Rail companies recruit ex-military - Military Careers, Second Careers - Army Times

Rail companies recruit ex-military

Just a few years ago, it wouldn’t have been a promising career move. But today, if you’re looking for a steady job, great promotion opportunities and immediate openings when you leave the military, consider the railroad industry.

There are few career fields offering starting salaries of more than $40,000 without the requirement of a college degree. And fewer still provide professional development training and opportunities to move into management and supervisory positions after only a few years. But that’s what Bob Knowles found when he left the military and went to work for Norfolk Southern railroad.

“About a week after I applied I got a phone call and we set up an interview,” said Knowles, a former tanker and sergeant in the Army. “And about four hours after my interview, I was hired.”

Knowles separated from the military in October 2004. He went to work for Norfolk Southern the following April. From that point, Knowles’ career has been on a fast track.

“In my first five months, I was training to be a conductor,” he said. “I took classes and had on-the-job training going back and forth between Georgia and Philadelphia. I was marked up to conductor in October 2005.”

While riding the rails, Knowles saw a lot more than the American landscape. He saw the way the company operated and the opportunities available to him.

“I saw the bigger picture,” he said. “I enjoyed being a conductor and liked the outdoor work and the fact that it was different every day. But I saw the opportunities to be in management. So I started training to become a yardmaster because I knew that would be the first step toward a management position.”

His next opportunity for promotion came in February 2006, when he was accepted into the operations supervisor trainee program. By December, he had completed the program, and today he is a manager — all in just two short years.

Knowles’ story is not unusual. The nation’s rail companies are facing major worker shortages in every category.

Large numbers of railroad workers are moving closer to retirement age, and that shortfall means a wide-open field of job prospects.

Union Pacific, a leading transportation company, expects to lose up to 40 percent of its work force over the next five years, while at the same time, it is being tasked with greater freight transportation demands. For example, in November, winter energy demands had the company moving 20 million tons of coal — an increase of almost 8 percent over than last year.

Norfolk Southern is facing a similar situation — moving more freight and losing more workers. According to Rick Davison, assistant vice president, human resources, Norfolk Southern expects to hire 2,000 new employees every year for the foreseeable future.

“Like other transportation companies, we’re facing an aging work force and a steady level of natural attrition,” Davison said. “Part of our recruiting efforts are external, and we’re particularly interested in military personnel. They bring great leadership skills, great attitudes, and they operate well in an environment like ours, which is heavily regulated.”

Davison explained that the job opportunities are scattered throughout the 22 states in which the company operates, but most are in locations with large terminals like Harrisburg, Pa., Chicago and Atlanta.

• Starting on the railroad

According to Davison, if you want a job when you leave the military, the railroad offers more than that.

“This is a place where you have great pay, great benefits and a great career,” he said.

Getting started usually means working as a train conductor, as they make up the bulk of positions rail companies need to fill. There are no prerequisites for these positions — no college requirements, previous training or certification. Railroad companies provide new hires with on-the-job training for five or six months. During that time, trainees earn around $500 a week. In military fashion, they train as they work.

“In training, they’re exposed to all the experiences and operations they’ll have to handle when they become qualified conductors,” Davison said.

“They may work one daylight shift, have a day of rest, and then they may be called to work on a train at night.”

Training covers everything from connecting couplers and hydraulic air hoses to understanding the braking system. There’s also heavy emphasis on safety standards, company-specific rules and federal transportation regulations.

Once trainees are “marked up,” as conductors, they work in unsupervised environments in shifts of up to 12 hours and are given responsibility for the safe operation of the train. In exchange for their training and responsibilities, conductors earn union wages that come out to around $40,000 to $60,000 annually.

• Job opportunities

The Association of American Railroads estimates that the economy will drive the nation’s freight demands up almost 67 percent in the next two decades. That means railroad companies will have to hire more than 80,000 new workers to fill more than just conductor positions. They’ll need locomotive engineers, car men, track workers and technicians. The association estimates that on the low end, freight car maintenance workers earn just under $50,000 annually, and engineers earn more than $75,000 a year. Along with those salaries, railroad company insurance packages and benefits average out to an additional $23,000 a year.

“The benefits are the best I’ve seen anywhere,” Knowles said.

There can be a downside to working the rails. Trains move across the country 24 hours a day. That means workers are needed 24 hours a day, both on and off the trains. Most work in shifts and often have irregular hours, not to mention the amount of time they spend traveling.

“The worst part for, say, a conductor, is when you’re on call,” Knowles said. “You may be called at any moment or two or three times a day.”

The upside of a railroad career is how quickly employees can move into other jobs that keep them closer to home. It’s a simple matter of making application, then spending five to six months in on-the-job training.

“Anyone who has served in the military would find a lot of similarities in railroad work,” Knowles said. “The amount of self-discipline required is similar. Military personnel are used to working different hours and different shifts. As for the kinds of opportunities, from yardmaster to trainmaster to management, they’re unbelievable.”

• Train — before you get the job

The promise of a career with great benefits and promotion paths may sound good once you’re on the inside. But service members can get started even before they leave the military. The match between railroad companies and the military led to Union Pacific’s recent decision to become affiliated with the Army’s Partnership for Youth Success, or PaYS, program. PaYS is designed to help the Army attract, train and deploy enlistees while also ensuring them careers when they return from deployments and leave the military. Through the partnership, service members can train for jobs such as diesel mechanics, electricians and managers while they’re in the military, and have a leg up on the competition when they’re ready for civilian jobs.

According to James Barnes, spokesman for Union Pacific, military veterans make up about 20 percent of the company’s work force. By affiliating with the Army, Union Pacific hopes to draw in even more.

“Under the terms of the agreement between the Army and Union Pacific, enlistees who express an interest in specific job training and qualifications will get that training while they’re in the military,” he said. “Then, when they get toward the end of their enlistments, they have the opportunity to discuss employment opportunities with us. We want to recruit former military members, and this is a great way to do it.”

Canadian Pacific Railway and Norfolk Southern also participate in PaYS.