LIRR 154

All I can say is keep applying. Been applying for various positions for the last 3-4 years.82 were invited for the orientation I attended in January. 42 showed up. 32 passed the cognitive and vocabulary exam and were interviewed. 34 were invited to the signals and definition overview, 29 showed up. Signals and definition test day 17 showed up. They said they'll be lucky to even get 5 people to pass the signals and definition. But so far it seems like they're inviting 82 people at a time. Seems like an overview every month. For how long I can't tell you that. Just lucky to even get this far in the process. Like LIRR154 said. Even if you go for your panel interview, it's still not a guarantee. Until the time comes. I will not quit my job until I get a call to start phase 1. Even then I'll continue to work at my current job. If I pass phase 1. Then I'll I'll quit my job for phase 2.

I would advice you if you make it to phase 2 to try to take a leave of absence from your current job instead of just quitting. Phase 2 is where the most drop outs and failures happened.

Also for anyone interested in becoming an engineer, I can absolutely guarantee you that you are underestimating how much of your life you will sacrifice during training, and even after you qualify, to the craft. Make sure it's something you really want to do, and understand that you won't be home for holidays, birthdays, barbecues, weekends, etc. And if you aren't willing to make those sacrifices and put in the time to study during the training phase, you WILL fail out. I gaaarroooonteee.

Very true indeed.

Good to hear. And good luck..

I'm pretty sure this was discussed already. But what's the difference between engineer and conductor?

I'm not being sarcastic or mean spirited but if you don't know the difference then my advice to you is to do some heavy research in Railroading on your spare time before you go in.Just a little advice , you must do some reading up on different positions before you apply. That's a question you should know and again I'm not being mean.

Hey lirr 154 thanks for that post I'm keeping my head up. Just sucked to get close. I knew if I had gotten into phase 1 I would be good. There'd be no way i was washing out if I got passed that 2nd interview. Hey dre what's ur email

I know the feeling and keep trying. They will need more Engineers in the years to come. Or just to get your foor in the door try go for a Station appearance maintainer position or Cam position. Many employees come come in from one craft and switch to another craft after their first year of probation.

 

So, this was your second time applying for Engineer? Is is the second application that you're referring to when you say you weren't called backup after the panel?

First time..

Did you apply for the LET position again after that or did you stop applying for it after you didn't pass the panel the first time?

They let me apply for Engineer while I wait for an open spot in the Yardmaster roster.

Congr

Just got the call. I passed. Panel is scheduled sometime at the end of May.

Congrats kid..

Why so long for the panel though? Its usually a week after the test.

I guess I blew the 2nd interview. Extremely disappointing.

Dude don't take nothing personal or for granted that it was your fault. Believe me when I say there is alot of politics in the RR especially when it comes to hiring. It may be you or it may not be you. I went for Engineer 3 years ago and I had the panel interview and to find out they told me I didn't pass it. Till this day I still don't know what happened and I was an internal applicant. Right now I'm going through alot of stress over this Yardmaster position that I was next in lined to be called when a spot opened. All I'm saying is don't beat yourself up , try for another position or another craft. Believe me Engineer isn't the best job on the property.

Thanks! Studied my ass off. 4-5 hours a day. Even at work during my spare time and during my lunch break. Study study study. Now I guess the Panel interview is next. Don't know what to expect on that interview. But going to go in there confident and relaxed.

Panel you will meet an HR representative and a Road Foreman. Road foreman are the ones who supervise the Engineers.

Good Luck dre..

Does anyone know the best way to apply for a job at LIRR or MNRR? because I was trying to find out and apply.

mta employment website. And you will see both lirr and mnrr jobs.

Its going to cold next winter and next winter there will be broken rails again. If you have a better idea to maintain the tracks or better materials that can used , tell the commuters committee. They would like to know your method. That's the problem with armchair quarterbacks who think they know it all but don't have a clue. Signal problems I give you that, Equipment problems I give you that also as well as trains that come in a car or two short or even cancelled. But broken rails is a seasonal issue. Its nearly impossible to stop nature from having an effect on any material in extreme weather.

I'll ask against what material shall be used since this steel the LIRR uses is not standard. Also please stop with the tracks not being maintained properly bs. You don't have a clue how the tracks are maintained. If they wasn't maintained well we would be having track issues all year long but we don't do we? What time of year are the most track issues , winter. When do all RR's expect the most track problems, winter. I ask you again what material should be used if the one used now is not up to your standards in the winter time?

lol... Terrible comparison... NYC has terrible roads in part because the city uses INFERIOR materials to repave roads, which means more potholes and roads that deteriorate much faster.  I think he has some good points.  For what commuters pay, it's a ripoff.  Metro-North even with its accidents over the years is still the superior commuter rail service, which I use regularly.  My only gripe is the lack of seats.

Ah it flew over your head as usual. I mention nothing about repair or material used.I was mentioning what winter time does to city streets to begin with. What other season effects the streets in the city? Its no secret that the DOT repairing methods suck. But this is when they are the most busiest just as the track dept around this time is busy at "all" the carriers. Don't you have a express bus to catch. Lol

There is a difference between looking into why they are happening, and showing their customers that they are investigating this and showing they are looking to improve.  They aren't doing this.  At the February MTA Board LIRR Committee Meeting Nowakowki did not indicate that they were taking a serious look into why so many broken rails were happening.  He did not demonstrate that the LIRR was concerned about this trend and looking to improve.  His attitude was that broken rails are pretty much a consequence of it being cold outside, which is the easy answer. Just chalking things up to the weather is how nothing changes and how nothing improves.

 

I should not just be happy that they found and fixed an issue before I or other commuters were injured or killed, I should be wondering why on earth the defect happened in the first place...

What is there to improve? Broken rails is something all RR deal with in winter and extreme summer months. Same as when city streets become like a haven for pot holes in the winter. Steel with extreme weather doesn't do well especially when you have equipment weighing a ton rolling over it continuously. When you come with steel that is % 100 proof against any element known to man let me know or better yet let the MTA know. Because surely you would become a rich man.

And speaking of trend look up the FRA reports on broken rails and tell me where the LIRR stands compared to other carriers. You would be surprised.

Wait a minute how do you know nobody is willing to look into why these broken rails are happening. Are you in the track engineering dept because last I look doc you wasn't so stop with the assuming. Around this time of year , broken rails do happened. Instead of complaining on why they are happening , shouldn't you be more relieved that they are caught in the first place. I agree you have your right to gripe and tell your frustrations about the service just like any other tax paying customer, but your different and your agenda is different. Believe me I read your comments in the past in the other forum .

Still trying to wrap my head around the text below???

Come on now really?? Alot of managers are now learning the job from a book on how to run a RR. No more experienced RR people up top are calling the shots like in the past.

Got my email for the signals and definition overview. Good luck to everyone that got a email invite. See you guys on March 13th.

Good luck and study. Also the day of the test come on time. For some reason the last test just about half was missing. They won't allow nobody in a minute after the test.

I need spell check here because I don't understand the above post.

 

Face it... The LIRR is a glorified subway...

What is it you don't understand ?? My typing skills on the phone aren't the best but what is it you don't understand about my post . Hey if the LIRR is a glorified subway in your opinion so be it.

LIRR42 I know you have a personal gripe with LIRR especially the workers from the other forum.But you have to believe safety is first in any course of operation. I'm not here defending all LIRR foul ups because management make moves during daily operations that make their own employees shake their head. Alot of text book managers now no more experienced RR which is trying to be phased out. Believe they make alot of decisions I don't agree and I feel for the commuters alot . But broken rails is not something to be played around with or even taken lightly. Alot of us don't like when disruptions happened but an instance like broken rails , they rather see disruptions instead of an mass disaster.

Usage is something that can (and should) be taken into account in the design process, so that's not really an excuse.  Nevertheless, I don't believe that's universally the case.  There are segments of track (like between New York, Secaucus, and Newark on NJT or between Grand Central, Mott Haven, and Wakefield on Metro-North) that likely see a greater number of trains pass over their tracks over the course of a day, and they manage to do that without experiencing a large number of broken rails.

 

Additionally, several of the locations where some of the seventeen broken rails have occurred (Greenlawn, Central Islip, Central Islip, Islip, Bay Shore, Central Islip) don't see an incredible amount of trains over the course of the day, and certainly a lot less than some of the busier segments on Metro-North and NJT...

Design process? Are you talking about the layout ? Their course of the day is nowhere near compared to AM, PM and also add off peak hours capacity to which the LIRR runs. I wasn't giving an excuse just some factors. What are you actually insisting here that the broken rails are "not" happening? I've seen some tracks buckle and break myself and its dangerous. What do you want? The trains to continue to go along over the broken rails as if nothing happened. Broken rails do happened in other systems as well . And with MNR problems lately , don't assume just because it isn't reported. I know a few MNR workers and they going through some things between workers, management and FRA. You would be surprised of the amount of MNR workers trying to jump ship and attending LIRR open houses for employment.

Was it only the coldest February on Long Island and warm and tropical in the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, Boston, and Chicago?  Last time I checked, the weather outside in Metro-North and NJTransit territory was remarkably similar to the weather that LIRR trains have to operate through, and neither of those railroads have come anywhere close to having 17 broken rails so far in 2015...

I would say usage also plays a huge part in the broken rails as well with the cold. None of the territory you mention system is as busy as the LIRR as far as round the clock trains running.

I read the job requirements also and nowhere in it did it mention or state that a drivers license was a requisite requirement for the job. I know the NYCT, LIRR, and Metro North are different worlds. But if it were a requirement then LIRR would have put it in the job announcement on line . I am in the process of taking care of my DL.

Think about it everything isn't going to be in plain view. One record the RR looks at for in hiring engineers is driving record also they are going to want to know do you have reliable transportation. Trust me the RR runs from Penn to Montauk and other outer eastern areas. You are going to have to drive to certain areas and can't rely on the trains always. Its 24/7 7 days a week operation. Get your license as soon as possible if they allow you to move on. Trust me I'm an employee and I know.

Im looking at the job posting that they gave us from the orientation. It doesn't state anything about the drivers license there. But either way make a copy of your NYS ID (its the same 9 digit number even if you were to get your license)I would get one either way. Also from my personal experience from the cognitive exam, take your time. Do not rush through the questions. Its pretty straight forward. Just read it and look for what they are asking for. I didn't answer all the questions for the Sequence and Punctuation's and format because they don't give you enough time for it. And for the Flow charts they gave 30 minutes to answered. They just want to see how many you can you get right. If you pass then they will interview after the exams are graded. from 41 applicants in the orientation i attended, 10 failed. I overheard one guy say that he answered all the questions. And another guy told him that he failed. Sure enough he did fail. The test is to monitor your logical thinking and how well you follow directions. 

 

If transit can hire guys with no drivers license to operate their trains. Then maybe LIRR can too. Not sure. Good luck!

Transit and LIRR are two different worlds. Don't let the MTA umbrella fool ya. We here get watched by FRA and NY state IG.Remember LIRR employees are state and federal employees.

Thanks for that info, though I wish I could any info on the job protections with this position (layoff clauses, civil servant and such), can't find anything, not even a bargaining agreement!

Also, is it known if you pass (outside of the tests) after serving the 12 months? Or someone needs to sign off on you to be bumped up to Engineer? I see it says a minimum of 12 months, so I wasn't sure if that means you "float" as a Trainee until someone retires or they call you into service as a full rate.

Is the Phase two alone 12 months? Or is 12 months, including the Phase 1 training?

I remember reading in the posting that you jump to the 100% pay scale after completion of Phase training, which is a minimum of 12 months, which helps, because you go from $26.xx to $36.xx, higher if their union gets a contract, which I think might push their hourly up to near $40 perhaps.

Also, the original posting didn't say anything about a driver's license being required, but the initial orientation papers say you need to bring a copy of it. Though I wonder if that's just as a government ID or so.

Once you finish phase 2 including passing all the finals which 7 days written and verbal plus PC (physical characteristics) related which means you can draw the whole RR . You graduate. Not only are you a qualified Engineer but your also a qualified instructor. Its long and grueling but not impossible.