So I started working for a company a couple months ago that transports railroad crews to and from their trains that they are operating for the day.
It's pretty much pick up, drop off, or hang around for a while on an assist. Depending on where I'm going, I can drive up to 300 miles a day or spend 10 hours assisting a crew. One thing that sucks but doesn't bother me all too much, is that it's on call, but there's a system set up to know how many drivers are ahead of you on the board, so you can kind of plan stuff around it. It's also not hard to ask for a day off if you need it.
The first thing that I don't care for is that I'm only getting paid a couple bucks above minimum wage. I knew that going in, but apparently that's really all you make working here, even management doesn't get paid very well.
The second is management itself. The branch manager is married to the assistant manager. Another driver looked into it and apparently there's no company policy against it. One is never available when the other isn't as well and then they call you back 3 hours after the fact. Also, the branch just poorly run. You can tell who plays favorites and apparently there is no repercussions for calling off too much or continually dropping yourself back to the bottom of the driver board until you get that one job you really wanted, screwing over the other drivers. Also there is zero professionalism. Not saying that there needs to always be professionalism every second, but a little goes a long way. They also have a hard time explaining important things you know you should have been told when you were hired, but unfortunately had to find out from other drivers.
I'm already looking for another job. It's sad because I like some of the other drivers and I like a lot of the railroad crews. I also enjoy the driving and learning interesting things about the railroad.
Find out how to get hired on the railroad crew. What RR?
Good future -
Yeah, rail is pretty much non-exportable and surprisingly green. Automation is the main enemy of a long term career there, I'd suspect. I think I'd love working in the field.
Talk with the guys you're hauling around. Ask them to help you get on with the RR. I understand it is union and you have to have contacts to get in, as that is how union work is (or used to be anyway, I've been out of it for 25 years.) But they still occasionally let people in that weren't someone's kid. See if the RR guys will give you some introductions.
SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote:
Ranger50 wrote:
Lemme guess, PTI?
Yep.
So must be with NS..... All I can say is good luck.
Ranger50 wrote:
SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote:
Ranger50 wrote:
Lemme guess, PTI?
Yep.
So must be with NS..... All I can say is good luck.
Ok? I'm not staying with them.
In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid:
Getting on the RR.... One damn tough job to get into. I applied multiple times and through multiple sources.... Nursing school was a better option.
Ive heard if you get a job on the railroad you have to work all the live-long day.
Just to pass the time of day.
Well all I know is out of the 3 railroads I deal with, NS guys are the most miserable. The other two (CSX and UP) are always cheery and like to talk. NS guys, not so much.
NS seems pretty easy to get into, but only for conductors, which after seeing what they do, is not for me. I would rather do car or signal dept.
OK, so here's your long term career plan:
- Get sucky job with NS.
- Work sucky job at NS for 1-2 years.
- Get much better job with CSX or UP, now that you have experience and are in the union, etc.
Go CSX....So much better than NS. It's not that hard to get in if you know people. That's the problem, knowing people. You already have that licked. It's a ole boys network. I would definitely talk the ears off of guys you are transporting. It's not a bad gig.
one of my friends does the same thing- gets paid to drive a brand new Suburban all over the upper midwest taking crews to trains and stuff.. it's the perfect side job for him, since he's into weird mechanical stuff like trains and has learned a lot about how the railroads actually function.. sometimes he gets to sit in the truck for 10 hours and play on facebook on his tablet and get paid for it.. he likes it, but it's not his primary source of income: he fixes up cars and trucks for used car dealers out of his garage for $50 an hour..
thanks to him, i was able to get a perfectly good aluminum 5.3 that had a slight lifter tick for $100. they just slammed a brand new GM crate motor in the truck and sold the old one to me- i told him that i would buy every engine out of every truck in their fleet if they ever replace them, but sadly that was the last motor that they replaced and that was over 2 years ago..
If you like that you should try to get a gig hauling Amish. Wicked fun and decent money. I did it in the 90's and saw the country and made pretty good bank. Of course you need your own equipment, my 81 Voyager had 495k on it when I stopped fixing things and bought another
Amish are cool. The one guy I worked with had a wicked sense of humor.
In reply to chandlerGTi:
I did not know that you were once a Yoder Toter.
JohnRW1621 wrote:
In reply to chandlerGTi:
I did not know that you were once a Yoder Toter.
Tears streaming out of my eyes...can't stop laughing...
