Will Anyone Get Hired by MTA Before 2019?

Donald · December 12, 2010

Has anyone else given up on being hired by the MTA? I scored in the low 400s on conductor exam 8094 (open competitive) and have heard absolutely nothing back, other than getting my socre. I have pretty much forgotten about ever being hired and am instead taking every other civils ervice test I am qualified for and might even go back to school to get certified in HVAC repair.

And to be honest, deep down inside, I am hoping that I never hear back because stepping over 3rd rails all day scares the poop out of me. For all of the train buffs here, being a conductor or even a TO is not as glamorous as you think it is. You will likely hate the job within a week. My father is a retired conductor, so I know A LOT about the job. Odd hours. Rats. Homeless/ crazy people. 3rd rails. Close encounters with moving trains. The list goes on. And by the time you retire, 50% of your hearing will be gone.

Locomotion69 · December 12, 2010

I am not on the C/O list but on the 8006 B/O list. And nah "give up' is not in my vocabulary son. They call me Everlast for a reason. Some people just cant take the heat in the kitchen.

So did your daddy drive you to take the C/O exam? it sure sounds that way to me. Oh and another thing not everybody on a MTA hiring list is a "Buff"

Nah, nah nah nah Hey Hey Goodbye! Don't let the door hit you on the way out! :tup: :tup: :tup: :tup:

SpikeMauler · December 12, 2010

This is probably not the best time to be looking to get hired by the MTA. They're still talking about more layoffs down the road, tho from what I read they might be bringing back some laid off employees soon(let's hope). I know they're still hiring in Track Dept. I also know they're currently hiring Iron workers, Painters, Carpenters, Telephone Maintainers and some other specialty titles which I can't remember at this time. I know this because we(track dept/days)are being sent these employees(still in school) almost daily(for the last 6 months or so)to field train in flagging.

As far as the odd hours,rats,homeless,crazy people,3rd rails,hearing loss and close calls with choo choo's? Yes,yes,yes,yes,yes,yes and yes. You sign up for all of that, not to mention a little steel dust here, a little typhoid there etc...(jk). Dealing with the aforementioned hazards is an average night in Track Dept and I'm sure for some RTO personnel as well. The job's not for everyone...

Blatherskite · December 12, 2010

I am not on the C/O list but on the 8006 B/O list. And nah "give up' is not in my vocabulary son. They call me Everlast for a reason. Some people just cant take the heat in the kitchen.

So did your daddy drive you to take the C/O exam? it sure sounds that way to me. Oh and another thing not everybody on a MTA hiring list is a "Buff"

Nah, nah nah nah Hey Hey Goodbye! Don't let the door hit you on the way out! :tup: :tup: :tup: :tup:

Ok, so we know why they call you everboob. Can you tell us why they call you jackass? I would say the reason for jackass is the obnoxious post you just wrote, one of many that you write. If his daddy drove him there, at least he has a daddy (probably unlike you because if you had a father you would have been wacked across the head for being such an obnoxious piece of crap), and one that apparently cares about him to warn him about the pitfalls he may experience at a job he may take in the future. The way you're acting, I doubt you had any type of father around you. You sound like you were raised by Bobby Brown. Your post sounded as if it were written by a 12 year old not aware of just how pathetic he is. The funny thing is that I doubt you will ever be a bus operator, so all the crap you're talking is just as meaningless and pathetic as you are. The way you write, I would say there are a lot more words than just give up not being in your vocabulary "son". So while he becomes a conductor hating the job, you can sit there and be jealous crying in a pool of your own drool asking why can't you have what you want, and he gets the job he doesn't want. He also didn't say everyone on the list was a subway "buffoon". He said for all the train "buffoons" here. Try learning some reading comprehension before you try to make someone feel stupid. It may keep you from looking stupid in the future "son".

Donald, if the hiring rate continues the way it is right now at Transit, you should get called up in roughly 2 to 2 1/2 years. They are almost half way throught the conductor promotional list. That list should be done within the next year or so with the current hiring pace. Again, that is if the current pace continues only. Remember, a job is only bad if you let it get to you. If you can put a job out of your mind the moment you clock out, then you can deal with it better. Things in life will only bother you if you allow them to bother you.

For the tenth time. Transit is not laying off conductors or train operators. Why is this so hard to understand? He was talking about conductor, which has absolutely nothing to do with the cleaner, bus operator, and station agent layoffs.

Dan05979 · December 12, 2010

Has anyone else given up on being hired by the MTA? I scored in the low 400s on conductor exam 8094 (open competitive) and have heard absolutely nothing back, other than getting my socre. I have pretty much forgotten about ever being hired and am instead taking every other civils ervice test I am qualified for and might even go back to school to get certified in HVAC repair.

And to be honest, deep down inside, I am hoping that I never hear back because stepping over 3rd rails all day scares the poop out of me. For all of the train buffs here, being a conductor or even a TO is not as glamorous as you think it is. You will likely hate the job within a week. My father is a retired conductor, so I know A LOT about the job. Odd hours. Rats. Homeless/ crazy people. 3rd rails. Close encounters with moving trains. The list goes on. And by the time you retire, 50% of your hearing will be gone.

So why did you take the test then pal? Other people on here see things differently. Its a waiting game, thats the way it works. Unfortunatly when the test was giving the country went into a recession. What are you going to do? Every job has there dangers, especially working on the subway. Yea probably to some people the pay sucks, the benifets whatever. Some of us on here are not office workers or rich so we do what we can. Thats life cuzzy.

cdi919 · December 12, 2010

they are hiring but its not going to be at the same rate as they did years ago. remember they are trying to cut costs. and its still cheaper to pay ot than extra benefits. now as far as the harzards they tell you and show you them within the first few days of class. so you can still walk away. the way it is now i'd say 75% of C/R's dont walk the tracks at all. unless they flag or have one of the few dying jobs with a put in or layup. also its a thankless job when you are on time and its a horrible job when you are late or your train breaks down.

Donald · December 12, 2010

"So did your daddy drive you to take the C/O exam? it sure sounds that way to me."

No. But nice try at a childish insult. I did get to drive R40s during the summer vacation when I was 9 years old though. So you can drool over that.

"So why did you take the test then pal?"

So I can put in as little time as possible as a condctor and take the first promotion to assistant dispatcher.

DOB2RTO · December 12, 2010

MTA is hiring C/R's off the promotional list first. A class has already started (around the middle of October of 2010), and I have spoke with some who were road posting now. Friday, they were asking over the radio, if any C/R wants to work OT Mon, Tues, or Wed this week, give the A Div crew office a call. Be Patient. I had to wait 3 and 1/2 years to get hired by MTA as an OA B/O, and it took nearly 5 and 1/2 years for T/O. You should go back to school for HVAC, since there is money in that. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Even if you get hired by TA, it is always good to have a backup for the future.....

DOB2RTO · December 12, 2010

"So why did you take the test then pal?"

So I can put in as little time as possible as a condctor and take the first promotion to assistant dispatcher.

ATD's might not exist in the future. They have already started taking them away during certain periods, such as midnight tour. They want TD only, which means in the future, you might have to go from C/R to T/O to T/D. ATD's have been sent back to the road as C/R's. A few T/D's were sent back as T/O's. I know some of them, and where they were supervisors at........

Donald · December 12, 2010

Well, thanks for the advice everyone. I've actually take a lot of civil service tests since I took the MTA exam. I never thought it would take them that long to call people off the list. If they are not going to hire anyone this century, then maybe they should refund everyones' filing fees. But that will never happen.

PopsicleXGirl · December 12, 2010

Has anyone else given up on being hired by the MTA? I scored in the low 400s on conductor exam 8094 (open competitive) and have heard absolutely nothing back, other than getting my socre. I have pretty much forgotten about ever being hired and am instead taking every other civils ervice test I am qualified for and might even go back to school to get certified in HVAC repair.

And to be honest, deep down inside, I am hoping that I never hear back because stepping over 3rd rails all day scares the poop out of me. For all of the train buffs here, being a conductor or even a TO is not as glamorous as you think it is. You will likely hate the job within a week. My father is a retired conductor, so I know A LOT about the job. Odd hours. Rats. Homeless/ crazy people. 3rd rails. Close encounters with moving trains. The list goes on. And by the time you retire, 50% of your hearing will be gone.

they already started hiring off the promotional list. they will get around to the open competitive... it just takes time. it took them close to 5 years to call me. by the way, conductor's don't step over third rails everyday. only time you do is if you have to put a train in service with a T/O in a yard. even if they did, of course it's scary at first, but you get used to it. also, the job is not NEARLY as bad as you make it out to be. if you are disgruntled before you even get the job, perhaps the job isn't for you.

DOB2RTO · December 12, 2010

they already started hiring off the promotional list. they will get around to the open competitive... it just takes time. it took them close to 5 years to call me. by the way, conductor's don't step over third rails everyday. only time you do is if you have to put a train in service with a T/O in a yard. even if they did, of course it's scary at first, but you get used to it. also, the job is not NEARLY as bad as you make it out to be. if you are disgruntled before you even get the job, perhaps the job isn't for you.

They killed alot of the C/R jobs doing put-ins out the yard in the A Div. So even less for him to worry about........

Zap, zap.......

Donald · December 13, 2010

"They killed alot of the C/R jobs doing put-ins out the yard in the A Div."

Sorry, but can you translate that? I don't have the foggiest clue what this means.

Donald · December 13, 2010

Has anyone here who took the last open competitive train operator exam heard anything back? If I recall, I beleive a T/O test was given around the same time as the conductor exam was. I actually did not take the T/O test because driving a train is a much much bigger responsibility than being a conductor.

553 Bridgeton · December 13, 2010

"They killed alot of the C/R jobs doing put-ins out the yard in the A Div."

Sorry, but can you translate that? I don't have the foggiest clue what this means.

They got rid of the C/R put-ins out of the yard. Most C/R jobs start are at terminals, instead of the terminal some would start there job in the yard. A put-in is a train that comes out of the yard and goes in service, at lets say East 180th Street, instead of Dyre Ave.

Donald · December 13, 2010

Thanks for the clarification.

And after looking at the aunnocement for the last T/O exam, I just remembered why I did not file for it: I don't have the working experience requirement! Duh.

Speaking of promotions, why do people stay condcutors their whole lives? How come people don't move up the ladder? I know there are very smart people at the MTA who could get several promotions if they tried hard enough. My father never became a T/O because he did not want to lose his seniority. When he retired, his seniority number was in the SINGLE digits. But if it was me, I would stay in each title no more than 3 years, if possible.