Train Service Attendant Job

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

I've applied, had the first and have gotten a second interview for a job as a train service attendant! I was told we would be discussing pay in the second interview. Now the hours are 4:30am to 11am. I would have a hotel in the city (the destination) then I'd work 5:30 to 11:30pm and be back home. 2days one week 3 days the next none being back to back.

What is the average salary and base pay I should be asking for??!!

 

[DryCreek]

Hi everyone,

I've applied, had the first and have gotten a second interview for a job as a train service attendant! I was told we would be discussing pay in the second interview. Now the hours are 4:30am to 11am. I would have a hotel in the city (the destination) then I'd work 5:30 to 11:30pm and be back home. 2days one week 3 days the next none being back to back.

What is the average salary and base pay I should be asking for??!!

As best as I can tell, on board service and carmen are covered under a contract negotiated jointly between the TCU (Transportattion Communications Union), TWU (Transport Workers Union) and Amtrak. It looks like you will be coming in under a contract ratified in May of 2010. You should be able to find a copy of that and from that you can determine what your pay scale should be. It is usually based on seniority and skills (qualifications) attained. I can only speak as a member of IBEW though, so there may be some differences in railroad union contracts. My other family members that are involved in railroads are all on the freight side of the alley.

 

[KmH]

Amtrak Train Attendant

 

[Acela150]

You don't ask for jack.... The union contracts define your pay rate. I have no idea what OBS has as a union. But as a conductor or engineer you can choose the UTU or BLET. I'm a Conductor at NS, I'm at a point where I'm close to having to choose which union I'll be a member of. We're in the process of establishing a new contract.

On top of that you will be working on a fixed rate. I think it's something like $60 a day. Which isn't much trust me. As a conductor trainee at NS I make $600 a week before taxes, at the end of the week I make about $500. When you are put out on your own you will get a fixed rate such as an example of say $20/hr plus tips earned! Also be aware that you are on a probation period! You mess up one to many times, time to go job hunting again. When you passed probation you can then join the union of your choice (if you have a choice). I can't stress that enough, Amtrak deals with some 30 million riders a year! It takes just one phone call for you to lose that job on probation.

I think you're also eligible for Railroad Retirement! Which is a deal and then some! Put in 5 years and your vested in RR Retirement. 30 Years of Service and age 60 gets you a full pension! So say you're 30, you can retire at 60 with a full pension as you will have put 30 years of service in and you're age 60. I'm 23, and by age 60 I will have put in 37 years of service. An added bonus to RR Retirement is the spousal bonus. If you're pension is $10,000 a month you're spouse will get $5,000 a month until your spouse is deceased. Basically your spouse gets 50% of what you get. It is a reward for them for putting up with you being away from home and working non stop.

 

[DryCreek]

I think you're also eligible for Railroad Retirement! Which is a deal and then some! Put in 5 years and your vested in RR Retirement. 30 Years of Service and age 60 gets you a full pension! So say you're 30, you can retire at 60 with a full pension as you will have put 30 years of service in and you're age 60. I'm 23, and by age 60 I will have put in 37 years of service. An added bonus to RR Retirement is the spousal bonus. If you're pension is $10,000 a month you're spouse will get $5,000 a month until your spouse is deceased. Basically your spouse gets 50% of what you get. It is a reward for them for putting up with you being away from home and working non stop.

Is that a typo, or can you really earn $120,000 a year in retirement?

Dang, that's almost what I make not being retired now!

I may have to reconsider my line of work. I wonder if anyone else in the local IBEW unit with me can get that kind retirement?

 

[George K]

$600 a week as conductor trainee?

That's $30K (before taxes) a year.

I know nothing of railroad unions, etc., but it sound awfully low to me.

 

[FormerOBS]

$10,000 a month under RR Retirement??????????

I think I'm in the wrong RR Retirement system.

Tom

 

[Guest]

I think you're also eligible for Railroad Retirement! Which is a deal and then some! Put in 5 years and your vested in RR Retirement. 30 Years of Service and age 60 gets you a full pension! So say you're 30, you can retire at 60 with a full pension as you will have put 30 years of service in and you're age 60. I'm 23, and by age 60 I will have put in 37 years of service. An added bonus to RR Retirement is the spousal bonus. If you're pension is $10,000 a month you're spouse will get $5,000 a month until your spouse is deceased. Basically your spouse gets 50% of what you get. It is a reward for them for putting up with you being away from home and working non stop.

Is that a typo, or can you really earn $120,000 a year in retirement?

Dang, that's almost what I make not being retired now!

I may have to reconsider my line of work. I wonder if anyone else in the local IBEW unit with me can get that kind retirement?

I would estimate that the highest earners retiring today with 40 years service would get $50,000 a year. However when if he makes it to retirement age in 37 years it could be $10,00 a month because surely there will be inflation.

I wish him luck because it will be tough for him to make it to retirement on NS as a conductor or engineer..

 

[Guest]

You don't ask for jack.... The union contracts define your pay rate. I have no idea what OBS has as a union. But as a conductor or engineer you can choose the UTU or BLET. I'm a Conductor at NS, I'm at a point where I'm close to having to choose which union I'll be a member of. We're in the process of establishing a new contract.

On top of that you will be working on a fixed rate. I think it's something like $60 a day. Which isn't much trust me. As a conductor trainee at NS I make $600 a week before taxes, at the end of the week I make about $500. When you are put out on your own you will get a fixed rate such as an example of say $20/hr plus tips earned! Also be aware that you are on a probation period! You mess up one to many times, time to go job hunting again. When you passed probation you can then join the union of your choice (if you have a choice). I can't stress that enough, Amtrak deals with some 30 million riders a year! It takes just one phone call for you to lose that job on probation.

I think you're also eligible for Railroad Retirement! Which is a deal and then some! Put in 5 years and your vested in RR Retirement. 30 Years of Service and age 60 gets you a full pension! So say you're 30, you can retire at 60 with a full pension as you will have put 30 years of service in and you're age 60. I'm 23, and by age 60 I will have put in 37 years of service. An added bonus to RR Retirement is the spousal bonus. If you're pension is $10,000 a month you're spouse will get $5,000 a month until your spouse is deceased. Basically your spouse gets 50% of what you get. It is a reward for them for putting up with you being away from home and working non stop.

Also that $60 a day for being a Conductor Trainee is at NS. That is not the training rate at Amtrak. I think it is $12 a hour. That would be about six weeks. I don't know the training rate at Amtrak for OBS. OBS has a shorter trainee period.

 

[Triley]

You don't ask for jack.... The union contracts define your pay rate. I have no idea what OBS has as a union. But as a conductor or engineer you can choose the UTU or BLET. I'm a Conductor at NS, I'm at a point where I'm close to having to choose which union I'll be a member of. We're in the process of establishing a new contract.

On top of that you will be working on a fixed rate. I think it's something like $60 a day. Which isn't much trust me. As a conductor trainee at NS I make $600 a week before taxes, at the end of the week I make about $500. When you are put out on your own you will get a fixed rate such as an example of say $20/hr plus tips earned! Also be aware that you are on a probation period! You mess up one to many times, time to go job hunting again. When you passed probation you can then join the union of your choice (if you have a choice). I can't stress that enough, Amtrak deals with some 30 million riders a year! It takes just one phone call for you to lose that job on probation.

I think you're also eligible for Railroad Retirement! Which is a deal and then some! Put in 5 years and your vested in RR Retirement. 30 Years of Service and age 60 gets you a full pension! So say you're 30, you can retire at 60 with a full pension as you will have put 30 years of service in and you're age 60. I'm 23, and by age 60 I will have put in 37 years of service. An added bonus to RR Retirement is the spousal bonus. If you're pension is $10,000 a month you're spouse will get $5,000 a month until your spouse is deceased. Basically your spouse gets 50% of what you get. It is a reward for them for putting up with you being away from home and working non stop.

Also that $60 a day for being a Conductor Trainee is at NS. That is not the training rate at Amtrak. I think it is $12 a hour. That would be about six weeks. I don't know the training rate at Amtrak for OBS. OBS has a shorter trainee period.

OBS is up to $64/day in most areas. Conductor training pay rate I'm not quite sure of, though I know it's higher than $12. I want to say $14 and some change per hour. I believe that is solely for classroom training, though. At least as OBS, the second you are done with your classroom training and you do on-board training trips, you are at the starting pay rate. I don't have the numbers accessible at the moment, but I want to guess that the starting wage is around $17-$18/hour, at least with my union (TCU).

 

[Palmetto]

Don't know if this is posted anywhere else here or not, but Iowa Pacific is advertising four jobs in connection with the Hoosier State operation.

 

[inthegauge]

Before Republican congress trolls start reading this and get the idea that retirement pensions pay a ridiculous $10,000 per month, let me set the record straight: its based on what you earned in your highest five years, and for T&E usually is about 3500/month. And, for the republican congress trolls, that is OUR money. Not one taxpayer dime EVER went toward the railroad retirement board, and that includes federal employees who work in the RRB offices (they are paid by our tier I and tier II payments, not taxpayer money). In other words, Paul Ryan and his republican thug buddies who proposed merging RRB into social security are in effect STEALING from our self-sufficient retirement system...as such, they can do you-know-what to themselves in the privacy of their own bedrooms.

And I doubt any foamer at NS even has to worry about what retirement will pay. A railroad like NS will process a train buff in short order. These jobs aren't for foamers. And that includes OBS: they are long hours job requiring dedication to customer service for the passengers. OBS is NOT a paid train ride, and has virtually ZERO to do with railroading. Which, by the way, is why I tip my hat to good OBS men and women: they have some of the hardest jobs out here.

 

[Acela150]

$600 a week as conductor trainee?

That's $30K (before taxes) a year.

I know nothing of railroad unions, etc., but it sound awfully low to me.

Yes. $600 a week pre tax for about 6 months at the most.

I think you're also eligible for Railroad Retirement! Which is a deal and then some! Put in 5 years and your vested in RR Retirement. 30 Years of Service and age 60 gets you a full pension! So say you're 30, you can retire at 60 with a full pension as you will have put 30 years of service in and you're age 60. I'm 23, and by age 60 I will have put in 37 years of service. An added bonus to RR Retirement is the spousal bonus. If you're pension is $10,000 a month you're spouse will get $5,000 a month until your spouse is deceased. Basically your spouse gets 50% of what you get. It is a reward for them for putting up with you being away from home and working non stop.

Is that a typo, or can you really earn $120,000 a year in retirement?

Dang, that's almost what I make not being retired now!

I may have to reconsider my line of work. I wonder if anyone else in the local IBEW unit with me can get that kind retirement?

I would estimate that the highest earners retiring today with 40 years service would get $50,000 a year. However when if he makes it to retirement age in 37 years it could be $10,00 a month because surely there will be inflation.

I wish him luck because it will be tough for him to make it to retirement on NS as a conductor or engineer..

Wish me all the luck you want. But when you enjoy your job, you don't work a day in your life.

You don't ask for jack.... The union contracts define your pay rate. I have no idea what OBS has as a union. But as a conductor or engineer you can choose the UTU or BLET. I'm a Conductor at NS, I'm at a point where I'm close to having to choose which union I'll be a member of. We're in the process of establishing a new contract.

On top of that you will be working on a fixed rate. I think it's something like $60 a day. Which isn't much trust me. As a conductor trainee at NS I make $600 a week before taxes, at the end of the week I make about $500. When you are put out on your own you will get a fixed rate such as an example of say $20/hr plus tips earned! Also be aware that you are on a probation period! You mess up one to many times, time to go job hunting again. When you passed probation you can then join the union of your choice (if you have a choice). I can't stress that enough, Amtrak deals with some 30 million riders a year! It takes just one phone call for you to lose that job on probation.

I think you're also eligible for Railroad Retirement! Which is a deal and then some! Put in 5 years and your vested in RR Retirement. 30 Years of Service and age 60 gets you a full pension! So say you're 30, you can retire at 60 with a full pension as you will have put 30 years of service in and you're age 60. I'm 23, and by age 60 I will have put in 37 years of service. An added bonus to RR Retirement is the spousal bonus. If you're pension is $10,000 a month you're spouse will get $5,000 a month until your spouse is deceased. Basically your spouse gets 50% of what you get. It is a reward for them for putting up with you being away from home and working non stop.

Also that $60 a day for being a Conductor Trainee is at NS. That is not the training rate at Amtrak. I think it is $12 a hour. That would be about six weeks. I don't know the training rate at Amtrak for OBS. OBS has a shorter trainee period.

No it's not $60 for a Conductor Trainee at NS. It's $600 a week pre tax. That's stated in my post.

Before Republican congress trolls start reading this and get the idea that retirement pensions pay a ridiculous $10,000 per month, let me set the record straight: its based on what you earned in your highest five years, and for T&E usually is about 3500/month. And, for the republican congress trolls, that is OUR money. Not one taxpayer dime EVER went toward the railroad retirement board, and that includes federal employees who work in the RRB offices (they are paid by our tier I and tier II payments, not taxpayer money). In other words, Paul Ryan and his republican thug buddies who proposed merging RRB into social security are in effect STEALING from our self-sufficient retirement system...as such, they can do you-know-what to themselves in the privacy of their own bedrooms.

And I doubt any foamer at NS even has to worry about what retirement will pay. A railroad like NS will process a train buff in short order. These jobs aren't for foamers. And that includes OBS: they are long hours job requiring dedication to customer service for the passengers. OBS is NOT a paid train ride, and has virtually ZERO to do with railroading. Which, by the way, is why I tip my hat to good OBS men and women: they have some of the hardest jobs out here.

Call me a foamer all you want. I'm not some guy who freaks the hell out at the sight of a train. Many railroaders are rail fans. I knew what I was getting into. If you doubt that railroaders are rail fans. Go look at the Northeast Corridor Railfans Facebook page. Many Amtrak Employees are on that page. And I at least I like what I do. I wanted a job where I would make good money and enjoy what I do.

 

[Ryan]

And I doubt any foamer at NS even has to worry about what retirement will pay. A railroad like NS will process a train buff in short order. These jobs aren't for foamers.

Must be nice to sit back as an anonymous guest and talk crap about the work ethic of a random stranger on the internet.

 

[Railroad Bill]

My brother recently retired after 35 years as a brakeman and engineer and although he kids me and my friends about being GERFS (GOOGLY Eyed Railfans), he loves watching trains when we take trips to Cresson and other spots in Pennsylvania. So it is certainly possible to be a railfan and have a long career as a railroad employee..

 

[Acela150]

And I doubt any foamer at NS even has to worry about what retirement will pay. A railroad like NS will process a train buff in short order. These jobs aren't for foamers.

Must be nice to sit back as an anonymous guest and talk crap about the work ethic of a random stranger on the internet.

Ryan, I absolutely love your comebacks!

I should add that I used $10,000 a month for RR Retirement just as a number. I have no idea what a full pension pays. But I'd be happy as hell if it's $10,000 when I retire!

 

[Anonymous]

Consider this: Do you really believe you're any less anonymous than a guest with names like RyanS or

Acela150?

I stand behind my point, and back to the relevant topic of large: these jobs are for professionals, not train buffs looking for paid train rides. If the OP is not of the latter, and stays focused on the customer, he'll do fine. Best of luck!

 

[Cina]

So you came to a train enthusiast board with many former/current railroad employees to say that train enthusiasts make bad railroad employees?

Anyone who goes into their job thinking of it as "funtimes with a paycheck" is going to be disappointed after a few days. That goes without saying.

 

[amamba]

FYI railroad retirement - like social security - were developed in an earlier era. Both have spousal benefits so ladies/wives could collect even if they didn't work outside the home. This was important so that women didn't become penniless when they outlived their spouses.

 

[jebr]

Consider this: Do you really believe you're any less anonymous than a guest with names like RyanS or Acela150?

Yes, a guest is more anonymous than "RyanS" or "Acela150." A guest has no history to look at or track, so there's no way of knowing whether they're someone who typically has reliable information or someone who likes to make stuff up as they go. I can look back at RyanS' or Acela150's posts (or any other registered user's posts) and see if they've tended to posted stuff that turns out to be right or not. The history also gives some insight into who they are and their posts can help paint a bit of a picture for them. (Plus, their profiles do reveal a bit about them as well.)

Many of the people on the board here have also met face-to-face, so in that case there's very little anonymity...I've seen them before and heard (one of) them bellyache about not seeing a lake when they could totally see the lake at one point of the trip. So there's that.

 

[Acela150]

Consider this: Do you really believe you're any less anonymous than a guest with names like RyanS or

Acela150?

I stand behind my point, and back to the relevant topic of large: these jobs are for professionals, not train buffs looking for paid train rides. If the OP is not of the latter, and stays focused on the customer, he'll do fine. Best of luck!

No. Ask me if I care the status of my anonymity.. Stand behind your point all you want. I stand well behind mine. I can tell you about half a dozen of the guys I've worked with are indeed fellow rail fans.

Consider this: Do you really believe you're any less anonymous than a guest with names like RyanS or Acela150?

Yes, a guest is more anonymous than "RyanS" or "Acela150." A guest has no history to look at or track, so there's no way of knowing whether they're someone who typically has reliable information or someone who likes to make stuff up as they go. I can look back at RyanS' or Acela150's posts (or any other registered user's posts) and see if they've tended to posted stuff that turns out to be right or not. The history also gives some insight into who they are and their posts can help paint a bit of a picture for them. (Plus, their profiles do reveal a bit about them as well.)

Many of the people on the board here have also met face-to-face, so in that case there's very little anonymity...I've seen them before and heard (one of) them bellyache about not seeing a lake when they could totally see the lake at one point of the trip. So there's that.

Ryan and that damn lake. LOL!! :lol:

 

[Ryan]

Jeb and Steve pretty much nailed it. I've met both of them in person and through that and many years of posting know them to be solid, trustworthy people. If they say something, there's a good chance that it's true. Plus, they're both active in the associated Facebook group, so their real-world identities are known. For the core group of us, there is no anonymity whatsoever.

Don't extend the fact that you don't know who I am into the mistaken fact that nobody knows who I am.

Guest posters get none of that, every post is a unique snowflake with no history whatsoever attached.

So stands by your statement all you want. I know it's false, Steve is going to continue to be successful in his career, and you're going to make yourself look past speaking ill of strangers you don't know for no good reason.

Want to make the general point that some railfans make for lousy employees because they're too busy indulging their love of trains, and that railroads have little tolerance for folks like that? Sure. But Steve isn't one of those people and you have absolutely no right to assume that he is.

 

[Guest]

Jeb and Steve pretty much nailed it. I've met both of them in person and through that and many years of posting know them to be solid, trustworthy people. If they say something, there's a good chance that it's true. Plus, they're both active in the associated Facebook group, so their real-world identities are known. For the core group of us, there is no anonymity whatsoever.

Don't extend the fact that you don't know who I am into the mistaken fact that nobody knows who I am.

Guest posters get none of that, every post is a unique snowflake with no history whatsoever attached.

So stands by your statement all you want. I know it's false, Steve is going to continue to be successful in his career, and you're going to make yourself look past speaking ill of strangers you don't know for no good reason.

Want to make the general point that some railfans make for lousy employees because they're too busy indulging their love of trains, and that railroads have little tolerance for folks like that? Sure. But Steve isn't one of those people and you have absolutely no right to assume that he is.

While I am a railroad employee who is not a railfan, I don't agree with the OPs generalization about railfans who get rail jobs and I understand where th OP is coming from but I don't think rail buffs necessarily make bad employees. I think some railfans might be bad rail employees but no more or less than non railfans who might be bad rail employees. I personnaly know some railfans who are good and some who are bad, and I know non railfans who are bad employees. I won't stereotype a railfan.

As far as his career I made a comment that it will be tough for him to make it to retirement on NS. That was not about him being a railfan! That would be about anyone starting out in train service on NS. That was about NS, not about him.

 

[Ryan]

Nice attempt at backpedaling. Assuming you're the same guest, this is the original statement:

And I doubt any foamer at NS even has to worry about what retirement will pay. A railroad like NS will process a train buff in short order. These jobs aren't for foamers.

That's not about NS. That's very much about Steve and railfans.

 

[inthegauge]

And this post underscores the anonymity of guest posters? Am I the guy that made the original remarks? Am I the OP (which, by the way means "original poster", i.e. the person that started this thread who made no comments about this topic? Am I someone else that's been involved in the discussion? Or am I some random stranger chiming in for the first time?

The staff has their ways of knowing, but to us common folks, each guest post stands alone with no accountability and no track record whatsoever.