Careers / Signal and Track Switch Repairers

Signal and Track Switch Repairers — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$92,460

United States, 2025

Employment

8,720

United States, 2025

Typical education

Less than a High School Diploma

Job Zone 3

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

Install, inspect, test, maintain, or repair electric gate crossings, signals, signal equipment, track switches, section lines, or intercommunications systems within a railroad system.

O*NET code
49-9097.00
Job zone
3
Experience required
Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years

Typical tasks

  • Clean lenses of lamps with cloths and solvents.
  • Inspect and test operation, mechanical parts, and circuitry of gate crossings, signals, and signal equipment such as interlocks and hotbox detectors.
  • Inspect electrical units of railroad grade crossing gates and repair loose bolts and defective electrical connections and parts.
  • Test and repair track circuits.
  • Drive motor vehicles to job sites.
  • Install, inspect, maintain, and repair various railroad service equipment on the road or in the shop, including railroad signal systems.
  • Tighten loose bolts, using wrenches, and test circuits and connections by opening and closing gates.
  • Inspect switch-controlling mechanisms on trolley wires and in track beds, using hand tools and test equipment.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$62,610
10th
$79,720
25th
$92,460
Median
$99,320
75th
$119,550
90th

10th percentile

$62,610

25th percentile

$79,720

75th percentile

$99,320

90th percentile

$119,550

Most important skills

  • Troubleshooting4.1
  • Repairing4.0
  • Equipment Maintenance4.0
  • Quality Control Analysis3.9
  • Critical Thinking3.8
  • Operations Monitoring3.8
  • Equipment Selection3.6
  • Complex Problem Solving3.4
  • Operation and Control3.1
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.0
  • Time Management3.0
  • Active Listening3.0

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 12 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

12

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

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Troubleshooting4.14.0Not selected4.0
Repairing4.03.9Not selected3.9
Equipment Maintenance4.03.9Not selected3.9
Quality Control Analysis3.93.9Not selected3.9
Operations Monitoring3.83.8Not selected3.8
Critical Thinking3.83.4Not selected3.4
Complex Problem Solving3.43.0Not selected3.0
Equipment Selection3.62.8Not selected2.8
Operation and Control3.13.0Not selected3.0
Time Management3.03.0Not selected3.0
Active Listening3.03.0Not selected3.0
Judgment and Decision Making3.02.9Not selected2.9

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
MA$126,4401602025
Seattle, WA$121,7101702025
WA$121,7102102025
MN$96,780802025
AZ$96,4601002025
VA$95,6201702025
IL$95,6107202025
NY$94,5301,9102025
New York, NY$94,5301,0802025
MI$93,0601202025
IN$92,2002202025
MO$86,3002502025
WI$85,440602025
TX$85,0206502025
CA$84,6703902025
CO$83,9301602025
KS$83,5501202025
NJ$82,9902602025
GA$79,8604402025
TN$79,7301902025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Signal and Track Switch Repairers to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

Build a transition comparison

Career 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.