The US railroad industry has most of its employees in the transportation department, the majority of them working full time for up to 40 hours. The median pay for these workers is about $30.87 per hour, or $62,210 per year, which is above the national minimum wage.
In 2020, the industry had 74,600 jobs. Although this is nearly 5% less compared to other industries, experts project up to 7,000 new job openings every year. However, these new openings are replacements for transferring or retiring employees.
So, what attracts many people to fill these railroad jobs? Do you get retirement benefits by working in the railroad industry? What are the other benefits if you join the industry today? Keep reading to learn more.
- Competitive Payment Plan
As noted earlier, the pay rates in the railway industry are above the national minimum wage. Earning up to $62,210 per year means you can save more while also leading a modern, comfortable life.
Besides the competitive salary, railroad jobs also attract various employee benefits such as health coverage and paid vacations. You’ll even enjoy retirement benefits by contributing to the 401 (K) plan. In other words, the industry secures your future, just like corporate.
Even better, you can compel the employer to give your RRB credits back when sick or disabled. Reach out to an RRB attorney to get a better insight into how this works.
- Work in the Railroad Industry and Tour the Country
Do you love to travel to new destinations? Well, working aboard a train allows you to do that without spending your money, especially if you land an employment opportunity in interstate routes.
Sometimes, you’ll spend up to three weeks or a month just traveling, depending on transport demand. You’ll make new friends, learn about new cultures, and even improve your geography knowledge about the country.
- Many Job Opportunities
There are many railroad jobs and you’ll never miss an opportunity that compliments your skills, personalities, or expectations. For instance, you can work as a conductor, cook, train engineer, or crew member if you want to spend time aboard the train.
If you don’t like traveling, you can work as a utility clerk, welder, train yard manager, or dispatcher. All positions come with competitive rates, including retirement benefits.
- Ongoing Training
Employees in other industries, such as corporate spend their own money on ongoing courses to fine-tune their skills. In the railroad industry, the employer will train you at no additional costs on your end.
Getting comprehensive on-job training will improve your skills and help you rise above the employment ranks sooner than you expect it.
- Join Unions
This is one of the biggest benefits of working in the railroad industry. Not so many employers will allow their teams to join labor unions.
However, in the railroad, it’s like the norm. Nearly all railway transportation companies have respective labor unions.
Unions come in handy when negotiating collective bargaining agreements to protect workers’ benefits. This includes general pay rise and the introduction of other employee benefits.
Get a Job in the Railroad Industry Today
There are many other railroad benefits than you can imagine. You can only know about and experience them if you join the railroad industry today.
Read other articles on this site for tips on how you can increase your chances of getting employed.
Hemant Kumar is a project manager at Tridindia with more than nine years of commendable experience in writing about LMS, translation, and IT. His unmatched talent and passion for digital marketing gave him the opportunity to work as a multi-tasking project manager at TridIndia’s sister company, Link Building Corp. Today, he contributes to the world by imparting knowledge on SEO, link building and internet marketing etc., that helps business owners grow their online business.
