Does CN pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, CN employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.9 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at CN. This rating has improved by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at CN?

57% of CN employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated CN 2.6 out of 5 for work life balance, 2.8 for culture and values and 3.1 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at CN?

Railroad Conductor (126) , Locomotive Engineer (75) , Train Conductor (55) , Conductor (49) , Freight Conductor (49) , Intern (23) , Manager (21) , Project Manager (21) , Trainmaster (19) , Analyst (15) , Supervisor (15) , Carman (14) , Heavy Equipment Operator (14) , Engineer (13) , Freight Train Conductor (13)

What are the pros of working at CN according to real employee reviews?

"Pay is good and stock plan is nice.." ((in 270 reviews)); "The benefits are good and it’s steady" ((in 212 reviews)); "Ok pay good pension and benifits" ((in 79 reviews)); "Good salary and IT challenges" ((in 74 reviews)); "And good money if you are in the right place for doing very little work." ((in 63 reviews))

What are the cons of working at CN according to real employee reviews?

"no work life balance and 24/7 scheduling" ((in 93 reviews)); "Long hours and being on call at all hour can be difficult for most people with families at home." ((in 69 reviews)); "It can be difficult to get time off" ((in 26 reviews)); "Constant layoffs and employee/management shortage" ((in 25 reviews)); "They don't care about you or your family they just want the bottom $. 1 in 4 managers are good." ((in 22 reviews))

What are employees saying about CN layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about CN layoffs and their outlook for job security at CN in 2026.

What are the top reviewed CN locations?

Homewood , Chicago , Memphis , Stevens Point , Fond du Lac , Gary , Jackson , Baton Rouge , Champaign , Duluth , Battle Creek , Detroit , Waterloo , Proctor , Superior , Milwaukee , Flat Rock , Port Huron , New Orleans , Joliet , Markham , Decatur , Wisconsin Rapids , Burlington , Minneapolis , Mattoon , Libertyville , Naperville , Willow Springs , Effingham

CN reviews

Well paying, terrible hours - Freight Train Conductor CN Employee Review

4.0

May 5, 2021

Freight train conductor

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Pays well for the level of difficulty/ skill level. Paid workplace training. Powerful union. Enjoyable work if you like heavy machine operating. If there is a shortage of work or you're not satisfied in your position, there are always opportunities in other departments or personnel shortages in other terminals.

Cons

Must often be available at all hours, especially as a junior employee. Junior employees (less than 3+- years) can also be forced out of their home terminal to cover personnel shortages in other towns/cities. Work conditions often involve lack of access to a toilet. Expect to be awake for up to 30 hours at a time as you can be called on a train late at night and work into the next day's afternoon before reaching a rest facility. The best option for work/life balance are yard assignments, which are scheduled 8 hour shifts, but the salary pays about half that of "road" assignments (roughly 75K vs 120K). Yard jobs also involve more physical work and being out in the weather, rain, shine or snow.

CN Response

5y

Thank you for sharing your feedback and your hard work. We pride ourselves on providing our team members with great compensation. When we recruit talent to our operations teams, we spend a lot of time going over the working conditions and the realities associated with the railroad operating 24/7/365 days a year, including how being on call can disrupt your family life and important events. With this 24/7/365 operation CN could not function without our dedicated employees. We thank you for helping move our business and the economy forward. We hope you share your experience during our regular Pulse surveys so we can develop strategies to do better.

Explore other reviews about CN

5.0

Apr 2, 2026

Communications technician

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Its what you make of it. Good union job with good benefits

Cons

You're always waiting on trains.

CN Response

3mo

Thank you for your feedback and for your hard work. We pride ourselves on providing our team members with great benefits. We thank you for moving our business and the economy forward. Please share your thoughts with your manager and on your regular Interaction surveys.

4.0

Apr 13, 2026

S&c design engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Pays decently well for first job out of college. My manager and team are very reasonable with expectations placed on new hires. Working after office hours (past 4:30pm) is extremely rare and only expected in emergencies.

Cons

Very slow and/or limited job growth potential. Promotions into middle management are almost purely based on reputation with middle managers who are largely people with previous field experience. This is very disadvantageous to direct-from-college hires like myself and even my current manager.

CN Response

3mo

Thank you for your feedback and for your hard work. We pride ourselves on providing our team members with great pay. With a 24/7/365 operation CN could not function without its dedicated employees. We thank you for moving our business and the economy forward. Remember to leverage your development plan to have career discussions with your leader and please share your thoughts on your regular Interaction surveys.

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Jobs at CN

Transportation Supervisor

Senior Engineer, Bridge Testing

CN

Well paying, terrible hours - Freight Train Conductor CN Employee Review

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