Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers
SOC Code: 53-4022
Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers carries a 42% AI exposure score (High automation risk), with a median annual wage of $65,480 and +1.0% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 11,000 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 42% AI exposure, Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers sits 5 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 75% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
42/100
Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers, 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 C+ $65,480
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F +1.0%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) F 42% 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 Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers in the High band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers 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 Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
42% Around the middle lower than 25% 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.
Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers 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
Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers'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 53-4022) 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 Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers 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 Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Observe train signals along routes and verify their meanings for engineers.
- 2. Signal locomotive engineers to start or stop trains when coupling or uncoupling cars, using hand signals, lanterns, or radio communication.
- 3. Operate and drive locomotives, diesel switch engines, dinkey engines, flatcars, and railcars in train yards and at industrial sites.
- 4. Pull or push track switches to reroute cars.
- 5. Observe signals from other crew members so that work activities can be coordinated.
- 6. Monitor trains as they go around curves to detect dragging equipment and smoking journal boxes.
- 7. Inspect couplings, air hoses, journal boxes, and handbrakes to ensure that they are securely fastened and functioning properly.
- 8. Observe tracks from left sides of locomotives to detect obstructions on tracks.
- 9. Operate locomotives in emergency situations.
- 10. Raise levers to couple and uncouple cars for makeup and breakup of trains.
Key Skills Required
- Monitoring
- Operations Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Operation and Control
- Reading Comprehension
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Time Management
Knowledge Areas
- Transportation
- Public Safety and Security
- Mechanical
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Law and Government
- Education and Training
- Telecommunications
- Psychology
- Mathematics
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers?
Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers has an AI exposure score of 42%, 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 Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers is projected to grow by 1.0% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 11,000 workers.
What skills are needed for Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers?
Key skills for Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers include Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, Active Listening, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers earn?
The median annual wage for Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers is $65,480, 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 Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers?
The typical entry-level education for Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers is High school diploma or equivalent. Employers generally expect None 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 Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers?
Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers 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 Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (42% here).
- Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary · AI exposure 42%
- Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance · AI exposure 42%
- Flight attendants · AI exposure 42%
- Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists · AI exposure 42%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+1.0% here).
- Adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders · growth +1.0%
- Budget analysts · growth +1.0%
- Butchers and meat cutters · growth +1.0%
- Clergy · growth +1.0%
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 Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers 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).