Thinking about applying with BNSF

Well, I'm a 25 year old male. I've been a police officer for two years and I'm starting to get a little burned on the job. It's one of the most thankless jobs a person could ever do. Some days I love it and other days it's a pain.

My brother's buddy was recently hired by BNSF as a conductor trainee and he is loving it. My grandfather was also a conducter when it was the Great Northern railroad. I've looked things over and it seems like it could be a pretty decent career. The pay is good and the benefits appear to be outstanding.

Do you think I have a chance and is it worth it? LOL

Thanks

I'll chime in first.

The job of conductor, like any other job, has its moments. Since you are coming from a RR family, you already know about the pros and cons of RR life. Make no mistake, this is a lifestyle change, not just a change in jobs.

I came to the RR from the legal profession. Prior to entering the law, I worked in aircraft machine shops and truely enjoyed working for a living. After four years in the law, I found that I could hardly drag myself out of bed to face the legal system. Therefore, when the opportunity to go to work for the BNSF as a conductor trainee presented itself, I jumped at it. I find I actually enjoy working at an honest job for a living, rather then preying off of people's misfortunes in life.

I think if you are coming from law enforcement you will enjoy the RR. The work is governed by a lot of rules and regulations, it is outside for the most part, YOU WILL meet every type of person there is (although unlike being a cop, you won't meet them at their worse); and it is semi-physical. Some days you'll cuss the company and wonder what in the world you got yourself into and others you'll sit back and be amazed that they pay you to do what you are doing. In other words, it is just like every other job in the world. If you really like law enforcement, there are special agent jobs with the BSNF as well. These are the old railroad police.

I would have one word of caution, have your bother's buddy tell you about the current hiring spree BNSF is on. You can see my other postings for more information. I love the job and had no illusions about what was involved in RR work. I live in a big RR town in Kansas and have many friends that still work for the BNSF. However, I am 3 weeks from completing the conductors trainee course and have no idea where I will be going to work. Other trainees in different cities tell me the same thing. All the boards locally are full and in looking out of state, the locations with openings all have classes that will mark up in the next week or so. So it appears that after they have paid me to learn the job, there may not be a job available. The BNSF is a good company to work for, but their curent hiring practices leave much to be desired. They are hiring in anticipation of mass retirements in 3-5 years. So if you can make it that long, there will be many opportunities and job security.

In short, ask around. This bulletin board is a great sourse of information. I found the people here are more than willing to give you objective information that is accurate. This is because they have no agenda. If you look around, you'll find a posting on almost every subject you can think of from the hiring process through training to actual employment. The people here are experienced and more than willing to impart the wisdom of that experience. All you have to do is ask.

Good luck in whatever your decision is.

Terry Smith

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I guess "burned" is an inaccurate word. I'm looking at where I'm at now and trying to get an idea of what the future may hold. Sometimes I ask myself if I want to do this for the next 30 years. Hehe! Some days yes and some days no. I must say I have more good days than bad.

BNSF isn't hiring in my hometown yet but they're getting close. They're looking for people in two cities across the border in North Dakota. I'm in Minnesota and I imagine it won't be long before they open a spot here. I live in Dilworth, MN and it's a railroad town of about 3000 people. We're right across the river from Fargo, ND. The yard is walking distance from my apartment so I wouldn't have far to go everyday. LOL!

Freshmeat, that really sucks not knowing if you'll have a job. What you wrote paints a gloomy picture of the railroad. My current job is pretty secure considering there will always be dirtbags. I'd hate to give it up and and find out down the road the railraod doesn't have a position for me after training.

So, I guess I'll remain undecided at this point. I figured a job with the railroad would be pretty damn secure. Things I have been reading say the opposite.

Yeah it sucks. It is causing a lot of stress.

If I had it to do all over again, I would go to the orientation and ask some very pointed and blunt questions. Like are these actual openings or anticipated? If anticipated and there are no jobs present, what can the BNSF do for placement and relocation. How many openings are you hiring for and how many people will you be hiring to fill those positions. (We were told they were hiring for 10 jobs. they hired 18 and we learned that of the 10 jobs, there were only 3 available when we started class.) They don't tell you that conductors from almost across the country can bid into your job and bump you out. That kind of stuff. I mean put the manager on the spot. I know what we were told and it has not materialized as of yet. I have three weeks and I am looking a 5th wheel campers and 1 ton trucks to live in for the next 3 years.

Fore warned is fore armed.

Good luck.

freshmeat wrote:Yeah it sucks. It is causing a lot of stress.

If I had it to do all over again, I would go to the orientation and ask some very pointed and blunt questions. Like are these actual openings or anticipated? If anticipated and there are no jobs present, what can the BNSF do for placement and relocation. How many openings are you hiring for and how many people will you be hiring to fill those positions. (We were told they were hiring for 10 jobs. they hired 18 and we learned that of the 10 jobs, there were only 3 available when we started class.) They don't tell you that conductors from almost across the country can bid into your job and bump you out. That kind of stuff. I mean put the manager on the spot. I know what we were told and it has not materialized as of yet. I have three weeks and I am looking a 5th wheel campers and 1 ton trucks to live in for the next 3 years.

Fore warned is fore armed.

Good luck.

Hey freshmeat. Did you start classes thinking that you would be hired in Kansas? Do you have any idea where you might end up? You going to be trying to transfer back to Kansas after you put in some time?
Thanks

We were told that:

We were hiring for 10 jobs in the town we were interviewing for.

We had to sign a primary recall agreement which meant that we were subject to involuntary recall to that location for 5 years. If we did not come back, termination.

That we would have a hard time not working at the primary recall location because of all the business BNSF has and anticipated retirements. However, we were also informed that after we got cut off from Ark City in the winter, we could work almost anywhere on the BNSF system. (This I expected since I have some knowledge of RR employment. However, to not have a job in the city advertised is another matter.)

As far as my classmates go, they, like me and surprised that there were 18 people for 10 jobs. They were even more suprised to find that when classes started, there were only 3 openings. We all were given the impression that we would be working out of Ark City. It is hard to uproot a family with young children and move from town to town. It is even more difficult to live away from your family for months at a time. My kids are grown so it is not as hard on my family.

Now it looks like I will have to travel from location to location and try to hold on boards that have openings. From the looks of it, I will have to buy a 5th wheel camper since I cannot commit to an apartment because I do not know how long I will be able to hold a job in any one city. This will last until there are enough retirements to allow me to work in Ark City.

Interceptor wrote: BNSF isn't hiring in my hometown yet but they're getting close. They're looking for people in two cities across the border in North Dakota. I'm in Minnesota and I imagine it won't be long before they open a spot here. I live in Dilworth, MN and it's a railroad town of about 3000 people. We're right across the river from Fargo, ND. The yard is walking distance from my apartment so I wouldn't have far to go everyday. LOL!

Just got back from a 24hour layover in Dilworth. My home terminal is Willmar. I say just go for it. You'll hear lots of people with the doom and gloom stories but remember one thing..the longer you wait to hire on, the more people that will be ahead of you in seniority. Seniority is eveything. Good Luck.

Sidulator, check your PM box.

If your town is not hiring right now and you offer to work in a different city that is hiring which one will you do your training in? Assuming that they do train where you live now.