Locomotive engineers
SOC Code: 53-4011
Locomotive engineers carries a 54% AI exposure score (High automation risk), with a median annual wage of $77,400 and +0.7% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 27,000 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 54% AI exposure, Locomotive engineers sits 17 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 91% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
40/100
Locomotive engineers, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage B $77,400
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F +0.7%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) F 54% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Locomotive engineers in the High band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Locomotive engineers keeps an HS / some college bar (333 of 832) and sits in Slow growth (245 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Locomotive engineers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Locomotive engineers sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
54% Higher than most higher than 91% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Locomotive engineers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Locomotive engineers is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Locomotive engineers's High automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score in the 40–70% range indicates meaningful automation pressure on specific task categories, but the role as a whole still requires human judgment for coordination, exception handling, or client interaction.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 53-4011) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Locomotive engineers be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Locomotive engineers. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Interpret train orders, signals, or railroad rules and regulations that govern the operation of locomotives.
- 2. Confer with conductors or traffic control center personnel via radiophones to issue or receive information concerning stops, delays, or oncoming trains.
- 3. Receive starting signals from conductors and use controls such as throttles or air brakes to drive electric, diesel-electric, steam, or gas turbine-electric locomotives.
- 4. Monitor gauges or meters that measure speed, amperage, battery charge, or air pressure in brake lines or in main reservoirs.
- 5. Observe tracks to detect obstructions.
- 6. Call out train signals to assistants to verify meanings.
- 7. Operate locomotives to transport freight or passengers between stations or to assemble or disassemble trains within rail yards.
- 8. Check to ensure that brake examination tests are conducted at shunting stations.
- 9. Respond to emergency conditions or breakdowns, following applicable safety procedures and rules.
- 10. Inspect locomotives to verify adequate fuel, sand, water, or other supplies before each run or to check for mechanical problems.
Key Skills Required
- Operation and Control
- Operations Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Active Learning
- Complex Problem Solving
Knowledge Areas
- Transportation
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mechanical
- Administration and Management
- Law and Government
- Telecommunications
- Computers and Electronics
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Locomotive engineers?
Locomotive engineers has an AI exposure score of 54%, indicating a high level of automation risk. Some tasks in this role can be augmented or partially automated by AI, but core responsibilities require human judgment.
What is the job outlook for Locomotive engineers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Locomotive engineers is projected to grow by 0.7% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 27,000 workers.
What skills are needed for Locomotive engineers?
Key skills for Locomotive engineers include Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Active Listening, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Locomotive engineers earn?
The median annual wage for Locomotive engineers is $77,400, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Locomotive engineers?
The typical entry-level education for Locomotive engineers is High school diploma or equivalent. Employers generally expect Less than 5 years of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Locomotive engineers?
Locomotive engineers roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
High automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. A moderate share of tasks may be augmented by AI tools.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Locomotive engineers: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (54% here).
- Bill and account collectors · AI exposure 54%
- Computer programmers · AI exposure 54%
- Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks · AI exposure 54%
- Judicial law clerks · AI exposure 54%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+0.7% here).
- Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary · growth +0.7%
- Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders · growth +0.7%
- Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary · growth +0.7%
- School psychologists · growth +0.7%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 19 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Locomotive engineers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Locomotive engineers side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).