Is Norfolk Southern a good company to work for?

Norfolk Southern has an overall rating of 2.9 out of 5, based on over 2,170 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has increased by 1% over the last 12 months. 35% of employees would recommend working at Norfolk Southern to a friend and 25% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Norfolk Southern have been left by employees working as Intern , Track Supervisor and Management Trainee .

Does Norfolk Southern pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Norfolk Southern employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.5 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Norfolk Southern. This rating has improved by 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Norfolk Southern?

35% of Norfolk Southern employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Norfolk Southern 2.2 out of 5 for work life balance, 2.4 for culture and values and 2.9 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Norfolk Southern?

Railroad Conductor (202) , Conductor (98) , Locomotive Engineer (59) , Freight Conductor (43) , Engineer (37) , Signal Maintainer (35) , Trainmaster (33) , Intern (29) , Electrician (26) , Machinist (26) , Manager (24) , Train Dispatcher (24) , Train Conductor (19) , Operations Supervisor (18) , Management Trainee (15)

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

"Pay is good but you are paid for the on call lifestyle and selling your life way for a paycheck." ((in 377 reviews)); "Good benefits and pays well" ((in 281 reviews)); "4. Good retirement that will follow you to another railroad if you decide to change employers" ((in 99 reviews)); "The people were great and very welcoming." ((in 85 reviews)); "good money and enough to support family" ((in 60 reviews))

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

"Poor management, have to pay for parking, having to bid on jobs" ((in 164 reviews)); "No work life balance and always short staffed" ((in 126 reviews)); "hours are long and boring" ((in 83 reviews)); "CEO and upper management are horrible." ((in 47 reviews)); "Horrible Culture" ((in 31 reviews))

What are employees saying about Norfolk Southern layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed Norfolk Southern locations?

Atlanta , Norfolk , Roanoke , Chicago , Bellevue , Conway , Fort Wayne , Pittsburgh , Harrisburg , Elkhart , Birmingham , Toledo , Altoona , Chattanooga , Decatur , Macon , Louisville , Cleveland , Cincinnati , Knoxville , Charlotte , Columbus , Saint Louis , Savannah , Greensboro , Enola , Greenville , Detroit , Sheffield , Peru

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Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern reviews

2.9

35% would recommend to a friend

(1,915 total reviews)

Mark George

29% approve of CEO

25% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.5

Compensation and benefits

3.2

Diversity & inclusion

2.9

Career opportunities

2.4

Culture & values

2.3

Senior management

2.2

Work/Life balance

Norfolk Southern has an employee rating of 2.9 out of 5 stars, based on 1,915 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Norfolk Southern employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Transportation & Logistics industry (3.5 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

2.0

Oct 25, 2012

Who you know

Supervisor revenue accounting

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Stable industry. Didn't worry about losing job during recession.

Cons

CEO stated that "legacy" employees get consideration - meaning, if your daddy works for the company you will get promoted. Good luck if you don't have a relative pulling strings for you. Does not value quality education, would prefer to promote people that could not get paid the same at other companies due to lack of higher education.

4.0

Oct 22, 2012

Norfolk Southern Co-op opportunities is a good place to start

Inter-modal systems coop

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The pay is really good, people are friendly. There is a lot of growth opportunities and many of the employees there will be retiring in mass amounts within the next five years.

Cons

Sometimes, depending on how busy your supervisor is, there is downtime where you have nothing to do. Norfolk Southern is also old fashioned,

4.0

Sep 21, 2012

Great opportunity to earn a fair wage for your time and work.

Condcutor

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Money is great you get paid for the amount of time and work you put into the job. Coworkers were diverse most were hard working. Most new managers were fair and honest.

Cons

Management style could be changed to a coaching environment. Management used carrot and stick approach with far more sticks than carrots. Older managers were not about positive change.

Viewing 1858 - 1860 of 1,915 Reviews

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Ratings by category

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Who you know

Norfolk Southern Co-op opportunities is a good place to start

Great opportunity to earn a fair wage for your time and work.

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