Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers
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.
Based on O*NET work context for this occupation. This score does not predict individual job losses.
What drives the score
Automation and repetition raise exposure; freedom to set tasks lowers it. Each measure uses a 0–100 scale.
How well your skills transfer
Each skill is scored on how well it transfers into occupations that are growing and less exposed. The ones high on both importance and transfer are worth deepening.
| Skill | Transferability | Importance in current role |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring | 63 | 60 |
| Active Listening | 63 | 50 |
| Speaking | 63 | 50 |
| Critical Thinking | 63 | 50 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 63 | 50 |
| Coordination | 62 | 56 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 62 | 41 |
| Active Learning | 62 | 35 |
| Reading Comprehension | 61 | 47 |
| Time Management | 61 | 44 |
Show 25 more skills
| Skill | Transferability | Importance in current role |
|---|---|---|
| Social Perceptiveness | 60 | 47 |
| Writing | 60 | 35 |
| Learning Strategies | 58 | 31 |
| Instructing | 58 | 31 |
| Systems Analysis | 57 | 25 |
| Systems Evaluation | 56 | 35 |
| Service Orientation | 56 | 31 |
| Persuasion | 54 | 31 |
| Mathematics | 53 | 19 |
| Negotiation | 52 | 28 |
| Science | 52 | 0 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | 50 | 31 |
| Operations Analysis | 49 | 0 |
| Installation | 48 | 3 |
| Quality Control Analysis | 47 | 41 |
| Troubleshooting | 47 | 35 |
| Equipment Maintenance | 47 | 25 |
| Management of Material Resources | 47 | 19 |
| Equipment Selection | 47 | 16 |
| Management of Financial Resources | 47 | 16 |
| Technology Design | 47 | 13 |
| Operations Monitoring | 46 | 63 |
| Repairing | 46 | 22 |
| Programming | 45 | 3 |
| Operation and Control | 43 | 53 |
Compare how well you can use each skill in growing, low-exposure occupations with its importance in your current role. How we score skills.
Jobs you could move to
Compare related occupations by skill overlap, retraining effort, pay and projected growth. Choose a priority to adjust the ranking. Licensing requirements may limit some routes.
- Median pay · U.S.
- $135,880
- 10-yr growth
- +21.1%
- Skill gap
- 27%
- Retraining
- Moderate
Skills to build: Active Learning, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Service Orientation
- Median pay · U.S.
- $129,180
- 10-yr growth
- +21%
- Skill gap
- 31%
- Retraining
- Moderate
Skills to build: Systems Analysis, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Complex Problem Solving
- Median pay · U.S.
- $98,100
- 10-yr growth
- +8%
- Skill gap
- 20%
- Retraining
- Moderate
Skills to build: Service Orientation, Active Listening, Persuasion, Instructing
- Median pay · U.S.
- $96,590
- 10-yr growth
- +13.9%
- Skill gap
- 25%
- Retraining
- Moderate
Skills to build: Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Service Orientation
- Median pay · U.S.
- $92,100
- 10-yr growth
- +2.2%
- Skill gap
- 14%
- Retraining
- Low
Skills to build: Quality Control Analysis, Troubleshooting, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening
- Median pay · U.S.
- $116,580
- 10-yr growth
- +5.1%
- Skill gap
- 26%
- Retraining
- Moderate
Skills to build: Writing, Systems Analysis, Active Learning, Reading Comprehension
A second source of income, before you need it
This page can tell you where Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers could go and what the move costs. The other route is not a move at all: something small of your own, running alongside the job, started while there is no pressure on it.
Where to learn the missing half: Google Career Certificates for systems analysis · active learning, LinkedIn Learning for writing · speaking, edX for mathematics · reading and PlanetNoCode for complex problem solving. Some of those are affiliate links. It never changes what we list.
Snapshot: O*NET 31.0, BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035. Scoring v2.1.0-onet-31.0. Method on the how it works page.