5 Key Attributes Railroad Conductors And Yardmasters Need To Succeed In Their Career

by Michael Davis

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Railroad conductors and yardmasters coordinate activities of switch-engine crew within railroad yard, industrial plant, or similar location. Conductors coordinate activities of train crew on passenger or freight trains. Yardmasters review train schedules and switching orders and coordinate activities of workers engaged in railroad traffic operations, such as the makeup or breakup of trains and yard switching.

The core tasks that railroad conductors and yardmasters are likely to carry out include:

Signal engineers to begin train runs, stop trains, or change speed, using telecommunications equipment or hand signals.
Receive information regarding train or rail problems from dispatchers or from electronic monitoring devices.
Direct and instruct workers engaged in yard activities, such as switching tracks, coupling and uncoupling cars, and routing inbound and outbound traffic.
Keep records of the contents and destination of each train car, and make sure that cars are added or removed at proper points on routes.
Operate controls to activate track switches and traffic signals.
Instruct workers to set warning signals in front and at rear of trains during emergency stops.

In order to successfully forge ahead with their careers, analysts in a survey carried out by U.S. Department of Labor (via O*NET) have marked out the following as important attributes that railroad conductors and yardmasters would need. These attributes have been selected from characteristics and requirements strongly associated with the occupation. They are

Abilities: Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance
Interests: Preferences for work environments. Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) are compatible with Holland's (1985, 1997) model of personality types and work environments. Six interest categories are used to describe the work environment of occupations: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. An OIP consists of six numerical scores indicating how descriptive and characteristic each work environment (or interest area) is for an occupation
Knowledge: Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains
Skills: These include basic skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge. Plus cross-functional skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate performance of activities that occur across jobs
Style: Personal characteristics that can affect how well someone performs a job

We have listed out attributes which were scored 80% or more in terms of importance by the analysts.

Having a strong preference for enterprising work environments. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 90.43%

Being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 83.6%

Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 83.4%

Having a strong preference for realistic work environments. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 81%

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%