Jay-Oh

Whatever your situation that is preventing you from sleeping enough & studying - I hope you can find a way to alleviate it. You need to sleep to rest your body and mind, especially when it comes to retaining information. I’m not going to lie to you or sugarcoat anything; it’s a very real possibility that this job isn’t for you, but I think you should stick it out in schoolcar and see if things click in place eventually. You gotta do your part, don’t be afraid to reach out to your TSS if you’re not understanding something. My TSS’ during schoolcar did overtime hours simply to help out 2 - 3 people in my class. I guarantee you that if you pass and get out on the road, you’ll realize that the job is not hard at all.

Are you studying after you get home? If not, I suggest you make time to do that. You’re not expected to know everything immediately, but you need to learn how to filter the information you’re taking in and focus on the important bits. Also, keep in mind this is only the second week of training, you’re trying to rewire your mind to process transit shit, it’s going to be overwhelming. Keep on top of studying, read your signals and notes daily, you’ll be alright.

They should have given you a booklet with all the signals you need to know on it. If not, ask for it.

Honestly, any picked job is better than XX. Knowing when and where you’ll be working everyday assuages much of the pains of being XX, because now you can plan around that schedule. Yes, XL does exist and it has the randomness of XX, but at least you know you’ll only be working specific lines. I haven’t had a job pick me fortunately, so I don’t have experience with that.

The job is what you make it. Sure, XX sucks, but it’s only about 2-3 years out of a (hopefully) 25+ year career. Things get much easier when you can pick a job.

I suggest you get there an hour early so you can snag a spot in front of the school. Don’t park in the parking lot; you need a transit parking permit for that. There’s decent parking around the area though, so it’s not too bad. Just be prepared to circle around a 1-3 block radius at 6-7am. Make sure you read the signs.

Before someone posts about how “nobody wants to work anymore” - people quit simply because the schedule is not compatible with their life. Some people prefer a better work-life balance which, let’s be honest, this job sucks for. It doesn’t help that the TA really does treat you like a number when it comes to discipline and scheduling. It’s an easy job, but the authority makes it more stressful than it needs to be honestly. The crew office is known to be petty, so it also affects overall employee retention during the early stages of XX. If you go into it expecting to get sent far every assignment, you’ll either get what you expected or you’ll be pleasantly surprised. It’ll suck for the first year or two, but once you pick your first job, it’ll feel so much more easy. I didn’t believe it when I was XX, but it really does get better. Lack of sleep can be a problem, but remember that our job is safety sensitive, so if you are tired or don’t have enough rest; you have the option of calling the crew office and requesting another/later assignment due to insufficient rest. Remember that XX employees are entitled to 12 hrs between shifts, use this info at your discretion to ensure you’re well rested and alert for your shift. (Don’t call the crew office and cite insufficient rest simply because you went out partying the night before or you chose not to rest for whatever reason, this is more for when they assign you a job without enough time in between shifts.) I’m rooting for y’all, good luck out there, do your best. If the job isn’t for you or the XX schedule is too much to handle, there’s no shame in admitting that. This isn’t the only job in the world, nor is it the best for everyone.

If it has a screen and has the potential to distract you; it’s considered an electronic device (even smart watches). Don’t use it at all unless you’re in the crew room. If you’re riding the train / deadheading, you can also use it, but that’s at your own risk because now your awareness of your surroundings is limited. I would keep vigilant with the surge in assaults on transit workers these last few years.

I mean, that’s his only option other than just turning down the job or pushing it 2-3 months. At home tests are pretty accurate from my experience, but if he tests negative and he’s unsure, he could simply just push the time regardless.

Try to flush it from your system if you can. Testing positive will disqualify you, so do some at home tests, if you’re positive, push the appointment back.

Depends which part of training you’re up to. If you’re still in the classroom, you have a good chance of having Thanksgiving off, but if you’re in YX, Road Ops, or Road posting - chances are that you’ll be working during the holidays. I was lucky enough to start Dec 2018, so I had the holidays off since I was still going through classroom instruction.

You’ll find that we work every holiday.

This is false. They have not started matching.

That’s why my leave balance is right at the threshold before they disqualify me for promotions. We all have lives, and I made sure I had time for my mental health and family when I was XX. Dont be afraid to just straight up call out if you’re exhausted. They have intimidation tactics the crew office like to use, but who cares? If you’re falling asleep while operating, it could cause even more troubles than being put on sick control. Pay your dues, yes, but don’t pay in blood (not unless that’s what you want). Edit: Disclaimer - Be very careful with booking off when you’re on probation. You still need to make sure you have the job fully first.

If you can, just suffer it for a few years, before you know it - you’ll be picking jobs out of the BX and Washington Heights. Keep in mind that there are times where divisional transfer spots are available, even as XX. There are options. Also, from my understanding, the commute from the BX to queens isn’t too bad compared to Brooklyn as long as you drive.

It has its own challenges, but it depends on the TO, it’s not for everyone. However; what I will say is that almost all the TO’s I know that went to worktrains never came back to the road.

Yes, but they waived that requirement for that particular class. Fresh out of schoolcar they got sent to work trains to get qualified lol.

You get to pick, but it’s contingent on if both divisions have open spots. Sometimes a whole induction would get placed in one division, regardless of what you want. Other times; like my induction group, we got to pick - but with limited spots in each. Say there are 70 inductees, they’ll have like 40 spots in the A division and 30 spots in the B. They’ll call you up in order of your list number / seniority within the induction and have you choose until one of the divisions fill all their spots, then the rest of the induction gets assigned to the other. Hell, I’ve even heard of whole induction classes being assigned to C division (work trains) right after schoolcar.

Sometimes. I spent months back to back uptown even though they knew for a fact that I lived in Coney Island lol.

Yeah, I’m not discounting your hardship during XX. It’s better now, especially after you gain some seniority in XX.

Overtime is calculated by the minute on a daily basis. So if you work 9 hours in the day, you’ll get paid for 9 + .5 hours.

2 guaranteed RDO’s a week, but as XX you will end up working more than 40 hours a week more often than not. I think the most I had during XX was something like 70-ish hours for one week. All those hours I worked was not optional OT. It was board time + long jobs overall. I definitely had no social life the first year & a half.

For some people, work life balance and family time trump money. That’s why we always say this job isn’t for everyone.

You’re going to need to learn discretion on this job and how to be incognito. I’m sure the sentiment is appreciated and that you meant no harm, but there are some things that shouldn’t be shared on public forums/group chats. Remember the adage; loose lips sink ships. Use more private channels for situations like this, and don’t overshare down here, because more often than not - it’ll bite you in the ass.

It’s sporadic. Some days you’ll sign on board and immediately get assigned a job. Other days you’ll sit for like 6 hours and then get a whole job. Sometimes you even clear the board and don’t get assigned anything.