beanz

I'll never forget..I had TW for 4 months. I got a couple avas approved around my RDOs to make a mini break for myself and just relax for 4 days. Week of my mini-vacation suddenly RDOs became FS and f**ked my whole shit up. Ended up working Wed which should have been my day off and instead it was my 7th day in a row(I canceled the Monday AVA because it didn't make sense to use up a single day in th middle of it). That Wednesday, completely burnt out and looking forward to my TFS 3 day break, I overran a station 😂. Thanks screw office.

2 hours ago, Moody said:

I'm a bus operator right now in Staten Island. I'm taking the promotional test tomorrow.

I'm just wondering logistics. In school car. Are you reporting anywhere around the system every day ? Or every other day ? I'm trying to get a grasp on how an average few days would be.  Do they tell us in advance what places we are going to be ? Glady appreciate the feed back. 

They tell u in advance. U get a schedule of the whole training. Some days change here and there but not often in my experience. 

U will be traveling a lot. Some days u will go to yard A then yard B then yard A again. When I was in Schoolcar for B division I spent so much money on gas and tolls it was insane. So much time spent in traffic jams too.

18 hours ago, FRANKY said:

They scheduled to clear my medical hold on February 21. The last class schedule which they will send back to DCAS is on 19th. what should I expect after clear the medical hold? will they continue the hiring process? 

If I were u I wouldn't wait for that scheduled date if u already cleared the hold. Go to 130 with the documents and act like u didn't have an appointment and maybe they'll put u in that Feb 19 class.

52 minutes ago, trackerjack said:

you must go there and exert your dominance and do not back down if they challenge you aggressively. do not cower. this is the attitude that will help you survive down in the tunnels

Stare the guy in the front in the eyes as u piss on the counter and then ask for a starting date 🤣

2 minutes ago, trackerjack said:

"listen you little spoiled shrimp new-tech Throttle-JOCKEY.....back in MY day......we had to light a barrel full of garbage on fire just to keep the cab warm enough for us to commandeer the train.  look at what happened to my man 'Stubs'......yea he lost his hands from the cold!!!"

"The old timers were mean they didn't let us watch TV unless we had a picked job and we had to pee sitting down" 

1 minute ago, trackerjack said:

on the real though...... i'm just joking all this time. 

it's a really good job.  best i've had TBH

it's really easy too.  dont' let anyone tell you schoolcar is hard or the road is hard.  XX life isn't as hard as it seems.... 
Schoolcar is a joke.......signals is easy.  if you fail.......well........LOL!  no really, it's a joke.  no one fails

if you request which days you want off (RDOs) or what tour you want (AM / PM / MID) you will get it.  crew office is one of the nicest departments ever.
you will get what you want.

Job is a breeze.  i'm not going to quit. 
Those who really want this job, i wish you luck. it's really hard to get in, it's like hitting the Lotto really
Don't let the old geezers scare you saying bla bla bla they had it rough when they came her 20 years ago, coming in here after the 1st open competitive in the history of humanity.
yes they think they are manly and this is a manly job.  but don't pay attention to that.
this is the NEW RTO and WE OWN it now!  

if i can......i'll work this job as T/O for the next 40+ years. I love it so much.  as well as my fellow brethren

 

"In my day we had to wipe the windshield with our hands when it rained and u had to learn how to pull the break handle with your ass cheeks...don't tell me u have it rough whippersnapper"

1 hour ago, DEE123 said:

Can you resign so that we can get called a little faster? 

If everybody that was miserable resigned then there wouldnt be enough crews for service 😂

14 minutes ago, Amir said:

I literally agree with you, just because a neck size is bigger than 16-17 that can hold you up!? No lie when I went two weeks ago to downtown not everyone look like they were in shape. 

Neck size is just 1 factor. If u have a big neck and are also obviously overweight then it will hold u up but if u have a thick neck and are in decent shape then it's not gonna be an issue depending on what u put on the questionnaire. I have a neck over 18 inches thick but I'm 6'3 and been losing weight so my BMI actually went down from my first physical and the neck size didn't get me restricted.

21 minutes ago, Jay-Oh said:

For the entire weekend? You’re looking at 16+ years. But people are retiring at a crazy rate so it might change. 

Nah that depends...I know somebody who has less than 10 years and he's had weekends off for a couple years now. He first was able to get it during PMs and just a few picks ago he got it during AMs. He's in the B and he picks straight jobs.

You might also be able to get weekends off sooner if u pick XL midnights or PMs or even the refuse train. 

As for a piece of the weekend I know somebody who just had SM which she picked and she has 5 years in. She lost it this upcoming pick but it's not impossible to be able to get a piece of it within 8 years.

Lower your expectations people...the job pays great but it ain't gonna be all sweet 😂...if we had weekends off and flexible schedules the pay would drop drastically. I could have picked early AMs this pick and that would have been perfect for me I don't need weekends off as long as I'm working early AM and get to spend the evening at home with my kids. I may not have the schedule I want but I'm able to pick something that works for me right now. I'm 5 minutes from home and I work evenings so I can babysit my youngest during the day and save the insane amount of money I'd be paying for a daycare or babysitter. You can make it work for u too.

6 hours ago, DEE123 said:

What is a “bad day” for a Train operator. I’m still trying to understand why this job sucks. 
All I’m hearing is a bunch of NYC transit crap that is applicable in all positions in transit. Transit is transit no matter what position you have with them, of course management holds you accountable for literally everything.

Yeah you’re just a warm body and nobody cares about you and they will always find a replacement for you.

Yeah you’re gonna be on the extra list for like 5 years before you get to pick a steady schedule/route instead of 1 year with B/O. Fine.

Yeah they will have you working the weirdest times everyday where you’ll barely get any sleep for 5 years straight, understandable.

But I’m not really seeing any other reasons why the job sucks all I’m hearing is transit stuff that applies to all other titles. Is there anything particularly broad or specific that you guys can give me other than how good the senior guys have it compared to the new people? 

It's just the things u mentioned plus the homeless really. A bad day is when the road blows up and u are basically in and out all day without any breaks and lose most of your lunch break but not enough of it to put in for the no lunch. If you on a line like the 1 and do 3 trips everyday, a bad day can feel really rough. Honestly sometimes I'm tired of the grind but I just remind myself that I'm not really doing anything crazy like construction outdoors in the middle of winter and I'm making more than most new college grads. Overall it's a very good job in my opinion but u gotta be ready for that first 3 to 5 years of shitty schedules.

11 hours ago, trackerjack said:

U can DM me if u want my honest opinions.
We don't have to be influenced by these cliquey vibes putting positive uplifting optimistic undertones to my overly sinister negative intentions.

I used to also say "stop being negative" but u know what, tell it how u feel it. If somebody really wants this job, your posts won't matter to them. If somebody is undecided and doesn't really want it but is being pressured to do it and your posts makes them decide against it, good. They won't come down here and waste their time or anybody else's. Leave those spots for people who aren't so easily deterred by some hilarious honest reviews. 

Newsflash, all jobs suck. This one sucks extra hard on the bad days, but the money is great and the good days are great. Nothing like sitting on your ass for 8 hours for almost 40 an hour. And if u last long enough, in 20 years you might be able to pick a job where that's literally all u do. Sit on your ass for 8 hours getting out of having to do the one layup u are supposed to do becaus the dispatcher is your buddy. Then u can sit there sleeping on a chair while somebody who actually got his first drop in months has to do your layup because you are the "senior man". 

Or you'll get to have one of those jobs with a single trip and 3 hours of waa with a lunch break and just sit there on Facebook all day complaining about the complainers and pontificating about the job like you accomplished something when all u did is let time pass. Idk just me.

11 hours ago, SchoolCarMasochist said:

i'm OC too.  if u don't mind....how long ago did you went through this?  perhaps they were more lenient back in the day?
is there someone or a department I can speak to, to ask this question?  thanks

Not too long ago..it's all on a case by case basis. You are better off going down to 130 Livingston and speaking to a union rep who can go over to the operations training office in the same floor and talk to them. I've always heard u can reinstate your name back on a list as long as it's active unless the agency specifically rejects your request which they would do if u were considered a liability, but I've seen someone reinstate his name after failing his practicals. It really just depends on who u talk to from operations training.

17 minutes ago, RTOMan said:

Remember also which works for those who are promoted dont work for those from the open Competitive List..

I was from them open comp...idk if the poster said either way.

5 minutes ago, SchoolCarMasochist said:

What constitutes 1 year in title?  Is it 1 full year in actual days working on the road?  Or is it 1 year calendar days as an employee of Transit (since Day 1 of school car?
File number is the Test # correct?, not the seniority number?
Thank you again for clarifying.

It means from the date u are hired. U are in title as soon as u start.

File number is seniority number, just another name for it.

17 hours ago, SchoolCarMasochist said:

Question for those of you who Graduated school car, but never passed probation, quit and left, and then Re-hired to come back into School Car....

  - Did you got to Keep your Seniority # when you came back?

   - Did you kept your Vacation progression?  or did you had to restart from scratch?
     AKA - the 4 weeks vacation after 3 years deal, did you had to restart that?

When I got rehired I got my seniority back, my medical insurance restored right away and even my vacation progression.

Now I did get terminated and even tho I didn't pass probation, I did have more than a year in title when it happened so that may be a factor.

I returned after only 5 months and I was told that if a person comes back to title within the year u are entitled to your file number and all of your stuff but like I said there may be many different factors to that.

11 minutes ago, Comrade96 said:

im honestly surprised this list got extended again, like I knew folks werent cutting it but for it to be THAT bad? sheesh

I don't think that's why. They just haven't administered the new test yet and by the time they grade it and establish a list it could take years. If they wait that long to continue hiring they will find themselves in a huge shortage so they have no choice but to extend it again to at least have a pool to hire from.

1 minute ago, ealfinez said:

THIS is SAD AF... that confidence diminishes for some when theirs no TSS to lean on. Signals are you directions outside of control. You got instructions and still went BIE then your the problem not the job, respectfully 

Schoolcar needs to be longer in my opinion. Just cause somebody memorizes definitions doesn't mean they understand the signals. I've always thought that was flawed logic. I once had a classmate, who had all the definitions memorized like the back of his hand, ask me "so how do we key by a signal anyway?". That classmate is still out incident free so it's not so much a knock on him as it is that method of learning. Memorization does not equal understanding. Case in point this person and also the person back in the winter who tried to key by a home signal and split a switch. If he had any understanding of how the signals work he would have immediately realized how stupid it would be to key by a homeball, but all he had to lean on was memorization without understanding. Sad.

1 hour ago, RTOMan said:

The stories im hearing and the things im hearing on that radio got me shaking my head..

You out on yer own as a TO not YX  how do you NOT know the procedure for a Red Circle K?

Then say it on the radio you don't know..

You get Instructions on the radio how to do it, Then not do it right and still go BIE..

But they passed the signal test, how could this be? 😂

15 minutes ago, kev2112 said:

Per DCAS  the list now expires in September of 2024

Can't find that info...did they really? Good news for my bro

30 minutes ago, ealfinez said:

I thought the date it was open to file FOR the exam was December with the exam date to be determined for 2024.. are you misspeaking"?

I think they mean for the promotional. The open comp filing is in December.

On 8/12/2023 at 8:25 AM, ealfinez said:

Understand that this job with all its stresses obstacles etc, can't be beat. Pension is UNHEARD of in the private sector and unless your some day trader with a solid understanding and TIME your 401k isn't gonna cut it. Think like this, senior men will go as long as they can because TO THEM the MTA=PIMP.... Paper In My Pocket...and it don't stop, you got a scheduled job? as a Senior man it's probably your favored schedule cause you "got time" WHY would you leave?? BILLS MORTGAGE HARLEY PAYMENTS don't stop

Bro there's switching jobs at Utica that pay 11 hours and u do maybe 10 relays all day and a layup to the back and then sit around and not do shit. Not to mention relays at Utica are double ended by a switchman on each side not road TO on one end and switchman on the other like in the B division terminals. When I was YX in the A I didn't mind travelling all the way to Brooklyn from the Bronx when I got one of those jobs cause that was a guaranteed easy ass day.

If I'm 70 and can still walk and not have to use a diaper why the hell would I leave something so cushy 😂

8 minutes ago, RTOMan said:

Not at all im fine right where i am heck i wish they could pay me to say home... 

I don't mean u looking for movement for yourself...I mean you based your opinion of there's no movement on the upper tiers. With those Utica switching jobs paying 11 hours and the cushy yard jobs at small yards like 240 and Livonia hell no they not going nowhere.

9 hours ago, RTOMan said:

Nah its Not...

A Div folks aren't going anywhere...

U got a different perspective cause u a senior man so u looking for movement in the upper tier...in the lower tiers there's movement even if it's just people moving to the B. I had the numbers somewhere but I moved up something like 113 slots in the B call sheets and 69 in the A last pick.

6 hours ago, RTOMan said:

That's because you over in toy train land there's no movement i cant even get a good switching job with my file number..

Over here in the B Div folks are leaving...

As for the next five years?

Sounds about right most of my classmates will be gone..

Me included god willing...

I was in the B for 2 years. There seems to be more movement there because theres a lot more people so it's more obvious, but I find that the movement in both is just about the same percentage wise.