Work hard and sacrifice and you will be rewarded, but weight your decision carefully
Pros
Heavy attrition has opened up many opportunities over the past few years. Employees at the company will have ample chance to step up the corporate ladder. Hard work is acknowledged and the vision of the company will change the current work atmosphere. There is a declared intent to help field operations and work/life balance. Field operations offer an unparalleled experience for young field managers that would be hard to find elsewhere. Good pay (you will have to really earn it), and decent overall benefits. The Class I railroads have a couple of perks not available elsewhere: railroad retirement (as opposed to Social Security) and railroad pension (becoming rarer and rarer in today's world)--both are highly lucrative if you stick it out in the long run.
Cons
This company, from a field manager/director's perspective, is NOT for the feint of heart. Despite telling you along the way that you should: "expect to give up birthdays", "you will miss Christmas", "you will work more than 60 hours a week", I often see complaints that this happens to be the case. While I believe I knew exactly what I signed up for, many people simply cannot make the sacrifice. There is a clear distinction between field operations and an equivalent headquarters job. Field operations managers will make more and they tend to do so faster, at the cost of quality of life. There will be nightmare weeks, even months, and the railroad senior leadership is aware of the issue, but it should come as no surprise to any new manager as I believe many are warned before, during, and after! That said, weigh the pro's and con's on this one. Many people think they can work 70+ hour weeks, but I can personally vouch that most people can't make the grade for extended durations. This job will take care of your family financially, but may leave you wanting for more. As with all major corporations, there are politics at play--some people will be pulled up the ranks simply being part of the "right crowd" or there's a "sugar daddy/mommy" looking out for someone, but I do believe that you can still succeed in great fashion without the politics (I am testament to this. I was promoted because of results). This company will chew you up if you are not careful, and it will be very hard to have much of a life that ISN'T railroad--it's for some people, not others.
