Railroad employees question (conductor/engineer)

If I recall I have seen a couple guys post that they are RR employees. I am thinking of making a career change in the coming months following my military retirement, and my interest in the RR has came up.

My real question is, how unpredictable is the work schedule in the first year or two as a conductor and later engineer?

I have read on most job postings you are required to be on call 24 hours up to 6 days per week with approximately a 90 minute report time. While this does not seem much different than our military requirements, I can count on one hand the number of times I have been called in on short notice in 20 years.

Thanks,
Randy

 

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