Pros
The only reason why anyone works for the Railroad is the pay and benefits which really aren't that good when you take a serious look at what you give up to get them.
Cons
- You will be on call 24/7 with ZERO days off and absolutely no schedule. This means that you will never be able to make plans. If you have a wife/husband, girlfriend/boyfriend, kids, pets, etc.. Forget about seeing them or EVER making plans with them. This is not an exaggeration. - The only way you can get time off is by "Laying Off Sick" (basically calling in sick).. However, this is highly monitored by the managers and there is a ridiculous formula they use to determine if you're doing this to often. Also, since there are NO paid sick days off, be prepared to lose an average of $600 each time you call in if your a through freight employee. - While at home, you will have 10 hours that they cannot call you to work, after that you are free game for them to call you in. - The biggest problem is the separation between Managers and Train Crews. The managers are required to test the employees on all rules and operations while they are in the field running trains. The problem with this is that the rule book is literally 4 inches thick and it changes DAILY. So, things that were okay to do yesterday will get you fired today. So, even if you stay up on all the changes your manager might not and since a majority of them have never even been on a train, their interpretation of the rule could be wrong. Now, I don't want to say that managers are always to blame because the crews mess up plenty but just imagine going to work everyday knowing that instead of having a Manager that's going to lead, motivate and manage crews that you're going to have to worry about them surprising you with a test after you've been working all night and firing you. - If you want to be a crew member on a Through Freight Train expect to stay in some of the worst hotels you can imagine. In my experience, I have seen major problems with bed bugs, snakes, roaches, rats, no A/C, Heat or Electricity. The worst was a time we got stuck for two days in a hotel that did not have running water! - The list goes on for days, trust me, you do not want to work for this company!!