How to hire railroad conductors and yardmasters

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Arrange for the removal of defective cars from trains at stations or stops.
• Confirm routes and destination information for freight cars.
• Direct and instruct workers engaged in yard activities, such as switching tracks, coupling and uncoupling cars, and routing inbound and outbound traffic.
• Direct engineers to move cars to fit planned train configurations, combining or separating cars to make up or break up trains.
• Observe yard traffic to determine tracks available to accommodate inbound and outbound traffic.
• Receive instructions from dispatchers regarding trains' routes, timetables, and cargoes.
• Review schedules, switching orders, way bills, and shipping records to obtain cargo loading and unloading information and to plan work.
• Signal engineers to begin train runs, stop trains, or change speed, using telecommunications equipment or hand signals.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: High school diploma or equivalent]
• Strong monitoring, speaking, critical thinking, active listening, reading comprehension and active learning skills
• Working knowledge of public safety and security and transportation
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $37.50 an hour ($78,000 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for railroad conductors and yardmasters

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to arrange for the removal of defective cars from trains at stations or stops. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to confirm routes and destination information for freight cars. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to direct and instruct workers engaged in yard activities, such as switching tracks, coupling and uncoupling cars, and routing inbound and outbound traffic. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to direct engineers to move cars to fit planned train configurations, combining or separating cars to make up or break up trains. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. How do you keep track of your own work quality during a busy shift or week? Give an example of catching a problem early.
6. Explain something technical from your last job as you would to a new coworker.
7. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What railroad conductors and yardmasters do

• Arrange for the removal of defective cars from trains at stations or stops.
• Confirm routes and destination information for freight cars.
• Direct and instruct workers engaged in yard activities, such as switching tracks, coupling and uncoupling cars, and routing inbound and outbound traffic.
• Direct engineers to move cars to fit planned train configurations, combining or separating cars to make up or break up trains.
• Observe yard traffic to determine tracks available to accommodate inbound and outbound traffic.
• Receive instructions from dispatchers regarding trains' routes, timetables, and cargoes.
• Review schedules, switching orders, way bills, and shipping records to obtain cargo loading and unloading information and to plan work.
• Signal engineers to begin train runs, stop trains, or change speed, using telecommunications equipment or hand signals.

Skills that matter most

MonitoringSpeakingCritical ThinkingActive ListeningReading ComprehensionActive LearningPublic Safety and SecurityTransportation

Education, experience and outlook for railroad conductors and yardmasters

• Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: None (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Moderate-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: +0.9% over ten years, little or no change · about 3,000 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay railroad conductors and yardmasters

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See railroad conductors and yardmasters pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Locomotive Engineers
• Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers
• Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers
• Subway and Streetcar Operators
• Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance
• Air Traffic Controllers
• Transportation Inspectors
• Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors
• Airfield Operations Specialists
• Rail Transportation Workers, All Other

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.