FBA2920

Is there any suggestions on how to take the open house exam? This is my 2nd time getting invited (9/23/19). The last time was in April 2016. I’m not sure what I did or didn’t do that had me fail before

Congrats to those who made it to phase 1. I too went for my pre-screening medical and vision on Tuesday, but have yet heard back from HR. Have you guys  been told what time the class is on May 3rd?

What kind of vision tests did they have you complete?

No you don't have to finish. But at the same time you have to have more than 1 question right in each section. Idk exactly how many though.

I wish everyone else luck. It's pretty disappointing that I couldn't pass the prelims but I'll give it one more shot next year.

The vocab is by far the easiest. So much so that they only give you 7 mins to complete it. The cognitive is the real challenge. But it's the time compression not the actual questions themselves that screwed me over. 10 mins to do solve their sequential problems is pretty insane.

Well I just failed the cognitive test. Really hard. The vocab was easy but the time constraints for the cognitive is just crazy. It's not that the questions are hard but they give you little time to understand them to begin with. No math

Does anyone know the vision requirements?

I just wish the Babylon branch had 2 more train in service within the 5-6 am schedule. The only train that will get me there on time is the 5:16 am train from Jamaica; I would get there too early though (a whole hour and 30 mins) But any train after that won't get me there on time lol. A 6:15 am train or somewhere around that would've been great. Oh well...

Fyi, I waited almost 10 months to get the call for phase 1. I advise to continue to study and don't lose hope

Damn 10 months?? The suspense must be ridiculous. I wish the process wasn't drawn out too long smh

I got my invitation to the LE open house on April 6th! I'm ecstatic! Can't wait.

There's an opening for Assistant Conductor (LIRR) if anyone is interested.

I was interviewed. I had my panel interview a little over two weeks ago. They called me 12 days after the S&D test to tell me that I passed and to choose a time slot out of two options of when I wanted to come. When I went to the S&D overview, the training coordinator said that there would be training classes every 3 months starting January, so maybe the next one is in May. I felt like I bombed the panel interview though so I wouldn't be surprised if I get that rejection letter lol.

 

Thanks I too wish you the best in getting a spot in the LIRR. The open house I went to 80 people were invited and only about 20or 30 something showed up. And a lot less (11) or so made it to the Signals and Definitions test. As mentioned earlier, Metro North is hiring for conductor if you're interested. I just hope to get that call that I made it through the interview lol

I'm sure you'll pass. I met a trainee at Valley Stream station in October 2016. He was operating the West Hempstead train, dude was ecstatic lol. I don't blame him. He went through a lot to get behind that console. After speaking with him he pretty much explained everything that was already mentioned in this thread. He just wished he had stable hours.

Yeah same here. Some of the applied status have been removed from mine as well don't know what that means. And the Assistant Conductor position was open from Feb 2 to 10 that's 8 days down from the usual 14 days guess they received all the applications they need in that short space of time. However, Metro North just opened a Conductor Trainee position today and it closes in 5 days. My question to anybody who made it to their compensated training, how much do they pay you for that training period. Just want to have an idea.

Thanks for the heads up. I don't favor the MNRR but I'll apply anyway. I'm sure I can switch agencies in the future. LIRR is much more convenient.

When I applied for the Locomotive Engineering position back in June, I didn't having anything under there indicating where I was in the process. Then come October I got a call to attend the open house. So maybe its just a glitch or something. I also didn't even get an email confirmation that I applied

I had my panel interview last Wednesday and it consisted of reading 14 pages of material which included the job description and responsibilities and rule G which is their alcohol policy. They then wanted me to apply what I read ( I wasn't explicitly told to do that but she kept saying its important what you're reading) to the interview questions. 20 questions and then after we were done I had to write down what skills/attributes do I have and how will i be successful in the program if selected. Never been more nervous

Damn that sucks smh. That's the same LE posting I applied to (June 2016). I wish you the best man. I'll just keep applying, persistence is key!

Damn that sucks lol. That's the LE position I applied to (June 5th 2016). Guess I'll keep trying; persistence is key! I also applied to the LE opening in Jan 2017. Hope I have any luck with that.

Here's something I'd like to understand.... When you go to "My Activities" to view your submitted applications, under "disposition status", why is the "applied" status missing under some of my applications? Does this mean that I'm no longer considered for that position? Where it usually says "applied" it is now blank. 

Hey The Saniter,

 

Guess its luck of the draw. I have applied to 6 positions since October of last year including Locomotive Engineer Trainee which I previously mentioned. Haven't received a response for any of them but the 7th position I applied for was the Assistant Conductor Trainee on Feb 2 when the positioned opened and received an email today (Feb 10) at 5:11pm when the post is about to close for a test invitation on Feb 23rd (I swear I check that MTA website every single day up to 5 times as well as my email since October). Im currently a 27 year old minority who would love to start and finish a career at the MTA LIRR. Shout out to drenyce311, been following your progress as we have the same drive to succeed. Hope to make it through to the end in one piece. 

I'm on the MTA site now. I don't see an opening for Assistant Conductor.... did it close?

In all honesty I don't have enough time to dedicate with a 2 year old and another baby on the way soon. It would decimate my life and my families lives. Maybe if I was 25 and single. Also the fact that if I failed out of Phase 2 I would be left with no job which is scary considering I have a mortgage and family etc. Too risky.

The only pro for me is the money but I can't base my career off of that. I currently make decent money but obviously not as much as an engineer. I guess I considered my family life versus money. I don't want to look back in 20 years and miss out on family memories. Holidays with my family etc. It reminds me of that movie Click with Adam Sandler. He fast forwarded through all the great memories with his family and found himself old and regretted it so much. I don't want to go through that lol.

Don't let the money potential blind you! You live once and money can't buy happiness. That's the way I see it. I'll stick to my IT work Monday to Friday with almost no commute and enjoy my work/family balance.

That's a noble decision. Honestly you would need a passion for railroading to do this job. The people who do it know what they're sacrificing. I'm only 26, I'm young. I have no family of my own yet but I do understand that if I were to have one I'll miss out on a lot of moments. I second guess my want for the job all the time but because this was something I always wanted to do since I was a boy my love for the job never goes away. So I'm consistently applying hoping I get called. My hope is that if I were to become an engineer that I would have reasonable work hours and that if I give a heads up way in advance to my superiors for special days I'll get that day off.

They are still in place as far as i know.  We'll see what happens when they get a new contract, but i cant imagine that the ble will give them up.  Also for those that are interested, they just posted the Engineer Trainee job on the MTA jobs website.

 

Really? They just had a posting in June 2016 (I applied for that one). I'll reapply then. Thanks for the heads up man. This is a job I know I'm passionate for.

I wish I can get called in the first place. Been applying for about 3-4 yrs now. Do they look for specific details in work history?