Favorable Degrees and Colleges for Locomotive Engineers?

[Tier4GEVO]

Back in the day, a high school diploma or GED with some Community college work would land you a job. I've noticed MANY people have 4 year degrees, and are going to all kinds of colleges in the US. Generally speaking, what 4 year degree is favored most to recruiters?

Also, what's a respectable college/university for an aspiring locomotive engineer, besides JCCC (Johnson County Community College has a great RR Science center in coordination with BNSF).

[OSRR]

Few of the people I work with have a college education and to my knowledge none of them have a degree related to railroading. Granted, this is in transportation. A college education is more desired if you're looking into something that isn't transportation/MoW.

The two biggest things I've seen that can get you on the track to an engineer position is knowing someone that already works for the company that can put in a good word for you (this is pretty prevalent in the railroad industry) or you have a military background.

[SD80MAC]

College degrees are not requirements for train service employees like conductors and engineers, and few have them. The only way it would help was if you eventually wanted to move higher up the ladder from being a conductor/engineer.

[CAT345C]

I surrounded myself with heavy equipment and detail oriented jobs. Started as a track guy, became a conductor then shortly after became an engineer. I went to college for Transportation logistics as a back up incase the railroad didn't work out. I work on a shortline. If you want to work as an engineer on a class 1 get a job as a conductor with them and work you way up.

[GreatLakesRailfan]

A close friend went through a program at Dakota Community Technological College(?), in a St. Paul (MN) suburb to learn how to be a conductor, but had to go through Union Pacific's conductor training program when he was hired there after graduating. Even though the school had good relations with the local railroads, the program wasn't a substitute for their programs.

[CSX_CO]

While a college degree or some other kind of training isn't a requirement, anything extra like that will only help your chances of getting hired. You're going to be going up against people with degrees and training, along with military experience, so you'll need a leg up also.

[SousaKerry]

Volunteer at your local operating railroad museam as crew. You will more then likely have to start as a car host or other lowly position but after a few seasons you may wind up with all the training you need for free, while gaining experience that other applicants may not have. Just don't make the mistakes I did in my early 20's and go into the interview acting like you know everything and are gods gift to railroading.

We have several members at the Southern Michigan Railroad Society who have turned their volunteer work and training into a full time job with the big railroads. Remember we are governed by the same rules as the big guys under the FRA.

[CSX_CO]

Depending on the hiring manager, prior experience will not help. The Class I's like a clean slate, someone with no bad habits or someone requiring reprogramming. So, while it might be a good experience to volunteer at a "play" railroad it may or may not help you. They'll usually hire from another Class I, but I don't know of many recent hires that have admitted to prior experience on anything other than a Class I.

[SousaKerry]

Well maybe it works better on short lines and regionals then.

[M.D.Bentley]

Let me put it to you this way........ Higher education does not always mean higher pay ! I work with a lot of people with degrees ( yes i have to speak slower and repeat myself a lot ). A big waste of money if you never get to use the education you paid for in the field of your choice. Unless you ultimate goal is somewhere in management or a back up career ( which you should never have to do because the railroad industry will always be around in one form or another and should be the only job you'll have to have ). A lot of people start off in other industries only to land at the railroads front step. Not happy where they were working or a laundry list of other reasons brings them here. Money and benefits are the big draw as well as playing with the BIG Choo Choo .

[GP30M4216]

I'm proud to have been involved with the creation and first three years worth of Gateway Community College's Railroad Engineering Technology program in Connecticut. This isn't specifically geared for operations (train crews), although some graduates have gotten operating department jobs after graduation. The Associates Degree program was developed in partnership with Metro-North to educate students in a practical way in two maintenance roles: C&S and Mechanical. Metro-North found that it had a shortage of qualified work candidates, and while yes, they were fully trained under the railroad's own programs once hired, having a practical background in something related and applicable was a big boost. The program had a high hire rate, and a couple students were even offered positions before graduation. As of the end of 2014, graduates had been hired at Metro-North, Amtrak, CSX, and Sperry Rail Services. Of course, the local railroads are still hiring without this degree, but as was previously said, it's just one more added relevant skillset to give someone a left up over another.

[ConrailDetr​oit]

A big waste of money if you never get to use the education you paid for in the field of your choice. Unless you ultimate goal is somewhere in management or a back up career ( which you should never have to do because the railroad industry will always be around in one form or another and should be the only job you'll have to have

Depending on which classes a student completes, general education classes required to complete an undergraduate degree will teach higher skills of logic, reasoning and pertinent knowledge to succeed in the modern world as well as in the intended field. Regardless of what field or job one enters, the material learned in those classes will always be used in every job. This is why trade schools only teach the skilled task and do not require any general education, the trade does not require any further reasoning, logic or knowledge to complete the job. Although not required, the individual and society would still benefit from having more people educated in what is taught in general education material.

In addition, a degree can help give a hiring niche as the determining factor regardless of what the degree is in. Generally, the more people who complete degrees, the less valuable a degree is as it less becomes the determining factor.

What matters most is one is satisfied with their career or job. Percentage wise, Im curious how many railroad employees with a degree or certification that is not required for their position on the railroad are actually satisfied with their railroad career by taking the highest pay/benefits job that they can be hired for, rather than pursing something they have a passion and went to school/got trained for, even if it pays less than their job on the railroad. Railroad employees who are railfans and enjoy their job dont count here

Rather than brainwashing high school students into thinking "college or flip burgers", the focus should be recognize and pursue individual talents and interest of students.

[Saturnalia]

This is why trade schools only teach the skilled task and do not require any general education, the trade does not require any further reasoning, logic or knowledge to complete the job. Although not required, the individual and society would still benefit from having more people educated in what is taught in general education material.

I wholeheartedly disagree. (in bold)

I'm pretty sure electricians, plumbers, etc need reasoning, logic and knowledge to complete the job.

Acting like a mountain of gen-ed is entirely helpful for Civil Engineers but not talented tradespeople is entirely short-sighted.

[ConrailDetr​oit]

The word being overlooked here is:

further reasoning, logic or knowledge to complete the job.

Every job needs reasoning and knowledge, the question is how much. This is why trade schools only require high school diploma or GED for entry. The logic and reasoning of high school level is all that is required to complete the trade. The rest is knowledge learned and applied to the specific skill. Civil Engineers require more logic and reasoning than a builder which is why advanced math courses in say calculus are required but not for a trade. The builder may require an applied or technical math class in say geometry as it directly applies to the job.

The same applies with a social science or humanities course. The content learned will be totally irrevalent to performing the job. ( Learning about racial, gender, income class and religious relations would be totally irrelevant to learning how to weld, connect pipes, fix a car ) but will give necessary knowledge and information necessary to help succeed in the modern world and become a more well-rounded and understanding person.

Acting like a mountain of gen-ed is entirely helpful for Civil Engineers but not talented tradespeople is entirely short-sighted.

This is why I stated and what may be overlooked again is:

Although not required, the individual and society would still benefit from having more people educated in what is taught in general education material.