee wrote:Railroads will occasionally hire a good candidate straight out of HS. I hired at 18, in mid '07, but I can't lie and say I didn't have help. I had a contact that got me a look, and most times that's all you need. If you're fortunate enough to have help, don't waste the opportunity. That's rule #1.

#2 is don't rule any company or position out before you're even working. You have to be flexible. Get in somewhere. Start as a switchman on a freight railroad - doesn't matter where - or hire as a conductor, and go into engine service when you're forced or have an opportunity. Very few railroads hire engineers off the street, Amtrak being an exception, but don't waste your time putting all your eggs in that basket. If you're putting all your effort in to one specific job like that, you run a great risk of missing a good opportunity to learn some real railroading before you join me in the ranks of the predominantly talentless in passenger service.

And #3 - follow the work when you're young as best you can. Run on as many different railroads, different rule books and work for as many different companies as you can if the opportunities are there. Be exposed to as many different operations and railroaders as possible and it will serve you very well in your future.

Best of luck!

I don't know anyone who works on the railroad, so I don't think I'll be able to get "help" in that regard. Do switchmen get promoted to engineer or do they get promoted to conductor and then engineer? The job that I hire on with doesn't really matter to me at all, I just have the end goal of becoming an engineer.

MikeEspee's post is dead on. I will add this as I work for a commuter railroad in transportation in the NYC region. The best guys I've ever worked and became very good friends with came from prior railroads. Beyond just knowledge, they don't take things for granted. Most came here for improved work conditions or pay and know how it really is, "on the outside." They are able to think outside the box and are on the average better problem solvers. Quite a few of them went to work for the Road Foreman's office or other supervisory positions in transportation and are well respected.