MTAhopefullMatt

@Bx316, Yes, you can absolutely work any job in Transit, PD, FD, teaching (DoE), Sanitation, most titles in most departments and not live in NYC. There is a specific exemption for Transit employees. The only people for whom residency requirements still apply are mostly white collar (lawyer/analyst/secretary) and political jobs at a few of the other City agencies (like Law Dept.). You can still request a waiver of the residency requirement in those cases, but they don't have to grant it. Re reinstatement, there just seems to be a lot of unwritten rules and contradictory information. I had submitted a written request for reinstatement directly to Transit, per their request, but DCAS indicated I was off the list. I then wrote to DCAS and they denied my reinstatement request, without explanation. DCAS maintains the list, I guess, and Transit can only hire people who are on the list. I'm not sure exactly what decisions are made by Transit vs DCAS as to who gets on the list.

Does anyone know of anyone who has recently been reinstated and actually offered a place in a school car class? I'll submit my reinstatement request again soon (first request was denied), since the list was extended another year. Is DCAS/Transit actually bringing back people who failed school car?

@DoubleEll, it's addictive to read these posts but fundamentally it's beyond our control. Who knows how many people took the promotional exam, for example? Or if Transit will hire at the same rate in the next few years? We just have to keep going on with our lives and see what happens.

I suspect that they're considering moving Train Operator back to exclusively promotional. Otherwise they could have gone ahead with the open-competitive exam and made a fortune on the filing fees. Since the entry level pay is 50% higher than for conductors they could have probably gotten at least 50% more test takers than filed for conductor open-competitive. I suspect that they're considering moving Train Operator back to exclusively promotional. Otherwise they could have gone ahead with the open-competitive exam and made a fortune on the filing fees. Since the entry level pay is 50% higher than for conductors they could have probably gotten at least 50% more test takers than filed for conductor open-competitive. Sorry about the double post.

I took the exam at FDR HS, Brooklyn, as well. I took it on Saturday 4/23 in the morning. They moved us from the auditorium to the classrooms at about 8:50, but we didn't start until about 9:50. That sucks about being turned away - sometimes Transit is just unforgiving.

Good luck, dac9050. I think they recalculate correct answers after the protest session before creating an official list. Would October be a realistic time for the official list to be released? Then February or March 2017 to start processing people off that list? The key issue is how many conductors they need, and whether they're going to need more than they have in the past.

Thanks for the feedback on the protest session you attended, @Egyptianeyes. I'm not sure it will be worth it for me to attend the protest session. I'm just hoping for the best. I thought the conductor test seemed fair, though it was a bit harder than I expected because of some tricky answer choices on maybe 20% of the questions, and a few multi-part logical reasoning questions that I think I got right (after double and triple checking my answers) but which took a long time to answer. I'm sure the conductor exam protest session will be crowded because so much will be riding on each additional correct exam answer, given how many people took this exam.

Hello. I was wondering if anyone has any info re reinstatement? Specifically, I understand there is a right to request reinstatement if you fail out of school car, or quit school car. But are they actually reinstating anyone at this time? I failed out of school car and me and some colleagues in the same position requested reinstatement but were denied. A friend of mine quit school car and they agreed to reinstate him, but haven't called him back in 3 months, and now say he needs to request reinstatement (in writing) again, in order to be considered for reinstatement. What happened happened, and I know Transit has discretion to choose if they'll take people who are reinstated, or who request reinstatement. My question is whether Transit hiring policies have changed recently. One last question - does anyone known why the open-competitive T/O exam was postponed? Do you expect them to do another open-competitive, or just hire from promotional exams? Thanks.

I do wonder if they're going to revert to the old way of doing things - just hiring train operators off of promotional lists. They're probably pondering this now and haven't made a final decision - hence the exam is postponed, not yet cancelled. Otherwise, if this were a straightforward decision, they could have offered the open/competitive train operator exam already and made a lot of money through the filing fees. I have my own take on this, as one of many who failed the training program. I think it's difficult to get up to speed with the culture of Transit and the intricacies of tracks/trains/signals in a few months. It's not impossible to do so, and many succeed. But I think there are many advantages to hiring train operators off a promotional list - the key things being greater familiarity with yards/signals/trains/Transit culture and far less stress, since if you fail the training program you go back to your old job as a conductor/bus driver/station agent, etc.

@Loveablepj, thanks for the insight. I'm taking the exam on April 23rd. I'm thinking maybe this is why they reserved the right to test oral proficiency (I forgot the exact language, I don't have the NOE handy). Perhaps they decided that math skills aren't useful or necessary on the job, but reading comprehension and common sense is what's really needed and can be easily tested on a written exam. However, conductors also need to speak clearly, and that has to be tested one on one. If they made the test too hard then too many people would fail, and they'd need to adjust the scoring anyway for test questions deemed too difficult or irrelevant in the post-exam appeal sessions. Remember all the controversy and legal challenges the FDNY faced when they created a fireman's exam that was far more difficult than the intellectual challenges firemen face on the job? If I remember correctly from the verbal proficiency verbiage on the NOE that testing could function like a personal interview - so they would bring people in who scored well on the written exam, in the traditional order starting at 105 or so (perfect test score plus veterans' credit),test their verbal proficiency, then start processing those people who cleared the verbal proficiency test. I suppose they could ask a few typical interview questions when they have you for the verbal proficiency test, and they could certainly eliminate people they don't think would be a good fit at that stage. I don't think it will be as bad as the Sanitation test, but I think hiring off the upcoming list might stop where people score in the high 90s based on all the people taking the exam. I know I'm forgetting some things, please correct me, but let me know if this line of thinking seems reasonable.

Thanks, @subwayguy, for the info. Yes, I'd be pissed if I just "passed" this test. That would mean I'm not getting hired. I'm trying as best I can to answer everything correctly.

@Y2Julio, last exam was an exception to the norm, I think, because there was a hiring freeze for several years when the list didn't move, due to the city/state's economic problems. The economy is much stronger now and a budget deal was just reached with the state that gave MTA most of what it wanted. This list should move a lot faster. How fast, we shall see.

Yes, please let us know how it went. I'm taking the test on the morning of 4/23. Based on my prior experience with NYC Transit exams, I'd suggest traveling very lightly - try not to bring any bags (backpacks, duffels, even big purses) with you. There's nowhere to check your bags and it's going to be very crowded. They may not be willing to let you put bags under your seat or in the back of the room - it depends on how crowded it gets and how strict they're feeling. Definitely turn off your cell phone (don't just flip switch to silent) and put it away, probably in your jacket, before you get in the building. Bring lots of pencils and don't forget the calculator, which should be a super-simple, cheap, $5-10 kind.

I'm hoping this list moves much faster than the last one. Handling test administration in-house should allow NYC Transit to move much faster bringing on new people from this exam. There are so many uncertainties, though - the state of the overall NYS/NYC economy, NYC Transit's budget, retirements, the pace that people leave the title, service improvements...

The MTA stated on their website on the exam update that they won't change the exam date under most circumstances. They gave a few narrow exceptions like if you suffered a workers comp injury that makes you unable to show up on the scheduled exam date. You could try going down to 130 Livingston and plead your case.

I did buy the conductor study guide from the bookstore, the one with the green cover. It was the only conductor study guide they had. I didn't find it particularly helpful, and it's very outdated. If it was ever updated, it hasn't been in at least 15 years - it references the double letter subway lines, for example. I've taken a few NYC Transit exams over the years and I think the key things are taking your time and close attention to detail. NYC geography knowledge is helpful - studying the subway map would be a good place to start. They want to know above all that you have outstanding reading comprehension. Military time (understanding train and work schedules) and general NYC geography are important as well.

I haven't heard anything. But I've never heard back from LIRR or MNR for any job I've applied for with them.

@Steelix500, thanks. The challenge will be to get every possible question answered correctly. So many people are taking this exam that one additional wrong answer could mean waiting a lot longer before getting called.

@Ed, I believe it's a 6-10 week training program, depending on the division. B division has more kinds of trains to learn, so it takes longer. Then you're on the job. One year probation from start of training to when you have job security. 3 months to get health benefits.

Thanks. I received the notice in today's (Saturday's) mail.

Thanks, @ Young. Crazy how many people applied for this exam. Only thing to do is try to do as well as I can on the exam and let everything else sort itself out. Very curious how long it will take them to establish a list.

I haven't received the exam date notice yet. Is it supposed to arrive by email or in the mail?

Congrats, Ralph. Good luck with the other tests.

Oops. I meant "post" at the end of my earlier post. See what I mean about attention to detail?

@SubwayGuy, thanks for the tips. I'm planning to study the NYC subway map - to pick up a copy from a token clerk, to familiarize myself with the parts of the subway system I don't usually use. From my prior experience with NYCT exams I would agree with SubwayGuy and just add that you should take your time and be very careful in answering questions. Getting one or two more answers correct could get you hired months earlier. But don't be nervous because anyone reading this boatd could score well on these exams. Everything is about attention to detail.