mudchickenGoing back to the original post, were talking engineering here but that may not be what NC is aiming at. If NC wants a glorified trade school, walk away. Hopefully they are aiming a little higher.
I believe that will be part of the study, to determine what type of program is needed or will be the monst beneficial (if anything) for future rail service in the state.
I'm just surprised they're even doing a study. It's not like there's a shale boom here, manufacturing continues to disappear, coal power plants are being shuttered or converted to gas, one-man crews will probably be here before we know it, and Class I lines are being re-routed (CSX Clinchfield this year). Intercity passenger service has been slowly increasing, but certainly not at a rate to justify the need for an academic/trade program.
Norm,
Mich. Tech ("Da Tech" as the yuppers call it) is a first class school, and I am sure they make field trips to active railroads. As MC indicates, they even get international exposure. The area has a strong Finnish heritage.
Pasi Lautala has them getting international (read Finland) and US exposure as part of their program. AREMA Committee 24 has been asking the AREMA rank and file for mentoring assistance from the membership spread across the country.
Going back to the original post, were talking engineering here but that may not be what NC is aiming at. If NC wants a glorified trade school, walk away. Hopefully they are aiming a little higher.
Mike,
Does the course at Michigan Tech give the students an 'hands-on time' out on a railroad or is it strictly classroom time? If they're not getting out on the rails, the university is short-changing them.
Norm
I'm from Michigan, and I could never figure why Mich Tech started a railroad program, as the nearest RR branchline was 30 miles away. MTU was started as a mining school, and maybe the loss of the mining engineering program about 10 years ago, prompted them to look at rail.
The degree is only going to give you the tools, not license to go out into the world and be the equals of the others that come up through the ranks. On the engineering side right now, Illinois and Michigan Tech's Civil programs are at the top of the heap with other universities nationwide getting interested after figuring out the major generation gap in the railroad industry and catching on that the railroad professions are not as much of a dying breed as people have been led to believe over the past 40 years. The initial link fails to tell me much.
Most railroaders equate transportation programs/ people to "bus people". Some do catch on with railroads after several years of "de-programming".
My carrier and also the big yellow thing tried with mixed success to create trainmasters and operating problem solvers out of graduating civil engineers. The Big-10 school with the railroad mascot had become something of a joke on my carrier because those coming out of that program had pre-conceptions and an attitude that took years to straighten out. They kept hiring those guys and only a few made it. You cannot plug truck & bus people in a railroad operating environment and expect it to work. Totally different breed of cat.
There is another state in that corner of the country that thinks it can hire instant railroad expertise out of college for its DOT....not working so far. Scared the begeebers out of some respected shortline railroaders I know.
A pure apprenticeship route or a pure academic route isn't the answer. Hopefully NC keeps that in mind and tries to create a work-study co-operative plan closer to what Pasi has going at Michigan Tech. AREMA calls it the "NEXT Generation" and is encouraging academia to come up with a better way and help stem the brain drain on the engineering side of things.
I recall that there are a couple of other college railroad programs - usually under the "transportation" umbrella.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
NCDOT and UNC Charlotte Announce Rail Workforce Assessment Study
"The study will help determine the need for a North Carolina-based railroad certificate, degree, or training program at one of the state's colleges or universities."
I've never heard of such a thing and thought the railroads did all the training. Are programs like this in place in more populated areas of the country, like the northeast or Chicago? A brief Google search turned up a few results.
If HR is reviewing your application, I suppose you'd have one up on the other applicants who have no railroad experience. But I can imagine the type of attitude you'd be met with if you came in as a greenhorn with a "degree" in railroading.
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