BNSF PAY

Ok I start conductor training on the 18th. I know what the pay is while I am training. 40k has been tossed about for an annual salary. But if this is right I won't be making any more after training, than during. If anyone can elaborate I would appreciate it immensely.

farmertim,

It's on a escalating scale while in training... If memory serves from what they told us when I went to testing and orientation it's something along these lines, but don't hold me to this:

13-Week Training Course

Weeks 1-3 $79/daily (Mon-Sun)
Weeks 3-8 $119/daily (Mon-Sun)
Weeks 9-13 $129/daily (Mon-Sun)

Trainess (Students) don't get paid any OT, and you will work plenty of it, even as a student, so be prepared...

Hope that helps... and if my numbers aren't quite right and somebody else out there has the right ones, feel free to correct me. But I'm thinking I'm pretty close with these figures...

Good Luck with the class...

farmertim,

Sorry, just re-read your question, and noticed you were wanting to know more about what you were gonna make once you got out of class..

That I don't know... You'll be on the extra boards more than likely... And so I would guess you would make whatever the guarantee was for the yard you work at on that given day... In addition of course to any OT you work..

But I'll leave this question to someone with more experience... They could probably explain it far better than I can..

I can try to enlighten you a little bit but I just completed my training so I’m fairly new to the game.

I’ve asked a few young guys and old heads about how much a guy can make. Seems the average is around 40k to 50k if you work in the yard. Working the road can bring in 60k or more.

It all boils down to how much you want to work. If you really want to make money, just answer that phone whenever it rings and open up your wallet because BNSF will fill it. Hopefully things will stay busy for a long time.

When you start your training, show up everyday, do your homework and study when you can. You’ll get through it just fine. I passed with a 100% score on both my RCO/Hostler and Conductor Promotion exams.

Don’t be a jerk during your OJT and work safely. You’ll work with a variety of people. Some of old rails will be a real pleasure to work with and others won’t. You’ll get a few old rails that spend more time making you laugh hard than actually training you!

As with any job, you’re always going to have a few turds in the punchbowl. Don’t let the ones with poor attitudes bring you down. Believe me, you will encounter them. Everything with them is doom and gloom. They spend a lot of time complaining and trying to screw the company. In the end all they’re doing is screwing the guy behind them.

Also, don’t sharp shoot the boards. All it does is piss off your coworkers and ruin your reputation. You’ll know what I mean once you start working.

Follow the rules and you won’t get into trouble. BNSF pays you to follow them. Some rules will seem kind of odd and make you wonder why they put it down in writing. But, I haven’t had a paycheck bounce yet so I’ll continue to do it their way.

Good luck with your training. It will be a fun ride!

I'm guessing the pay rate between your employer and mine (UP) is pretty similar, so i can ballpark it for you. At 80 percent, you'll make close to 50K a year on the switchman's extra board (staying marked up as much as you can). If you take a regular job it could mean a pay cut unless you're getting a lot of OT or working on off days. If you go on the road and making guarantee, that figure will go up to around 60K a year. A Conductor making 100 percent and not busting guarantee should make about 72K a year. Anything above and beyond that depends on how much you're working.

Thanks for the information, that helps alot. I still have a crop in the field I have to gather but, have some family lined up to help out. I will surely be glad when this last crop is out.

Gonna give up farming all together buddy? I remember before i hired out, i picked up a Trains magazine and saw a BN hoghead getting on a train out there in the middle of a corn field with one of those Bigfoot Pizza Hut pizzas, dude looked like a professional wrestler in railroad bibs, like he could throw a bale of hay 100 yards. Told my wife i wanted a whole pizza my first day as a hoghead, although i was a scrawny 140 pounds at the time i said that.

Im LC this weekend, layed off camping with my GF and my kids. Anyone else remember that picture in Trains Magazine? Later guys.

NS pays me 500 a week as a trainee.
some of the guys on the extra board who got marked up are making some good money 1500 1900 a week.