Career Explorer Transport and logistics
Human edge, steady
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.
In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 46% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +0.9% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on ethical judgement.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $78,000
- Job growth to 2035
- +0.9%
- Openings a year
- 3,000
- People doing it (2025)
- 38,900
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Communicate with others about operational plans or activities
- Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- Evaluate the quality or accuracy of data
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures
- Maintain operational records
- Signal others to coordinate work activities
What the work looks like
- Observe yard traffic to determine tracks available to accommodate inbound and outbound traffic.
- Inspect freight cars for compliance with sealing procedures, and record car numbers and seal numbers.
- Receive instructions from dispatchers regarding trains' routes, timetables, and cargoes.
- Direct and instruct workers engaged in yard activities, such as switching tracks, coupling and uncoupling cars, and routing inbound and outbound traffic.
- Signal engineers to begin train runs, stop trains, or change speed, using telecommunications equipment or hand signals.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Locomotive engineersHuman edge, steady, Index 59, +0.5%
- Pump operators, except wellhead pumpersHuman edge, growing, Index 79, +4.3%
- Motorboat operatorsHuman edge, growing, Index 96, +4.9%
- Rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlersHuman edge, steady, Index 64, +0.8%
Also known as: Conductor, Freight Conductor, Railroad Conductor, Yardmaster, Freight Train Conductor, Local Freight Conductor, Railway Yardmaster, Thru Freight Conductor.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.