will Amtrak ever employ me i am trying to get into this industry

[Brystar41]

i understand i have to keep my passion as a minium thank yall for the great tips i am taking full consideration for it, it felt more like a screening interview because i was called and there were four employees high rank mind you all interviewing me.

i was wearing a suit since i thought suits are very professional and i am aware that i have to focus on customer needs and safety and i understand that my passion for the trains will not be showning i will have to hide it, i will think of it like another company i am working for will that work?

also is the airline industry that bad, i know they are going thru a rough patch but i mean in customer service wise?

so even though i go to a Railroad museum to volunteer it won't cut it?

also boxcar you bring a great idea i didn't know Amtrak provides transport for its workers i thought they would have to get a cab or the local bus transport to get to the hotels?

oh and if your talking about experience i have experience with Retail and the Resturant industry, but if i want to go into Travel and Transportation which is alot of companies Amtrak included then by all means i will do that to get my resume more points.

i am sorry if i am sounding like i am repeating myself or am i?

 

[D.P. Roberts]

It sounds to me like you're asking whether you're qualified for the position. That's a question for which you should already know the answer if you're applying for work - for any job. You really need to find out what Amtrak's looking for - the basic qualifications necessary to do the job, and the more advanced skills that they'll really be looking for in the ideal candidate.

If you've already applied for the job before and at least had a screening interview, chances are you've at least been able to look at the job description. Do you really have the basic skills? If not, there's probably no chance you'll get a second call. If you have the basic skills, then it's time to figure out how to make yourself into the ideal candidate for the position.

As others have mentioned, check out sources like LinkedIn, or local career sources (which can be great places to have your resume and career goals reviewed - most cities or counties have some kind of job department that can help you with this stuff). Talk to any Amtrak employee you can find. Offer to buy them lunch or something if they'll chat with you or e-mail you about how they got the job and what the interviewers were looking for.

 

[Brystar41]

i knew of one Amtrak employee i met when i was going home on the communter rail tri rail he said he works in the sleeper cars so i talked to him that how can i get into Amtrak and he gave me his phone number and email and maybe thats what worked for my interview, but i haven't seen of him again i got to get back to contact him.

although is that the only way does it also depends on the history of the reference as well someone told me about that.

also does it matter about race and ethics because i don't know if Amtrak hires anybody from any culture and background or is it very limited?

i don't know if i am asking a stupid question its just i am curious about it

 

[Devil's Advocate]

[Moderator speaking]

Texas Sunset - Please be civil and do not discourage this applicant. I'm sure that you have even wrote something like "B4" on the Internet or while texting (I know I have) instead of "before", but would never do so on a résumé or in a cover letter.

I'm not trying to discourage the applicant from applying so much as I'm trying to encourage him to write proper English. If you are so certain that I have ever intentionally written anything like "B4" then by all means search it out and post a link to it.

 

[the_traveler]

The idea of working for other railroads first is a good idea.

I worked for a commuter airline. That experience let me to apply and get interviewed by Eastern Airlines. In fact, my numerous interviews got me to the final 3 for the job.

So go after your dreams and good luck!

 

[Brystar41]

hmmm yeah thats what i am doing i recently applied for the MTA Long Island Railroad as an Assitant conductor which is rare that position comes up with the New York City MTA.

hmm about airlines i remember i did applied for various airlines like Delta, Virgin America but none have called me as well.

i am trying but i won't give up on this and i know most are tired of this i am sorry if i am annoying a whole mess of people.

 

[rusty spike]

also is the airline industry that bad, i know they are going thru a rough patch but i mean in customer service wise?

No, it would be great customer service experience. But talking about the airline industry here is like discussing football on a baseball forum.

edited for typo.

 

[Brystar41]

true your right i like that analogy anyways yall right i need to improve myself and thats what i am going to work on.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

[Moderator speaking]

Texas Sunset - Please be civil and do not discourage this applicant. I'm sure that you have even wrote something like "B4" on the Internet or while texting (I know I have) instead of "before", but would never do so on a résumé or in a cover letter.

I'm not trying to discourage the applicant from applying so much as I'm trying to encourage him to write proper English. If you are so certain that I have ever intentionally written anything like "B4" then by all means search it out and post a link to it.

I believe the moderator's point was not that you have actually posted in such a matter, but rather that this forum is not a resume. You may appreciate a certain type of writing, and being able to write in a professional manner is helpful in some fields. I would echo the moderator's comment that you have made your point; to emphasize it further is to strain the limits of civility.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Maybe you need to go to college, or at least improve your writing skills. You just don't seem very professional. And if they say you're unqualified you probably need to read through the requirements and find out what you need to do.

 

[Brystar41]

Thats why i been saying maybe i need to attend a Railroad academy maybe with that it can help me like most conductors have to be certified right and the academy when i complete it they will give me a certifcation saying i am certified to be a Railroad conductor.

is the Railroad academy one of the ways can it work?

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Thats why i been saying maybe i need to attend a Railroad academy maybe with that it can help me like most conductors have to be certified right and the academy when i complete it they will give me a certifcation saying i am certified to be a Railroad conductor.

is the Railroad academy one of the ways can it work?

Um, if you want to be a conductor, I think you need to go to a Technical School, not a railroad academy. And after some time as a conductor, you can get promoted to an engineer for better pay. Note that conductors and engineers are part of the operating crew, which get changed throughout the trip, compared to the service crew like train attendants who stay with the train all the way. I'm sure some others can add more information.

 

[Brystar41]

ohhh so conductors get changed around, i thought Railroad academies were like technical schools?

so Modoc and NARS are not Technical schools? which specilizes on Railroads, is anybody familar with Modoc and NARS?

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

ohhh so conductors get changed around, i thought Railroad academies were like technical schools?

so Modoc and NARS are not Technical schools? which specilizes on Railroads, is anybody familar with Modoc and NARS?

I don't know about that, I don't work on a train.

 

[Alexandria Nick]

The idea of working for other railroads first is a good idea.

I worked for a commuter airline. That experience let me to apply and get interviewed by Eastern Airlines. In fact, my numerous interviews got me to the final 3 for the job.

So go after your dreams and good luck!

On the other side of the coin, starting somewhere else or even getting to know people that do the job you want can help you, but in a way you might not think.

Here's a story from my life:

Growing up, I wanted nothing more than to be a Naval Aviator. I thought it would be the coolest job ever. And I didn't want to be a fighter pilot. Specifically wanted to fly S-3 Viking. My dad, a Navy man himself, discouraged it, saying I wouldn't enjoy the lifestyle. College came and all that. Had no ambition to go to Annapolis and didn't really consider ROTC. Figured I'd do OCS when the time came. By pure chance, I befriended someone who was in NROTC (a prior enlist too) who was gunning to be an NA when she was done with school. I couldn't pass vision for being a pilot but could be a flight officer. Debated on it, but I decided to not go the NFO route and stay a civilian. I've stayed in touch with my pilot friend after college. She's been a pilot for six years now and I've learned one thing: I'm so glad I didn't join the Navy. Living vicariously through her has shown me that what I thought could be an awesome career has way more dark, lousy parts than silver linings. Yeah she gets to fly a big monster airplane and that's awesome. But you spend twp weeks stuck on some island in the middle of nowhere because you had a mechanical failure and have to wait for a crew and parts to arrive.

What I'm saying is find some way to get a taste of something that big before you commit to it and discover its not what you expected or hoped it would be.

 

[Texan Eagle]

true your right i like that analogy

Bryant, I would have not nitpicked on this if it was one-off but I read all your responses and you have done this in at least four different places so let me point this out to you- please understand and realize that your and you're are different words with different meanings. Please use to learn them correctly. This is one mistake too many youngsters in this country are making with all the texting and chatting fad but remember things like these can easily tick off a potential recruiter from seriously considering you for the job.

Remember the difference-

You're looking for a job.

Your English needs improvement.

Now, talking from the viewpoint of someone who is almost your age and has spent months trying to secure his first job out of college, I can give you a few words of advice- jobs are not easy to find these days. Harsh truth. Accept it. Just a good resume and applying randomly to all companies is not going to cut it. I applied to no less than fifty companies of my interest through their online job sites and got zero interview calls. The resumes are most of the times not even seen. The way to make your resume seen is to send it across through an internal route. Find someone in Amtrak or commuter railroads who can probably put in a referral for you. If not, go to LinkedIn, make a good profile for yourself, search for HR people of the companies you are interested in, and introduce yourself to them. Don't let the first line be "I am looking for a job". Make it subtle. Talk about your interest, then ask if they'd like to see your Resume and take it from there.

One more thing- it would not be a bad idea to start small. You mentioned applying to Amtrak, CSX, Delta, Virgin America. These are huge companies that get thousands of applications. Find smaller companies and apply to them first. Maybe Miami or Orlando's local transit or Tri-Rail commuter rail, or small regional airlines. Once you are in the industry, it is much easier to jump to bigger ones rather than trying to jump directly out of college.

Good luck with your search!

 

[cirdan]

so even though i go to a Railroad museum to volunteer it won't cut it?

I'd say it depends how you present that.

So maybe if you can expand on that along the lines of that you also have or developed peoples skills there (maybe you did guided tours, provided information to visitors or even staffed a working train) then that is a plus.

If you mostly hung out with other foamers and counted rivets, I'd keep that bit to myself.

But no matter what you do, good luck and don't give up.

 

[tallguy]

Unfortunately Amtrak tends to hire people who have relatives and friends already on board first, especially now in this bad economy.

 

[Ryan]

[Moderator speaking]

Texas Sunset - Please be civil and do not discourage this applicant. I'm sure that you have even wrote something like "B4" on the Internet or while texting (I know I have) instead of "before", but would never do so on a résumé or in a cover letter.

I'm not trying to discourage the applicant from applying so much as I'm trying to encourage him to write proper English. If you are so certain that I have ever intentionally written anything like "B4" then by all means search it out and post a link to it.

Found one.

 

[June the Coach Rider]

As with any job, Amtrak jobs are tough to obtain. Too many people, not enough jobs.

One idea I had, is there a metro area train or subway in your area, maybe take baby steps and hook up with a tour train somewhere first or a local entertainment train somewhere. Would give you the experience and people skills that are possibly what Amtrak is looking for.

I wish you good luck in your dream.

 

[user 1215]

Hi again, Bryant.

If you can afford a railroad academy, by all means go for it. But successful completion does not guarantee a job. In my opinion, it is too specialized, and if you don't get a job, it's expensive knowledge.

You say you are trying to improve yourself. Start here, in your writing.

When I graduated from college, I worked for a mouse for three years making less than $7/hr. A friend helped me get into engineering (aircraft design, not driving trains) and I've been doing that for over 15 years now.

As for your question about racial profiling, here is my answer. Amtrak is one of the most diverse companies I've seen. I have seen just about every ethnicity in both genders, religious beliefs, and even some with disabilities represented. Amtrak is truly America's railroad.

So let not your heart be troubled. Hang in there. Work hard. Read a lot. Forums like this, websites about hiring, websites about the industry, maybe even get a couple books on Amtrak's history from the library.

Don't give up. Times are tough for everyone. Make yourself more desirable than the rest of them.

 

[jsreeves]

Here is a link to an older thread on the subject that may offer further enlightenment.

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/37580-train-service-attendant/

 

[Brystar41]

hmm start something small, maybe Disney world they have trains that i can work with?

or maybe will a CDL help for the Railroads?

i understand times are really tough and its true but i am not giving up.

 

[Trogdor]

I'm not familiar with railroad academies (in fact, I'd never heard of such a thing until this thread), but I really don't see going to one helping your Amtrak resume.

Amtrak employees in all jobs come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and while I can't guarantee that none have gone to a railroad academy before working in a railroad job, I don't personally know any who have.

When Amtrak hires new employees as conductors or OBS, Amtrak sends them through their own training program. For OBS, your job is customer service that just so happens to be on a train. For conductors, there are so many different rule books, equipment types, signal systems, etc. that one might have to be qualified on (not to mention the customer service side of things) that there's no way that an independent school somewhere would be able to teach it all.

Also, as a word of caution, I don't know exactly how the Amtrak HR system works, but at a previous job where I worked (not Amtrak), I had to go through applicantions to hire people on my staff. Because of the way my prior company's system worked at the time, when I received an application, it gave me a list of every job that person had applied for with the company. I actually used that to help sift out serious candidates for my job vs. those who just appeared to be desparate to get some job, any job within the company (it was obvious that some had just gone through and applied for every job on the website, from janitor all the way up to general manager positions of large departments within the company, so the likelihood that they actually wanted and were qualified for the position I was hiring was quite low).

Just based on how you titled this thread, it appears that you fall into this latter category. Sometimes, that can work against you.

Best advice I can give is to be patient, and build up a wide range of skills (including communication). Don't worry about having railroading skills. Amtrak will train you on anything they need you to know about the railroad.

 

[Shortline]

There are several RR acadamy's and RR College Programs, you mentioned a few of them, MODOC, and NARS are probably the best known. CSX also works with a few colleges around the country that they do direct hire from, as does NS. They are essentially the initial training program for the RR's, that don't require the RR's to pay for your training, and they can select from the best of the class. Long story short, with these programs, you pay (a lot) for training that the RRs will pay YOU to go to, if hired through their normal channels, but it's definetely a way in the door. While it is expensive, it's a foot in the door, and it shows commitment. That said, it's NOT a guarntee of a job, but I hear they do have a large percentage of students placed with a RR, maybe not the Class 1 they primarily train and contract for, but with someone, maybe a regional or shortline RR. Going to the freight RR's and transitioning over to Amtrak in Train or Engine Service is always an option at some point, and seems to be hit and miss, whether they prefer to hire off the street, or from the freight RR's. When hiring in Engine service, at one point their website criteria listed a Class 1 license as a requirement to hire directly into Train Service. Now I understand that may not be the case, but I do know that Class 1 experience is a big leg up on the competition.