Jay-Oh

Don’t forget to add in the overtime. +2.5 hrs in this situation. He’d get paid for 15.5 hours with overtime factored in.

Haha…haha….haha….

Lol

Took me 3.5 years for RDO relief. 3 years for XL. Was able to build myself a nice package fully out of the terminal nearest my house. 2 hour commute turns into a 10 minute commute everyday.

There’s only one job on the A that uses the 68A, as Keikyu said, the job is A316. You do 1 trip 207 - Far Rock and back, then you take the train light down to 135 spur, change ends and wait for the tower to let you go. Then you go up to CCYD.

Yeah; that’s the only downside for those not uptown/in the Bronx. Also, thanks for correcting me, I knew it was one of those.

A315 (I think) is a one tripper that only uses a 68A, ends with a layup to concourse yard though.

Before you do, I’d like to ask if you have any TSS study material.

The job certainly isn’t for everyone. You need to evaluate for yourself if the long hours and random report & clearing locations will be something you can handle/work into your life. XX isn’t exactly hell, but it’s no cakewalk either, there are easy days and there are hard days. Also, simply being off XX isn’t a magic flip of the switch where you suddenly have the best schedule for you, you can get stuck with an open job that reports/clears far from your home with hours that are completely foreign to you. The immediate benefit of being off XX is the increased predictability and structure in your work schedule. Outside of schoolcar, you will not have weekends off for a good couple of years unless the crew office wills it during XX. You will, more likely than not, have to work major holidays. You will end up working some 12, 13, 14 hour days from sitting on board all day and getting placed into a full job or the railroad blowing up. You will end up traveling to and working every terminal in the city in your respective division, regardless of where you live. You will miss events/gatherings/celebrations in your life. You will have weeks where all you did was work, you’re exhausted and only want to sleep on your RDO’s. You will experience fatigue and boredom in this job, and you must do everything in your power to fight it so you can stay on point. There are better jobs out there. However, you also will have a union backed job with a relatively low barrier of entry that allows you to easily tap 6 figures annually should you want to. You will receive a pension at the end of your years of service. You will receive a paycheck every 2 weeks, and checks from transit don’t bounce. You will have job security, more than the private sector or even the administrative end of the public sector because without the operational titles, the MTA lose revenue. You will receive benefits for you, your spouse, and your children. You will have a pretty cool job that can prove to be cathartic to other stresses in life; imagine cruising around under the city with all green signals, nobody to bother you, just you and your thoughts, peace and solitude. You will have avenues for progression if you figure T/O isn’t for you; take exams for TD, TSS, TW/O, if you don’t want to operate. There are much worse jobs out there. Theres a reason so many people bitch and moan about the job, yet they’re still here collecting their paychecks. Do what’s best for you and your family, either take the job or don’t. If you do, come down here with eyes wide open. Know and expect the challenges everyone has brought up, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised when the easy days come. You’ll be pleasantly surprised that you’re able to get off XX and pick a job with a not so terrible schedule close to home after only 2-3 years of randomness. Take the time to carefully consider the pros & cons. I’m biased, so I would suggest you take the plunge, eat the shit sandwich for a few years then eat caviar for the rest of your life after. If you absolutely can’t afford to work a fluctuating schedule or can’t afford to work weekends/holidays; then unfortunately this job is not for you. Transit does give religious exemptions when it comes to scheduling, so if the reason you can’t work weekends is related to religion, they will work with you on that provided you give them proof. I wish you the best of luck.

Training depends on division you go to. I believe it’s around 6 months for A division and 9 months for B. You’ll take multiple exams on rules and procedures relating to train movement and troubleshooting trains. If you fail the signal exam you will lose the job. You should really search and read this entire thread because you’re not the first person to ask all those questions.

Hey man, I’m also bald. I wasn’t when I came down here LOL.

100% agree with your points. Except it took me 3 years of XX before picking, but more people are retiring now than 2018-2021.

Talking to supt and writing a g2 doesn’t automatically mean you’re in trouble. Just remember to keep your statement concise and to the point. Don’t give up more detail than necessary. Cover your ass. I dropped the handle when I was fresh out, spoke to a supt & TSS, then wrote a G2, nothing came of it. Most of the time they have you speak to supervision/management to see if you’re impaired in anyway (aka drunk, high) after an incident.

Yes. The moment you get touched in an unwanted/aggressive manor or have some random shit (solid or liquid) thrown at you, that constitutes an assault.

Call the crew office, and the keyword you want to use is “unsafe” due to lack of sleep. It’s not fun, it’s not comfortable, and it’s not conducive to quality of life, but it does get better with time. 3 years here and I’m going into my 2nd pick. The crew office shenanigans tone down after maybe a year or so. I stopped seeing the Bronx and Washington Heights (I live in Coney Island) quite as much. Also, I bought a car specifically to travel to and from work. If you work PMs, the traffic to work sucks, but if you get out anytime after 10pm, you’ll cut a 2 hr subway ride home down to a 30-45 min drive.

I wouldn’t bank on that when you’re done with schoolcar. I spent a month straight reporting to 207th and Bedford Park when I first came out, and I live in Coney Island. They’re most likely going to send you all over the system for the sake of “experience” during XX. Some people have it better, some people have it worse, but you will definitely end up all over.

Only a rumor, it’s not closed until they say it is. With the crew shortage down here, it would be illogical for them to close the list so quickly. Then again, transit isn’t known to be logical.

Nope, your schedule will fluctuate.

Not that weird. You’re all in the same trailer during training in the yard with limited circulation. My whole class got sick once, the only exception was a single TSS.

Exactly what it sounds like. You’ll be assigned any amount of hours for the week as they need you to work. Since you’ll be working a variety of different assignments everyday with rarely any repetition; you’ll most likely break over 50 hours for some weeks purely because of the mishmash of jobs you’ll get. You cannot turn down the assigned extra hours when you’re XX. The only way to “turn down” the overtime is to call out sick, which I strongly suggest you avoid for your first year or two. Don’t worry too much about it; you’ll see what we mean when you finish schoolcar and hit the road.

It’s there if you look for it. You’ll be assigned nonnegotiable overtime when you’re XX.

Relax. You’re overthinking things too much. If you keep stressing like this; you’re gonna end up like one of my classmates that freaked out over whether his watch lit up or not. He ended up quitting within the first 4 days of orientation.

After you finish school car, you’ll be on the road. Your first day will seem abrupt, like you’re just tossed out into the wild, but it won’t be too bad if you paid attention. They usually have the TSS at that terminal ride with you for the first or second half of the trip.

PM’s and Midnights are usually what they give newbies. But you will fill out a “wish list” asking for certain tours & days off. You will most likely not get everything you ask for, but sometimes people get lucky.

Your days off and tour will change. It’s unlikely they’ll give you AM’s when you come out of schoolcar; though I’ve seen it happen.