amtrak employment

[ALC Rail Writer]

Since Amtrak has moved to online resumes and applications by email, it has become a bit impersonal-- sometimes I wonder if they want to prove you're tech savvy (or at the very least computer literate).

 

[Crazee_Ladee]

I saw the position open on hotjobs.com. I submitted a resume and application online. I was called about two weeks later for a group interview. During the interview process which was more like an information session they went over the expectations and what you would expect. You then filled out another application, took some tests and depending if you passed the tests you would be called back for a 1 on 1 interview. I have NO connections at all with Amtrak and none of my family members work there. It is my understanding that they do not do a lot of hiring because people do not retire from their positions. They received well over 1000 applications and were only hiring about 20 people so the positions are limited. Good luck and keep looking!!

 

[AAARGH!]

I saw the position open on hotjobs.com. I submitted a resume and application online. I was called about two weeks later for a group interview. During the interview process which was more like an information session they went over the expectations and what you would expect. You then filled out another application, took some tests and depending if you passed the tests you would be called back for a 1 on 1 interview. I have NO connections at all with Amtrak and none of my family members work there. It is my understanding that they do not do a lot of hiring because people do not retire from their positions. They received well over 1000 applications and were only hiring about 20 people so the positions are limited. Good luck and keep looking!!

What positions were they hiring for?

 

[Crazee_Ladee]

I saw the position open on hotjobs.com. I submitted a resume and application online. I was called about two weeks later for a group interview. During the interview process which was more like an information session they went over the expectations and what you would expect. You then filled out another application, took some tests and depending if you passed the tests you would be called back for a 1 on 1 interview. I have NO connections at all with Amtrak and none of my family members work there. It is my understanding that they do not do a lot of hiring because people do not retire from their positions. They received well over 1000 applications and were only hiring about 20 people so the positions are limited. Good luck and keep looking!!

What positions were they hiring for?

they were hiring for electricians and maintenance personnel now. They are no longer looking for lsa's.

 

[guestlsa]

that is not really true. yes it might help some but that is not the case. It took me 2 years to get hire by amtrak.

On a couple of different trips, separated by a few years, a number of train attendants I spoke with told me that they had gotten their job through family connections - an uncle, or parent - who already was employed by Amtrak. On my last trip (LSL/CZ BOS-EMY roundtrip in Nov 08) a nice young woman who had been working for 6 months told me that her understanding was, anyone could apply but that the large majority of successful applicants already had a family member working for Amtrak.
Does anyone else have similar stories?

David

 

[guestlsa]

washington dc just hired 15 new lsa class and so did chicago. Trust me.they always looking.

I saw the position open on hotjobs.com. I submitted a resume and application online. I was called about two weeks later for a group interview. During the interview process which was more like an information session they went over the expectations and what you would expect. You then filled out another application, took some tests and depending if you passed the tests you would be called back for a 1 on 1 interview. I have NO connections at all with Amtrak and none of my family members work there. It is my understanding that they do not do a lot of hiring because people do not retire from their positions. They received well over 1000 applications and were only hiring about 20 people so the positions are limited. Good luck and keep looking!!

What positions were they hiring for?

they were hiring for electricians and maintenance personnel now. They are no longer looking for lsa's.

 

[Crescent ATN & TCL]

On a couple of different trips, separated by a few years, a number of train attendants I spoke with told me that they had gotten their job through family connections - an uncle, or parent - who already was employed by Amtrak. On my last trip (LSL/CZ BOS-EMY roundtrip in Nov 08) a nice young woman who had been working for 6 months told me that her understanding was, anyone could apply but that the large majority of successful applicants already had a family member working for Amtrak.
Does anyone else have similar stories?

David

There is a father and daughter that work together on the Crescent, she's the conductor and he's the engineer.They always work together and usually work MEI-ATL, but I have seen them NOL-MEI, I think they are based in MEI.

 

[guestlsa]

you are correct..............I know several people who are father and son (the dad now works 4 president of amtrak). there is even husband and wife that works on 19/20 but on opposite sides.

On a couple of different trips, separated by a few years, a number of train attendants I spoke with told me that they had gotten their job through family connections - an uncle, or parent - who already was employed by Amtrak. On my last trip (LSL/CZ BOS-EMY roundtrip in Nov 08) a nice young woman who had been working for 6 months told me that her understanding was, anyone could apply but that the large majority of successful applicants already had a family member working for Amtrak.
Does anyone else have similar stories?

David

There is a father and daughter that work together on the Crescent, she's the conductor and he's the engineer.They always work together and usually work MEI-ATL, but I have seen them NOL-MEI, I think they are based in MEI.

 

[Guest]

i was called by amtrak to go to orientation tomorrow and i have no idea what to expect! i applied back in august for a ticketing and boarding agent for the milwaukee location....any heads up as to what i should expect???????????????? thanks

 

[Guest]

That's crazy because a company should want to hire someone with experience instead of hiring someone with no experience at all. If that's the case, then they have a poor hiring process and needs to be changed.

Actually Most Rail Roads Prefer people with No experience this way they can train you the way they want and you don't have any bad habits.

As far as the Gentlemen with some experience where are you applying Location has a major impact on if they need crews or not also hows your certificate or your job relation with your past place they WILL check into it. (Knowing someone always helps to)

I know when I got Hired as an Engineer they checked me out very well, background screening is pretty tight. They Fingerprint you, Do a National driving record search which takes some time to come back, they do a physical on you, and Obviously a Drug and alcohol test.

I would also like to say if you like trains doesn't mean you will make a good crew member , some rail fans that work on the rail road have a hard time separating "Hobby" from "Job" and in allot of cases cause distraction for themselves when they are to busy looking at the details of the equipment rather than doing their job then someone either gets hurt or forgets a rule and bang NO JOBY anymore.

 

[inspiration100]

Thanks for sharing your story rrdude, I would give kudos on this forum if I could

 

[Chris J.]

I can see how a railfan might make either a very good Amtrak employee or a very bad one, but my main worry for a railfan working in the industry would be that it might put you off your hobby. Very few things are fun when you have to do them (rather than choosing to do them).

I used to program computers as a hobby; but now it's my job the last thing I want to do when I go home is look at a screen full of code; however it does mean that on the whole I mostly enjoy my time at work. I think if I was an engineer or OBS (not that I've really any interest in doing either job) the last thing I'd want to do outside of work would be anything to do with trains. This is a personal thing; and I know some rail employees do spend their weekends working on preserved lines; now that's dedication to rail

I'd finally add that I think a railfan as an Amtrak employee needs to realise that they are there to do a job; not play with a 1:1 scale train set.

 

[Corporate]

There must be way more applicants than they need. I asked for a lateral transfer from the same job in a different federal agency that I had been doing successfully for 18 yers. Amtrk kept advertising the opening for over two years and never could fill it. Yet they never called me. Was the black ball out there because I always spoke highly of the company in my blog? Does 18 years of experience automatically make me too old?

 

[jmbgeg]

http://jobs.amtrak.com/

Interesting.

 

[Guest_Tom_*]

Could anyone tell me what age is considered to be over the limit for an engineer position? Tom

 

[Danny]

I was a LSA for less than a year. It's more difficult than you can probably imagine. I don't mean to be negative or discouraging...just realistic. I was enamored with the thought of a job on a train. It wasn't so enjoyable. I welcome any job seekers with questions to message me privately. I don't want to bore the regulars with my old stories!
As for getting the job, I believe I saw an ad at Monster.com or CareerBuilder.com. Can't remember which one. I had no connections to the railroad whatsoever. I followed whatever instructions were given. I believe I mailed in a cover letter and resume. I didn't hear anything for about 2 months or so. Then it was a lengthy process to be accepted for the 4 week classroom training...which you have to "pass" to get the job and move on to a few training trips. It also does help as others have said to live close to a crew base. There were employees who traveled long distances for the job. I trained with a guy who worked out of the Chicago crew base, but lived outside of Pittsburgh! There were plenty of others that did the same. Can't do that on the extra board I don't think...since you have to be available in 2 hours if called upon.

Thanks for your comment, what are the crew bases for on board service sleeping attendant? What happened to your LSA job? what was your experience like... i dont want to relocate from denver if its not a professional place to work.

 

[Danny]

I was a LSA for less than a year. It's more difficult than you can probably imagine. I don't mean to be negative or discouraging...just realistic. I was enamored with the thought of a job on a train. It wasn't so enjoyable. I welcome any job seekers with questions to message me privately. I don't want to bore the regulars with my old stories!
As for getting the job, I believe I saw an ad at Monster.com or CareerBuilder.com. Can't remember which one. I had no connections to the railroad whatsoever. I followed whatever instructions were given. I believe I mailed in a cover letter and resume. I didn't hear anything for about 2 months or so. Then it was a lengthy process to be accepted for the 4 week classroom training...which you have to "pass" to get the job and move on to a few training trips. It also does help as others have said to live close to a crew base. There were employees who traveled long distances for the job. I trained with a guy who worked out of the Chicago crew base, but lived outside of Pittsburgh! There were plenty of others that did the same. Can't do that on the extra board I don't think...since you have to be available in 2 hours if called upon.

Thanks for your comment, what are the crew bases for on board service sleeping attendant? What happened to your LSA job? what was your experience like... i dont want to relocate from denver if its not a professional place to work.

email me at Dannysnumber at aol.com put LSA in subject line thanx