Locomotive Engineer entrance exam

Hey everybody,

I recently got an e-mail about a Locomotive Engineer trainee program. As I just graduated college, I am really eager to find a steady job with decent pay such as this one. I heard from a few people there are to test I will take prior to the interview that I have to pass. Cognitive and Vocabulary. I understand these are the type of test you can't really study for, but can anyone fill me in on what to expect? The type of questions they ask, how difficult are they, ect. Is there a math portion, too? Any information at all would be so helpful.

I am very good at memorization, so I'm eager and exciting for the training, but the last thing I want to do is go home and tell everyone I failed the interview exam.

-Ryan

Admin Note:

Moved to the Employment Forum, but a shadow topic left in the LIRR Forum.

No insight from anybody?

Any information at all would be helpful.

It's not complicated. Biggest challenge for most is the time limit on each test. Back when I did it most failed the reading comprehension test. Trick is to read the question look for a key word scan the paragraph for the answer. There's nothing to study.

The vocabulary part will be words that are most synonymous, such as 'practical' being most synonymous to 'practicable' since the latter word is used a lot within the operating rule book. The cognitive part will consist on sequencing and flow charts. Sequencing as I remember it would be sort of like "Jim wakes up in the morning, list the things that Jim would most commonly do, in order, before leaving for work" and you will have to arrange 6 boxes in the most logical order. So just make sure Jim doesn't put his socks on before he takes a shower, that wouldn't make sense. The flow charts deal with "if this, then that" scenarios. Just read them thoroughly and then on the next page, they will ask you questions based on the flow chart data. It's not hard, just read everything before you answer questions, don't rush, and check over all your answers. I took the test 10 years ago, but this is what I remember of it. It may not seem like it has any relation to railroading, but it weeds out the people that shouldn't be considered for the job since the craft deals with a lot of troubleshooting and thinking ahead. The test basically sees how your brain is wired. Hope this helps.

Also, admin, this post is MUCH more relevant back in the LIRR forum and I suggest you move it back there. LIRR is the only railroad that uses this specific test and you are narrowing down this persons audience by hiding it employment.

it is still linked via LIRR forum.

Hi, did you apply for this position back in June? Thanks

emfinite wrote:The vocabulary part will be words that are most synonymous, such as 'practical' being most synonymous to 'practicable' since the latter word is used a lot within the operating rule book. The cognitive part will consist on sequencing and flow charts. Sequencing as I remember it would be sort of like "Jim wakes up in the morning, list the things that Jim would most commonly do, in order, before leaving for work" and you will have to arrange 6 boxes in the most logical order. So just make sure Jim doesn't put his socks on before he takes a shower, that wouldn't make sense. The flow charts deal with "if this, then that" scenarios. Just read them thoroughly and then on the next page, they will ask you questions based on the flow chart data. It's not hard, just read everything before you answer questions, don't rush, and check over all your answers. I took the test 10 years ago, but this is what I remember of it. It may not seem like it has any relation to railroading, but it weeds out the people that shouldn't be considered for the job since the craft deals with a lot of troubleshooting and thinking ahead. The test basically sees how your brain is wired. Hope this helps.

Also, admin, this post is MUCH more relevant back in the LIRR forum and I suggest you move it back there. LIRR is the only railroad that uses this specific test and you are narrowing down this persons audience by hiding it employment.

Hey there,

Thank you for your reply and for the information. That was very helpful. Is there no math portion for the Locomotive Engineer? Although I realize there is nothing to study for, it's still helpful to know what to expect.

Thanks again.

-Ryan

COEN77 wrote:It's not complicated. Biggest challenge for most is the time limit on each test. Back when I did it most failed the reading comprehension test. Trick is to read the question look for a key word scan the paragraph for the answer. There's nothing to study.

Thanks for the advice. I'm assuming if you don't finish within the time limit it's an automatic fail?

eo1 wrote:Hi, did you apply for this position back in June? Thanks

eo1 wrote:Hi, did you apply for this position back in June? Thanks

Hey,

I did. To be honest, the e-mail wasn't an invitation for the open house. I am lucky enough to know someone who works in upper-management, and they simply asked me to forward my resume and the job ID I applied for, but it's been a few weeks and I haven't heard anything again, so.

NYCsped wrote:

COEN77 wrote:It's not complicated. Biggest challenge for most is the time limit on each test. Back when I did it most failed the reading comprehension test. Trick is to read the question look for a key word scan the paragraph for the answer. There's nothing to study.

Thanks for the advice. I'm assuming if you don't finish within the time limit it's an automatic fail?

Not necessarily an automatic failure but unanswered question would count against someone. Especially when competing against 30-40+ other people. A lot of what a Locomotive Engineer does depends on comprehending paperwork with running orders.