Locomotive Engineers
Drive electric, diesel-electric, steam, or gas-turbine-electric locomotives to transport passengers or freight. Interpret train orders, electronic or manual signals, and railroad rules and regulations.
- O*NET-SOC code
53-4011.00 - Preparation Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$81,410
Employment, U.S.33,470
Median hourly wage$39.14
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,680 | $75,190 | $81,410 | $93,260 | $109,220 |
By state (36)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 590 | $77,600 | 1.30 |
| Arizona | 490 | $89,840 | 0.70 |
| Arkansas | 620 | $78,930 | 2.19 |
| California | 1,570 | $77,070 | 0.40 |
| Colorado | 480 | $89,360 | 0.77 |
| Delaware | 290 | Not available | 2.73 |
| Florida | 350 | $92,310 | 0.16 |
| Illinois | 2,340 | $93,320 | 1.79 |
| Indiana | 1,030 | $92,790 | 1.49 |
| Iowa | 1,000 | $89,970 | 2.98 |
| Kansas | 1,020 | $75,190 | 3.31 |
| Kentucky | 540 | $77,620 | 1.25 |
| Louisiana | 700 | $64,200 | 1.69 |
| Massachusetts | 640 | $108,790 | 0.82 |
| Minnesota | 990 | $93,700 | 1.56 |
| Mississippi | 300 | $96,710 | 1.19 |
| Missouri | 1,110 | $78,820 | 1.76 |
| Montana | 470 | $90,220 | 4.31 |
| New Hampshire | 30 | $70,670 | 0.23 |
| New Jersey | 830 | $86,550 | 0.90 |
| New Mexico | 440 | $88,330 | 2.36 |
| New York | 1,510 | $109,220 | 0.72 |
| North Carolina | 340 | $61,190 | 0.32 |
| Ohio | 200 | $63,280 | 0.17 |
| Oklahoma | 260 | $91,970 | 0.72 |
| Oregon | 580 | $79,130 | 1.37 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,430 | $82,460 | 1.10 |
| South Carolina | 380 | $89,290 | 0.77 |
| South Dakota | 150 | $69,180 | 1.57 |
| Tennessee | 700 | $81,410 | 1.00 |
| Texas | 3,780 | $79,000 | 1.25 |
| Virginia | 790 | $90,780 | 0.89 |
| Washington | 1,120 | $73,750 | 1.47 |
| West Virginia | 340 | $64,400 | 2.23 |
| Wisconsin | 220 | $84,550 | 0.35 |
| Wyoming | $78,910 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers | 1-2 | 0.968 |
| 2 | Subway and Streetcar Operators | 1-2 | 0.967 |
| 3 | Commercial Pilots | 3 | 0.967 |
| 4 | Crane and Tower Operators | 3 | 0.964 |
| 5 | Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | 4 | 0.963 |
| 6 | Bridge and Lock Tenders | 1-2 | 0.960 |
| 7 | Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 1-2 | 0.957 |
| 8 | Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas | 1-2 | 0.950 |
| 9 | Sailors and Marine Oilers | 1-2 | 0.947 |
| 10 | Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters | 1-2 | 0.946 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Locomotive Engineers, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subway and Streetcar Operators | Service Orientation | 0.76 | 0.967 |
| Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators | Equipment Maintenance | 1.75 | 0.942 |
| Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining | Equipment Maintenance | 1.62 | 0.933 |
| Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters | Instructing | 0.76 | 0.931 |
| Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators | Equipment Maintenance | 1.12 | 0.928 |
| Biomass Plant Technicians | Equipment Maintenance | 1.62 | 0.927 |
| Logging Equipment Operators | Equipment Maintenance | 1.50 | 0.926 |
| Segmental Pavers | Persuasion | 0.87 | 0.919 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Locomotive Engineers, excluding software Locomotive Engineers already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory tracking software | 4 of 20 | 4.1x |
| Microsoft Windows | 7 of 20 | 1.3x |
| Email software | 3 of 20 | 0.5x |
| SAP software | 3 of 20 | 0.5x |
| Microsoft Office software | 15 of 20 | 0.8x |
| Microsoft Outlook | 11 of 20 | 0.8x |
| Web browser software | 4 of 20 | 0.4x |
| Microsoft PowerPoint | 6 of 20 | 0.4x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 4.25 | 4.25 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 4.12 | 4.00 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 3.62 | 3.00 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 3.50 | 3.12 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 3.38 | 3.00 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.38 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 2.62 | 2.88 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.50 | 2.62 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 2.50 | 2.50 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 2.38 | 2.62 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 2.38 | 2.12 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 2.25 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 1.88 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.50 |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.38 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.50 | 0.75 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.25 | not rated |
| Science | Essential skill | 1.12 | not rated |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 3.97 | 4.31 |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.50 | 3.61 |
| Mechanical | 3.28 | 3.99 |
| Mathematics | 3.05 | 3.29 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 2.88 | 3.25 |
| Education and Training | 2.77 | 3.22 |
| English Language | 2.76 | 2.50 |
| Law and Government | 2.75 | 2.76 |
| Physics | 2.57 | 2.46 |
| Administration and Management | 2.49 | 2.39 |
| Computers and Electronics | 2.45 | 2.53 |
| Engineering and Technology | 2.43 | 2.41 |
| Communications and Media | 2.36 | 2.43 |
| Telecommunications | 2.26 | 1.73 |
| Production and Processing | 2.14 | 2.00 |
| Building and Construction | 2.08 | 2.14 |
| Administrative | 2.04 | 1.99 |
| Economics and Accounting | 1.99 | 1.15 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 1.98 | 1.84 |
| Chemistry | 1.96 | 1.87 |
| Design | 1.95 | 1.65 |
| Sales and Marketing | 1.71 | 1.19 |
| Psychology | 1.56 | 1.42 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 1.55 | 0.97 |
| Geography | 1.46 | 1.09 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1.34 | not rated |
| History and Archeology | 1.32 | not rated |
| Biology | 1.27 | not rated |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.27 | not rated |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.27 | not rated |
| Foreign Language | 1.14 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.03 | not rated |
| Food Production | 1.00 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Selective Attention | 4.12 | 4.00 |
| Far Vision | 4.00 | 4.50 |
| Control Precision | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Response Orientation | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Depth Perception | 3.88 | 3.75 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.88 | 3.62 |
| Reaction Time | 3.75 | 4.12 |
| Auditory Attention | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Oral Expression | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Information Ordering | 3.75 | 3.50 |
| Near Vision | 3.75 | 3.50 |
| Rate Control | 3.62 | 3.88 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 3.62 | 3.62 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.62 | 3.12 |
| Time Sharing | 3.25 | 3.50 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.25 | 3.12 |
| Glare Sensitivity | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Written Comprehension | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Visualization | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Written Expression | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Trunk Strength | 3.00 | 2.62 |
| Spatial Orientation | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Category Flexibility | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Finger Dexterity | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Sound Localization | 2.88 | 2.25 |
| Peripheral Vision | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Night Vision | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 2.62 | 2.50 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 2.50 | 2.00 |
| Number Facility | 2.38 | 2.38 |
| Static Strength | 2.38 | 2.38 |
| Extent Flexibility | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 2.12 | 1.75 |
| Stamina | 2.12 | 1.75 |
| Dynamic Strength | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Memorization | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Originality | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Gross Body Coordination | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Explosive Strength | 1.88 | 1.12 |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Microsoft Excel hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- Electronic train management systems ETMS
- Route mapping software
- Time tracking software
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 250 | 0.29 | $65,340 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 100 | 0.14 | $57,140 |