Jobs for Former Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters

Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters build coordination, judgment and decision making and time management skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Air Traffic Controllers (79%).

Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers

Skills you enjoy

Pick the skills you want to keep using. The list re-ranks.

Sorted by skill match.

25 careers that use your skills

#	Career	Skill match	Median pay	Pay change	Extra education
1	Air Traffic Controllers	79%	$148,080	+90%	Certificate or associate
2	Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors	74%	$58,170	−25%	None
3	Power Distributors and Dispatchers	73%	$106,730	+37%	Certificate or associate
4	Transit and Railroad Police	73%	$90,230	+16%	Certificate or associate
5	Airfield Operations Specialists	71%	$56,850	−27%	Certificate or associate
6	Transportation Security Screeners	71%	$66,770	−14%	None
7	Police Identification and Records Officers	69%	$93,790Pay for the broader BLS group “Detectives and Criminal Investigators”	Not compared	Certificate or associate
8	Commercial Pilots	69%	$123,220	+58%	Certificate or associate
9	Fish and Game Wardens	68%	$74,060	−5%	Certificate or associate
10	Fire Inspectors and Investigators	67%	$75,920	−3%	Certificate or associate

1Air Traffic Controllers
79%
Median pay
$148,080
Pay change
+90%
Extra educationCertificate or associate
2Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors
74%
Median pay
$58,170
Pay change
−25%
Extra educationNone
3Power Distributors and Dispatchers
73%
Median pay
$106,730
Pay change
+37%
Extra educationCertificate or associate
4Transit and Railroad Police
73%
Median pay
$90,230
Pay change
+16%
Extra educationCertificate or associate
5Airfield Operations Specialists
71%
Median pay
$56,850
Pay change
−27%
Extra educationCertificate or associate
6Transportation Security Screeners
71%
Median pay
$66,770
Pay change
−14%
Extra educationNone
7Police Identification and Records Officers
69%
Median pay
$93,790
Pay change
Not compared
Pay for the broader BLS group “Detectives and Criminal Investigators”
Extra educationCertificate or associate
8Commercial Pilots
69%
Median pay
$123,220
Pay change
+58%
Extra educationCertificate or associate
9Fish and Game Wardens
68%
Median pay
$74,060
Pay change
−5%
Extra educationCertificate or associate
10Fire Inspectors and Investigators
67%
Median pay
$75,920
Pay change
−3%
Extra educationCertificate or associate

Compared with Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters, median $78,000. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.

Your transferable skills

How important each skill is in work as railroad conductors and yardmasters (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).

Coordination3.75

Judgment and Decision Making3.50

Time Management3.50

Operations Monitoring3.38

Complex Problem Solving3.25

Operation and Control3.25

Skills to learn

The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.

Repairing
Equipment Maintenance
Equipment Selection
Negotiation

Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.

Your top 3 moves, up close

A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.

Air Traffic Controllers

79% skill match · $148,080 · +90% pay

First step

Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (36% of workers).
Usually needs vocational training or an associate degree — more preparation than your current job.
On-the-job training: over 2 years, up to and including 4 years.

Skills to add

Operations Analysis · Complex Problem Solving · Judgment and Decision Making

Is this right for you?

Dealing with conflict is part of the job
Mistakes can have serious consequences

Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors

74% skill match · $58,170 · −25% pay

First step

Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (64% of workers).
On-the-job training: over 3 months, up to and including 6 months.

Skills to add

Repairing · Equipment Selection · Equipment Maintenance

Is this right for you?

Tight deadlines are common
Work outdoors in all weather
Dealing with conflict is part of the job

Power Distributors and Dispatchers

73% skill match · $106,730 · +37% pay

First step

Most common education: Post-Secondary Certificate (40% of workers).
Usually needs vocational training or an associate degree — more preparation than your current job.
A professional certification is often expected.
On-the-job training: over 1 year, up to and including 2 years.

Skills to add

Repairing · Equipment Maintenance · Equipment Selection

Is this right for you?

Mistakes can have serious consequences
Tight deadlines are common

Similar roles in the same field

If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.

Free help near you

Former railroad conductors and yardmasters can get free career counseling, job search help and, if you qualify, help paying for training through American Job Centers, which are funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Find an American Job Center Find training programs

Links go to CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Questions former railroad conductors and yardmasters ask

What jobs can former railroad conductors and yardmasters do?

The closest matches are Air Traffic Controllers (79% skill match, median $148,080), Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors (74% skill match, median $58,170) and Power Distributors and Dispatchers (73% skill match, median $106,730), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.

Which railroad conductors and yardmaster career changes pay more?

Among the 25 matches, 10 pay more than railroad conductors and yardmasters at the median. The biggest increases: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers (+198%, $232,140), Air Traffic Controllers (+90%, $148,080) and Commercial Pilots (+58%, $123,220).

Do former railroad conductors and yardmasters need another degree?

9 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.

How is the skill match calculated?

We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.

Keep exploring

Sources. Skills, tasks and education: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Data Sources & Licenses