Careers / Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers
Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$68,840
United States, 2025
Employment
12,400
United States, 2025
Typical education
Not recorded
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Operate or monitor railroad track switches or locomotive instruments. May couple or uncouple rolling stock to make up or break up trains. Watch for and relay traffic signals. May inspect couplings, air hoses, journal boxes, and hand brakes. May watch for dragging equipment or obstacles on rights-of-way.
- O*NET code
- 53-4022.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
Typical tasks
- Signal locomotive engineers to start or stop trains when coupling or uncoupling cars, using hand signals, lanterns, or radio communication.
- Observe train signals along routes and verify their meanings for engineers.
- Inspect couplings, air hoses, journal boxes, and handbrakes to ensure that they are securely fastened and functioning properly.
- Raise levers to couple and uncouple cars for makeup and breakup of trains.
- Pull or push track switches to reroute cars.
- Observe signals from other crew members so that work activities can be coordinated.
- Conduct brake tests to determine the condition of brakes on trains.
- Monitor trains as they go around curves to detect dragging equipment and smoking journal boxes.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$45,660
25th percentile
$57,820
75th percentile
$76,590
90th percentile
$86,590
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring3.5
- Monitoring3.4
- Coordination3.3
- Operation and Control3.1
- Judgment and Decision Making3.0
- Critical Thinking3.0
- Active Listening3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Reading Comprehension2.9
- Social Perceptiveness2.9
- Time Management2.8
- Quality Control Analysis2.6
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 8 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
8
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operations Monitoring | 3.5 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Monitoring | 3.4 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Operation and Control | 3.1 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Coordination | 3.3 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.0 | 2.5 | Not selected | 2.5 |
| Active Listening | 3.0 | 2.5 | Not selected | 2.5 |
| Speaking | 3.0 | 2.4 | Not selected | 2.4 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive FirersHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | $132,190 | 40 | 2025 |
| New York, NY | $111,050 | 60 | 2025 |
| WA | $85,140 | 740 | 2025 |
| NY | $83,530 | 220 | 2025 |
| IA | $80,910 | 220 | 2025 |
| MD | $79,180 | 100 | 2025 |
| IL | $76,290 | 1,210 | 2025 |
| CO | $76,140 | — | 2025 |
| GA | $75,540 | 250 | 2025 |
| NJ | $74,160 | 70 | 2025 |
| NM | $72,340 | 100 | 2025 |
| Chicago, IL | $72,180 | 560 | 2025 |
| TX | $71,580 | 1,650 | 2025 |
| OH | $67,770 | 280 | 2025 |
| MO | $67,110 | 730 | 2025 |
| KS | $66,990 | 390 | 2025 |
| MI | $66,970 | 190 | 2025 |
| IN | $64,530 | 160 | 2025 |
| CA | $58,770 | 1,340 | 2025 |
| FL | $58,250 | 130 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.