---
title: "Locomotive Engineer"
description: "Drive electric, diesel-electric, steam, or gas-turbine-electric locomotives to transport passengers or freight. Interpret train orders, electronic or…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/locomotive-engineer"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Locomotive Engineer

**Category:** Transportation and Material Moving · **SOC code:** 53-4011 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 53-4011.00

Drive electric, diesel-electric, steam, or gas-turbine-electric locomotives to transport passengers or freight. Interpret train orders, electronic or manual signals, and railroad rules and regulations.

Also advertised as: Engineer; Passenger Locomotive Engineer; Railroad Engineer; Steam Locomotive Engineer; Steam Locomotive Fireman; Through Freight Engineer; Train Engineer; Trainmaster.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $81,410 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $39.14/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $60,680 to $109,220, with the middle half between $75,190 and $93,260
- **Total US employment:** 33,470
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +0.5% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 2,000 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 56/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 33,470 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $60,680 |
| 25th | $75,190 |
| 50th (median) | $81,410 |
| 75th | $93,260 |
| 90th | $109,220 |
| Mean (average) | $85,900 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NY | $109,220 | $101,204 | 1,510 |
| MA | $108,790 | $102,868 | 640 |
| MS | $96,710 | $111,221 | 300 |
| MN | $93,700 | $95,010 | 990 |
| IL | $93,320 | $93,359 | 2,340 |
| IN | $92,790 | $99,422 | 1,030 |
| FL | $92,310 | $89,263 | 350 |
| OK | $91,970 | $104,698 | 260 |
| VA | $90,780 | $89,789 | 790 |
| MT | $90,220 | $95,325 | 470 |
| IA | $89,970 | $102,516 | 1,000 |
| AZ | $89,840 | $89,236 | 490 |
| CO | $89,360 | $86,714 | 480 |
| SC | $89,290 | $95,244 | 380 |
| NM | $88,330 | $95,790 | 440 |

20 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 35 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/locomotive-engineer/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/locomotive-engineer.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 27,400 in the 2025–2035 base year to 27,600 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 100 jobs, or +0.5%. Slower than average: 0.5% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 2,000 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** High school diploma or equivalent (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** Less than 5 years.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

## What the work involves

- 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.
- Monitor gauges or meters that measure speed, amperage, battery charge, or air pressure in brake lines or in main reservoirs.
- Interpret train orders, signals, or railroad rules and regulations that govern the operation of locomotives.
- Inspect locomotives to verify adequate fuel, sand, water, or other supplies before each run or to check for mechanical problems.
- Observe tracks to detect obstructions.
- Inspect locomotives after runs to detect damaged or defective equipment.
- Confer with conductors or traffic control center personnel via radiophones to issue or receive information concerning stops, delays, or oncoming trains.
- Operate locomotives to transport freight or passengers between stations or to assemble or disassemble trains within rail yards.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Monitoring — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Operation and Control — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Monitoring — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Transportation — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Selective Attention — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Far Vision — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Perceptual Speed — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Response Orientation — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 7.00 |
| C — Conventional | 4.65 |
| I — Investigative | 3.49 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.89 |
| S — Social | 1.85 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 91.9 |
| ISTP | 80.0 |
| ISFJ | 74.3 |
| ESTJ | 73.8 |
| INTJ | 68.3 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operator and Locomotive Firer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/railroad-brake-signal-and-switch-operator-and-locomotive-firer) — median $68,840
- [Railroad Conductor and Yardmaster](https://nuecareer.com/careers/railroad-conductor-and-yardmaster) — median $78,000
- [Rail Yard Engineer, Dinkey Operator, and Hostler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/rail-yard-engineer-dinkey-operator-and-hostler) — median $60,600
- [Subway and Streetcar Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/subway-and-streetcar-operator) — median $86,380
- [Bus and Truck Mechanic and Diesel Engine Specialist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/bus-and-truck-mechanic-and-diesel-engine-specialist) — median $61,770
- [Transportation Vehicle, Equipment and Systems Inspector, Except Aviation](https://nuecareer.com/careers/transportation-vehicle-equipment-and-systems-inspector) — median $92,100
- [Ship Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/ship-engineer) — median $109,530
- [Signal and Track Switch Repairer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/signal-and-track-switch-repairer) — median $92,460
- [Operating Engineer and Other Construction Equipment Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/operating-engineer-and-other-construction-equipment-operator) — median $59,850
- [Truck Driver](https://nuecareer.com/careers/truck-driver) — median $58,640

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/locomotive-engineer