Jay-Oh

From what I’ve heard; the last open competitive test for T/O was in 2017, which was the test everybody on this list took. Future tests for T/O would be promotionals only. That’s from supervisors.

F train to Ave X

You would need a parking permit to get into the yard & then you’d better be there super early to even get a spot.

+1 to everything you said except Pitkin yard being easy parking. Jamaica yard is easiest to get in and find a spot.

School car will mostly be on a set tour. The hours are usually 7am - 3pm with Saturday/Sunday off until you get to YX and beyond.

Take it easy, the TA is not known for efficiency lol. Like RTOman said, try to practice patience, because if this is getting on your nerves so much, I can’t imagine what being on the road and XX will be like for you.

If you need to drive, then you can find ok parking a few blocks away unless you get there REALLY early. When I say early I mean 1.5-2 hrs early. There’s a residential area to the west. Like Keikyu said; don’t try to park in the parking lot of the school. You might get away with it for the first day, but without a permit, they’ll tow your shit. You’ll be spending a lot of time in the yards of your respective division. B Div - you’ll see Coney Island Yard, Bedford Park, Jamaica Yard, and Pitkin Yard the most.

Yeah 3 years as XX. I didn’t have a steady schedule in terms of assignments; but I kept the same tour, and the same days off for quite sometime. Then they gave me Saturday/Sunday off for half a year or so before changing it back to Wednesday/Thursday. They don’t change your days off often, but it does happen. They never change my tour, I was PM’s the entirety of my time as XX. Overall, it wasn’t too bad - the only thing that sucked was getting sent to the furthest terminal from my house a lot.

Assuming I end up picking something this coming pick, then 3 years.

It’s gonna be shit for a bit, but you’ll hear “it gets better” a lot as soon as you get in the suck and it’s true! After schoolcar, time really does fly by. I just hit my 3rd year and will be picking my 4 weeks of vacation and, likely, my first job soon. It still feels like I just got out of schoolcar yesterday. XX will suck, but as long as you accept that it’s part of what you signed up for, and that it’s just a phase in your career, it’s bearable. Think long term and big picture. Stay the course.

Different jobs have different start times. Usually the jobs that have “round” start and end times are yard/switching jobs and board. Otherwise; jobs have random start times within the range of your tour (AM, PM, MID).

When you finish schoolcar and come out as XX, you won’t need to worry about looking for overtime, because they will assign you overtime via board time & the mix-match of assignments you’ll be receiving from the crew office. Assuming that’s not enough, you can easily call the crew office asking what jobs they have available during your regular days off (RDO) and work that extra day, or you can listen out on the radio if they need someone to do late clears. Dispatchers also sometimes go into crew rooms asking if anyone wants to do a late clear/extra trip etc. During schoolcar though; you’ll be limited to 8 hrs a day. I’ve done late clears during YX and road posting, but that’s about the extent of the overtime available until you’re out on your own.

Your days will almost always be 8 hours during schoolcar. So if you start at 3, you’ll end at 11pm.

Did you see the memo sent out by Foye? We should take that into consideration as well.

Show up by 6am at least. It’s not a matter of when they open; because a line will form outside the building before they open.

Get there early, finish early.

Pretty sure you need a drivers license.

Yeah, some of these TSS’ get bored and they wanna mess with the newbies a little. It’s really not hard. The main thing that gets you in trouble down here is inattention. Schoolcar (if you have a good class) is probably the most fun you’ll have down in transit.

The union hall or other location for your initial orientation is in downtown Brooklyn. The school where they sort you into classes is located in Brooklyn close to Coney Island. As for actual class, you’ll be all over the system of your respective division (A/B).

It’s really not hard. Just a lot of information to digest. A good TSS will be able to break it down to where you’re focused on the important things instead of the fluff.

One step at a time. Thousands before you have got through training with no problems, why shouldn’t you? If I could do it, anyone can.

Congrats to those getting called for medical processing. When you get your report location & time - make sure you’re punctual. The first few day you’re probably going to be at the union hall, after that you’ll be at the school before they split you into classes: If you’re going to drive to the school, I suggest getting there at least 30 mins - 1 hr early to find parking. Don’t park in the school parking lot unless you somehow have a TA parking permit. Wear the approved boots you got off the website & the proper clothing as specified in the paper you receive after being sworn in. Good luck!

Welcome to the suck. Think of it this way - it can only get better from here.

I've ran into multiple school car TSS' on the road recently. So yes.

Oh I believe it. From my understanding - he's calmed down a lot and kept his nose clean, so he probably learned what not to do.