Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers
Transportation and Material Moving · SOC 53-4022
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 53-4022 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
- SOC exposure
- 0.0%
- Low · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 49/100
- Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $68,840
- No H-1B offered-wage row for this SOC.
- Projected openings
- —
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +1.0%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- —
- FY— certified LCAs; 243 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
Transition context
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
AI Exposure Analysis
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
AI could do ~16.7% of this role but only ~0% is currently done with AI — a large capability-vs-adoption gap.
Top Skills
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →No H-1B certified LCA filings recorded for this occupation in FY2016–FY2025.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
Operate or monitor railroad track switches or locomotive instruments. May couple or uncouple rolling stock to make up or break up trains. Watch for and relay traffic signals. May inspect couplings, air hoses, journal boxes, and hand brakes. May watch for dragging equipment or obstacles on rights-of-way.
Common titles: Brakeman, Carman, Fireman, Locomotive Switch Operator, Railroad Brakeman, Railroad Switchman
Representative Tasks
- •Observe train signals along routes and verify their meanings for engineers.
- •Signal locomotive engineers to start or stop trains when coupling or uncoupling cars, using hand signals, lanterns, or radio communication.
- •Pull or push track switches to reroute cars.
- •Observe signals from other crew members so that work activities can be coordinated.
- •Monitor trains as they go around curves to detect dragging equipment and smoking journal boxes.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Monitor traffic signals.
- •Signal others to coordinate vehicle movement.
- •Operate locomotives or other rail vehicles.
- •Control equipment that regulates vehicle traffic.
- •Observe equipment in operation to detect potential problems.
Tools & Technologies
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| Outlook | Average | 20% Bright |
| Median Salary | $68,840 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 100/100 | N/A |