A railroad conductor works for a railroad company, and is responsible for the general supervision of passengers and crew members during their ride on the trains. Railroad conductors are frequently tasked with verifying passengers’ travel credtentials in order to ensure everyone is eligible for travel, and they may further be required to perform additional checks on passengers in some specific circumstances. The duties of a railroad conductor also often include checking to make sure that everything is functional on the train before it departs and there are no problems on any of the wagons.
Becoming a railroad conductor isn’t difficult, as the job requires mostly experience that can be attained in the course of employment. Some small exceptions lie in knowledge of the rules of railroad travel, which may require additional licensing in some jurisdictions – it’s best for a candidate to check for that to prevent any misunderstandings later on. Railroad conductors typically have good prospects for advancing in their careers.
Railroad conductors don’t earn that much, traditionally – the average annual salary goes between $21,000 – $38,000 in most cases, and the job also tends to have very long working hours that lack any flexibility whatsoever. It can also be made less attractive when one considers that even though it has good prospects for further career development, making use of them isn’t so easy and most railroad conductors have to put in a lot of effort before they’re able to progress in their careers.