Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters
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.
- O*NET-SOC code
53-4031.00 - Preparation Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$78,000
Employment, U.S.46,440
Median hourly wage$37.50
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $58,740 | $65,610 | $78,000 | $83,820 | $109,770 |
By state (34)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 460 | $78,080 | 0.47 |
| Arkansas | 390 | $67,710 | 0.99 |
| California | 1,500 | $69,950 | 0.27 |
| Colorado | 490 | $77,550 | 0.57 |
| Delaware | $80,410 | ||
| Florida | 760 | $79,600 | 0.26 |
| Georgia | 1,740 | $75,810 | 1.19 |
| Idaho | 270 | Not available | 1.05 |
| Illinois | 2,790 | $79,820 | 1.53 |
| Indiana | 1,720 | $81,260 | 1.80 |
| Kansas | 1,200 | $68,730 | 2.79 |
| Kentucky | 110 | $52,380 | 0.18 |
| Louisiana | 390 | $62,170 | 0.67 |
| Maryland | 300 | $83,390 | 0.36 |
| Michigan | 760 | $78,960 | 0.58 |
| Minnesota | 830 | $78,930 | 0.94 |
| Mississippi | 440 | $78,010 | 1.27 |
| Missouri | 970 | $68,030 | 1.10 |
| New Mexico | 400 | $77,890 | 1.54 |
| New York | 6,980 | $80,000 | 2.41 |
| North Carolina | $58,930 | ||
| Ohio | 1,480 | $61,390 | 0.89 |
| Oklahoma | 310 | $102,260 | 0.61 |
| Oregon | 390 | $68,580 | 0.67 |
| Pennsylvania | 2,750 | $83,610 | 1.52 |
| South Carolina | 420 | $73,660 | 0.60 |
| South Dakota | 90 | $62,730 | 0.67 |
| Tennessee | 790 | $71,740 | 0.81 |
| Texas | 4,640 | $68,980 | 1.10 |
| Virginia | 900 | $79,900 | 0.73 |
| Washington | 810 | $79,040 | 0.76 |
| West Virginia | 320 | $55,180 | 1.54 |
| Wisconsin | 630 | $59,690 | 0.72 |
| Wyoming | $68,430 |
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 | Bridge and Lock Tenders | 1-2 | 0.957 |
| 2 | Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels | 3 | 0.955 |
| 3 | Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers | 1-2 | 0.951 |
| 4 | Commercial Pilots | 3 | 0.948 |
| 5 | Forest and Conservation Technicians | 3 | 0.947 |
| 6 | Airfield Operations Specialists | 3 | 0.946 |
| 7 | Locomotive Engineers | 1-2 | 0.946 |
| 8 | Aircraft Service Attendants | 1-2 | 0.945 |
| 9 | First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand | 1-2 | 0.943 |
| 10 | Transportation Security Screeners | 1-2 | 0.943 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers | Troubleshooting | 0.88 | 0.951 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand | Negotiation | 0.88 | 0.943 |
| Pest Control Workers | Negotiation | 0.76 | 0.937 |
| Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors | Learning Strategies | 0.87 | 0.936 |
| Subway and Streetcar Operators | Operation and Control | 0.76 | 0.934 |
| Correctional Officers and Jailers | Negotiation | 0.88 | 0.929 |
| Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers | Troubleshooting | 0.76 | 0.927 |
| Transportation Vehicle, Equipment and Systems Inspectors, Except Aviation | Troubleshooting | 0.76 | 0.922 |
| Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers | Operations Monitoring | 0.76 | 0.922 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters, excluding software Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Corel WordPerfect Office Suite | 3 of 20 | 2.2x |
| ESRI ArcGIS software | 3 of 20 | 1.5x |
| Microsoft Windows | 5 of 20 | 1.0x |
| Database software | 3 of 20 | 0.8x |
| Email software | 5 of 20 | 0.8x |
| SAP software | 4 of 20 | 0.7x |
| Microsoft Access | 5 of 20 | 0.6x |
| Web browser software | 5 of 20 | 0.5x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 3.75 | 3.12 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 3.62 | 3.62 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.50 | 3.50 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 3.50 | 3.12 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.50 | 3.00 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 3.38 | 3.12 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.38 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.12 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.25 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.50 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.62 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.50 | 2.12 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 2.25 | 2.62 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.62 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 0.75 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Science | Essential skill | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.12 | not rated |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Public Safety and Security | 3.98 | 4.01 |
| Transportation | 3.95 | 4.13 |
| English Language | 3.46 | 2.93 |
| Education and Training | 3.11 | 3.48 |
| Law and Government | 3.01 | 2.62 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 2.94 | 3.17 |
| Telecommunications | 2.89 | 2.10 |
| Mechanical | 2.87 | 3.24 |
| Computers and Electronics | 2.79 | 2.91 |
| Mathematics | 2.68 | 2.31 |
| Administration and Management | 2.64 | 2.28 |
| Chemistry | 2.49 | 2.64 |
| Physics | 2.42 | 2.25 |
| Geography | 2.40 | 1.84 |
| Administrative | 2.34 | 1.83 |
| Psychology | 2.31 | 2.73 |
| Communications and Media | 2.28 | 1.67 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.20 | 1.88 |
| Engineering and Technology | 2.12 | 1.79 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 2.06 | 1.80 |
| Production and Processing | 2.00 | 1.84 |
| Sales and Marketing | 1.90 | 1.28 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 1.89 | 1.26 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1.85 | 1.17 |
| Biology | 1.67 | 1.10 |
| Economics and Accounting | 1.63 | not rated |
| Design | 1.58 | 1.10 |
| History and Archeology | 1.56 | 1.16 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.55 | 1.13 |
| Building and Construction | 1.49 | not rated |
| Food Production | 1.43 | 0.81 |
| Foreign Language | 1.31 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.29 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Oral Expression | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.88 | 3.75 |
| Far Vision | 3.62 | 3.88 |
| Near Vision | 3.62 | 3.50 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.62 | 3.50 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.62 | 3.12 |
| Information Ordering | 3.50 | 3.75 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.38 | 3.75 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.38 | 3.12 |
| Reaction Time | 3.25 | 3.50 |
| Written Comprehension | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Auditory Attention | 3.12 | 3.88 |
| Visualization | 3.12 | 3.38 |
| Selective Attention | 3.12 | 3.25 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Control Precision | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Written Expression | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Depth Perception | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Time Sharing | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Rate Control | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Finger Dexterity | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Manual Dexterity | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Trunk Strength | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 2.75 | 2.50 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.75 | 2.38 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 2.62 | 2.75 |
| Originality | 2.62 | 2.75 |
| Response Orientation | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Static Strength | 2.62 | 2.50 |
| Extent Flexibility | 2.50 | 2.75 |
| Gross Body Coordination | 2.50 | 2.38 |
| Stamina | 2.50 | 2.38 |
| Spatial Orientation | 2.50 | 2.25 |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 2.50 | 2.00 |
| Number Facility | 2.38 | 2.25 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 2.38 | 2.12 |
| Glare Sensitivity | 2.25 | 2.62 |
| Peripheral Vision | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Memorization | 2.25 | 2.00 |
| Dynamic Strength | 2.00 | 1.62 |
| Night Vision | 1.88 | 1.75 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 1.88 | 1.75 |
| Sound Localization | 1.88 | 1.62 |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Explosive Strength | 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 Office software in demand
- Microsoft Excel hot
- Microsoft Outlook hot
- Microsoft PowerPoint hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- Automated equipment identification AEI software
- Bourque Data Systems YardMaster
- Freight reservation software
- Inventory tracking software
- Positive train control PTC systems
- RailComm DocYard
- SAIC government services and IT support software
- Softrail AEI Automatic Yard Tracking System
- Softrail AEI Rail & Road Manager
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 3,800 | 1.34 | $80,000 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 190 | 0.20 | $46,440 |