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Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
Drives freight and passenger trains.
Read the full guide
Locomotive engineers operate trains, watch signals and track conditions, and work with conductors to move freight and passengers safely. Most start as conductors and train with the railroad. Schedules are often on call.
Open the locomotive engineer guide
The guide checks the courses against your plan, with things to try each year. Free account needed.
High school courses that build toward it
- Welding and Metal Fabrication · Career and Technical
Builds how things are made, which this job uses.
- Pre-Algebra · Math
Builds math, which this job uses.
- Physics · Science
Builds physics, which this job uses.
- English 10 · English
Builds reading and writing, which this job uses.
- Computer Science Principles · Computer Science
Builds computers and electronics, which this job uses.
- Physical Education · Health and PE
Builds teaching and training, which this job uses.
Ranked by how much the job relies on what each course teaches, from O*NET's knowledge ratings. Your school's own courses and the counselor have the final word.
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators on O*NET OnLine · O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections 2025.