Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$78,000

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$65,610 – $83,820

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

46,440

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+0.9%

Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)

Openings a year (projected)

3,000

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Coordinate activities of switch-engine crew within railroad yard, industrial plant, or similar location. Conductors coordinate activities of train crew on passenger or freight trains. Yardmasters review train schedules and switching orders and coordinate activities of workers engaged in railroad traffic operations, such as the makeup or breakup of trains and yard switching.

Main tasks

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

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

High school diploma or equivalent

Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 1–2

Little to some preparation

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Locomotive Engineers

  $81,410 median · +0.5% projected

• Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers

  $68,840 median · +0.8% projected

• Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers

  $60,600 median · +0.8% projected

• Subway and Streetcar Operators

  $86,380 median · +3.7% projected

• Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance

  $50,340 median · -0.7% projected

• First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators

  $62,890 median · +3% projected