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Should I get a job with the railroad?
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<P>Let me tell you a little about myself.</P> <P>I am 29 years old, married, and I have a 2 year old daughter. I work at a Ford plant in Kansas City Missouri. I work nights, and no weekends. In the past we have worked alot of overtime, and Saturdays. (working weekends is not that big of a deal for me) Ford has announced that they are offering buyouts to all of the employees. I am thinking about taking one of them and going to NARS (the training acadamy for BNSF) to take the conductor class. I dont have very much seniority at Ford, just under 5 years, so I dont think I will make it if they have a massive lay off. </P> <P>I dont know what to do. My Stepdad is a locomotive engineer for Amtrac in KC and about 9 years ago he was telling me about the Conductor course at the College. It was a 2 year degree in Railroad Operations. After a year of Math, English, Ethics, and a Logic class and no railroad classes I dropped out and got another job. To make a long story short, I found out that they have shortned the class to just 6 weeks long now. Now with my future with Ford in jepordy I am just looking at my options. </P> <P>The pay is just about the same as I make now, but the hours are really different. Can a family man survive working on the railroad?</P> <P> Is the schedule that a conductor has the same as the engineer? </P> <P>How long does it take a conductor to make engineer?</P> <P>I know I have some wierd questions, but I am really at a major crossroad in my life that will affect the way I live for a long time. When I hired on at Ford my plan was to get my 30 years in and retire, and thats going to change I think. How does the future of the railroad look? I hope it looks better than the auto industry.</P> <P>Thanks for taking the time to read. Buy Union and Buy American!</P> <P>Larry Affolter</P>
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