LOQV

Wow extended training. That's new. 8+4 I guess Alesso is a good instructor. He has 28 years in the job. I can't stand his voice though.

Yes I'm in the A division also

Congrats on getting the A division.

Congrats MrCka I hope to be stating the same thing on April 11th of next year.

I have 3 more months of school car left. My second signals exam is in 2 weeks.

Definitely read this thread L Bo. I'm in my 4th month of school car and I still read this thread from time to time.

Congrats L Bo. I'm one of the few train operators that post on here who is still going through schoolcar so if you have any questions feel free to ask.

I wonder how long it will take for the mta to send out the scores and list numbers for this exam since the mta is now fully in charge of this process.

Congrats Erik I hope to be celebrating passing probation just like you in April.

To answer your questions noekozz; I started as a bus operator on July 1 2013. I was offered the bus operator position because at that time the mta had a hiring freeze for conductors but they were hiring bus operators so I decided to take the bus operator position to get my foot in the door. I also took the last open competitive train operator exam in 2009 and got a 95 on that. When I originally got the letter in the mail from the mta to start the hiring process for train operator in July of 2013 I had just started training for bus operator so therefore I turned train operator down at first. I had my name reinstated on the train operator exam list in November of last year and I officially got promoted to train operator on April 11th of this year.

The reality of life as a new conductor or train operator is each day you might have to report to work at a different borough and you will have to do lots of studying in order to pass all of the exams and quizzes that are given during school car. As far as going to school and working for transit is concerned; it will be hard to do in the beginning of your career because when you first start on the road by yourself you will not be able to pick your own schedule. You will have to call the crew office everyday for your schedule. Your days off might change each week and your tour (am pm midnights) can change each week. When I was a bus operator I did know one person who was going to school but since I've been a train operator I have yet to meet a train operator or conductor who is going to school. Having a social life in the beginning of your career will be challenging also.

The starting pay will go up also along with the top pay most likely when the new contract is ratified. I recommend that you file to take the next open competitive train operator exam also.

Does anybody know the induction date for the July class?

I wish everybody luck who took this conductor exam. I'm currently a train operator. I scored a 97.3 on the last conductor exam (8094) which was given in December of 2008. I didn't receive the letter in the mail from the mta to start the hiring process until August 2013. By then I was already a bus operator for transit so I turned the position down. So my best advice to everybody is to try not to think about this job until the mta starts hiring people from this list. Otherwise you will drive yourself crazy. But conductor is a very good job and by the time you guys start the top pay for conductor will probably be around 31 or 32 dollars an hour because our current contract expires in January. I hope to see all of you down the road in the future.

Good luck qbenguy. Feel free to ask me any questions in the future that you may have.

I got a 97 on my midterm. It wasn't too bad. Just study everything that you've learned from day 1. As far as the practical goes make sure you don't forget to check all of your angles, ebv's, and make sure all of your mdc's are in run. As long as you do all of those things you should be ok.

Thanks Eriknyc

When it comes to schoolcar you will be going to different train yards every day and you will be spending a lot of time in the classroom learning all of the signals. I just passed my signals exam today, so the more time that you spend in the classroom going over the signals the better. I passed my medical on April 6 and I was placed in the April 11th class. I had my name reinstated on the list because when my name was reached on the list in 2013 I had just started my 10 day training as a bus operator. Since I was a bus operator for the MTA prior to accepting the train operator title, this was treated as a promotion for me. I didn't have to resign from being a bus operator.

Thanks feel free to ask me any questions.

So far my schoolcar experience has been pretty good. I passed my practical exam on Friday and my signals exam is Wednesday. The time is going by fast.

Well for me this job is worth the wait because as a train operator you don't have to deal with the public. I am a former bus operator so from my perspective train operator is one of the best jobs out there. All you have to worry about is operating your train safely. Everything else is the conductors responsibility.

Just be patient bx316. This job is definitely worth the wait. I'm currently going through schoolcar so if you have any questions when you start feel free to ask.

From everything I've heard from multiple tss's it normally takes two years on the job to be able to pick a schedule.