High salary jobs in the mass transit field?

[DaTransitMan4608]

I'm still in high school, but I want to pursue a career in mass transit that pays good. What jobs in the mass transit field could get you paid like no more than $4k a week?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I'm still in high school, but I want to pursue a career in mass transit that pays good. What jobs in the mass transit field could get you paid like no more than $4k a week?

LOL... $4k a week??? Not too many and certainly not right off the back, not unless you're a engineer or in some very technical position.  There's a guy that takes the bus with me sometimes that lives down in Spuyten Duyvil.  He's an engineer and does jobs for the  and he makes pretty good money (6 figures easily), but he's old enough to be my father.   He's got kids a little younger than me so he's been at it for a while.  He's actually working on a project here in the city and sometimes I see him around here and there.  Does things with cranes and such usually.  You usually don't start off getting 6 figures in most jobs in the field right off of the bat unless you're in a high up or really technical position.  

[DaTransitMan4608]

Well I don't necessarily mean $4k a week, I mean a job that wouldn't pay me so low that I'm living in a s**thole. I'm looking for a job that will pay me good enough that I could live an inexpensive, but nice looking apartment in the NYC Metro area. Like anything with buses or trains, basically. But I'm not looking to be a T/O or a B/O. Would I like to be one? Yeah of course, but I'm looking for something that pays better. I'll probably be a B/O while I'm in College just to make some $$.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Well I don't necessarily mean $4k a week, I mean a job that wouldn't pay me so low that I'm living in a s**thole. I'm looking for a job that will pay me good enough that I could live an inexpensive, but nice looking apartment in the NYC Metro area. Like anything with buses or trains, basically. But I'm not looking to be a T/O or a B/O. Would I like to be one? Yeah of course, but I'm looking for something that pays better. I'll probably be a B/O while I'm in College just to make some $$.

I see... Then yeah, look into seeing if you can intern with the .  When I was considering going to grad. school at NYU or Columbia, I found out about a program the was doing for college students where you work more or less based on what your schedule permits.  That would allow you to get some office experience and also get your feet wet. They do like to hire within from what I understand, particularly for engineer positions or other more technical trades, so you should do some research online and look around. I worked for them in high school for two summers... Mainly doing data entry and other simple stuff and the rest of the time I was BORED out of my mind, but it was still a good experience and was really my first real office job at 15.  They still may provide you with a free pass as well which was valid for me from 07:00 until 19:00, Monday through Friday and we had Fridays off. 

 

Also they hire project managers there in the office that earn pretty good... Anywhere from 70 - 90k a year.  I think you have to figure out what you would want to do and then go from there, but just remember that whatever you like, the more technical and specialized it is the more you can earn.

 

I'm also a project manager but in my field the salary can range depending on how many responsibilities you have. I run an entire department and pretty much oversee EVERYTHING... Project Managers with my experience that are basically Senior project managers can earn 70k -100k a year esp. for the very large companies with a decent healthcare package and a 401k plan... A lot of stress and long hours but it would allow you to live comfortably for the most part.

 

If you want to live in Manhattan, have a car and be in a decent area, you'll need to be making at least 85k - 90k to live decently.  Otherwise, if you live in the outer areas, you can do fine with probably 60 - 70k and be able to eventually buy a place, esp. without a car.  All depends on what sort of lifestyle you want to live.

[SoSpectacular]

I'm still in high school, but I want to pursue a career in mass transit that pays good. What jobs in the mass transit field could get you paid like no more than $4k a week?

Basically any city job will allow you to live somewhat comfortably (single for now) if you go on and take any of the civil service exams... Bus operators make like 20/hr starting off if I remember... Give it some time and you'll get the pay raises.

[peacemak3r]

Still in high school and you want a job that gives no more than $4k a week?  Pipe dreams sir, pipe dreams.  Unless you're some top 1% genius prodigy in a specific science field that MTA would kill for.

 

Another note, aiming towards B/O while in college?  You'll basically say bye-bye to social life at that point.  College life is time-consuming even with online/hybrid courses.

 

Before having my Verizon job, I tried to do MTA and college at the same time and it didn't go so well for me.  I had basically no social life and Red Bull was my best friend and whenever I had sleep time on my bed, it felt like a vacation.

 

Most of the "high" paying jobs requires you to have previous experience anyway, so get some experience before tackling those types of jobs.

 

But really, patience man, patience.  Take a job that would pay moderately well before upgrading that pay grade or getting a promotion.  I survived with $10 an hour at the end of high school and beginning of college and now I'm still in college with a great $25 an hour pay.  Unfortunately not a MTA job but still a job with Union benefits.

[SubwayGuy]

Train operator pays fine to live very well in the city. Many train operators do over $100,000 a year, and you can do $70,000 to $80,000 easily without working too hard.

 

If you're wanting more money, you can always become a signal engineer and go work for an outside contractor. They pay more than any transit agency will. May not be 4K a week but it will pay quite high.

[INDman]

PATH engineers get 75k with no OT, doing some OT would get you over 100k. Even when working as an extra, you get a good amount of time off. Every so often I get a nice 3 day weekend and working here hasn't affected my social life. Plus the benifits are better than any other agency.

[Blitz]

There are no positions that I can think of that will pay like how you want right off the bat with no serious amount of time in or around the system. Unless you go for Maintainer in Staten Island. But you will have to pretty much live at the depot like most of those guys do (by this I mean doing a lot of overtime).

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Still in high school and you want a job that gives no more than $4k a week?  Pipe dreams sir, pipe dreams.  Unless you're some top 1% genius prodigy in a specific science field that MTA would kill for.

 

Another note, aiming towards B/O while in college?  You'll basically say bye-bye to social life at that point.  College life is time-consuming even with online/hybrid courses.

 

Before having my Verizon job, I tried to do MTA and college at the same time and it didn't go so well for me.  I had basically no social life and Red Bull was my best friend and whenever I had sleep time on my bed, it felt like a vacation.

 

Most of the "high" paying jobs requires you to have previous experience anyway, so get some experience before tackling those types of jobs.

 

But really, patience man, patience.  Take a job that would pay moderately well before upgrading that pay grade or getting a promotion.  I survived with $10 an hour at the end of high school and beginning of college and now I'm still in college with a great $25 an hour pay.  Unfortunately not a MTA job but still a job with Union benefits.

lol... These kids think you just graduate out of college and there's a FABULOUS high paying job waiting for you. In some cases there can be if you're in a specialized field, or have connections or go to a college with great connections, but with the job market these days many college kids are graduating with no job at all, and some from very prestigious Ivy League schools. I started out not making great money as a 23 year old (which is the case with most folks just coming out of college lol), BUT I've been tutoring Italian & Spanish since I was 17 in college, so that was something that I could always fall back on for extra money since it pays well and you can work around your schedule.  

 

Upon returning from Europe I had no job, had spent all of my own personal money and had to get into the job market while still waiting for my grades to be finalized and sent over from Italy so that I could officially receive my Bachelor's Degree. I went and did my old jobs that I had did when I took a semester off to prepare for my study abroad and for moving to Europe for a while and then when the time came and I received my degree, I quit one of the jobs, kept my part-time job and stayed at home during the day to refine my Curriculm Vitae and go on job interviews.  

 

Eventually I linked up with a temp. firm. The lady (middle aged white chick) took a liking to me and got me a gig at Harper Collins (a large publisher of books, etc.).  Worked there for a few weeks and they actually wanted to keep me but had nothing for me position wise, so then I kept temping here and there until I got my break with a construction company. The lady really looked out for me and sent me on some nice jobs I must admit.  From there I had my job and eventually quit the other part-time gig and started looking for tutoring gigs and landed a nice part-time gig with a language company and that with my regular job allowed me to earn quite well as a 24 year old I must admit.  And that's how you do it...

 

That's why it's good to work all sorts of odd jobs because you get experience from each one and it makes a very well rounded individual and increases your skills to do a multitude of things.  Eventually I got enough experience that other construction companies became interested in me and I got to hone my project management skills and from there you just keep working until an opportunity comes your way.  Now I'm doing something I absolutely LOVE working as a Project Manger in the language/localization field.  Long hours, but it's worth it and the funny thing is I get paid to do this. lol The opportunity has presented me with great chances even abroad from recruiters so when I decide to move again, I'll get to pick and choose where I go.  

 

What I'm interested in now though is working as a consultant which would be fantastic.  Running a department on my own has shown me that I can actually run my own business with enough capital and connections... I could work when you want, earn nicely and have more time to yourself, but like I said, all of this stuff takes time.

 

Hell these days though, most of my friends are either stuck with their jobs or are going back to school to get their Masters' and I don't blame them.  The job market overall sucks IMO.

[RTOMan]

Still in high school and you want a job that gives no more than $4k a week?  Pipe dreams sir, pipe dreams.  Unless you're some top 1% genius prodigy in a specific science field that MTA would kill for.

 

Another note, aiming towards B/O while in college?  You'll basically say bye-bye to social life at that point.  College life is time-consuming even with online/hybrid courses.

 

Before having my Verizon job, I tried to do MTA and college at the same time and it didn't go so well for me.  I had basically no social life and Red Bull was my best friend and whenever I had sleep time on my bed, it felt like a vacation.

 

Most of the "high" paying jobs requires you to have previous experience anyway, so get some experience before tackling those types of jobs.

 

But really, patience man, patience.  Take a job that would pay moderately well before upgrading that pay grade or getting a promotion.  I survived with $10 an hour at the end of high school and beginning of college and now I'm still in college with a great $25 an hour pay.  Unfortunately not a MTA job but still a job with Union benefits.

T*R*U*T*H

 

 

In other words Tranistkidd any high paying job in any Field you need to KNOW one word..

 

Sacrifice....

 

If you arent willing  to start there then dont waste your time...

[peacemak3r]

lol... These kids think you just graduate out of college and there's a FABULOUS high paying job waiting for you. In some cases there can be if you're in a specialized field, or have connections or go to a college with great connections, but with the job market these days many college kids are graduating with no job at all, and some from very prestigious Ivy League schools. I started out not making great money as a 23 year old (which is the case with most folks just coming out of college lol), BUT I've been tutoring Italian & Spanish since I was 17 in college, so that was something that I could always fall back on for extra money since it pays well and you can work around your schedule.  

 

Upon returning from Europe I had no job, had spent all of my own personal money and had to get into the job market while still waiting for my grades to be finalized and sent over from Italy so that I could officially receive my Bachelor's Degree. I went and did my old jobs that I had did when I took a semester off to prepare for my study abroad and for moving to Europe for a while and then when the time came and I received my degree, I quit one of the jobs, kept my part-time job and stayed at home during the day to refine my Curriculm Vitae and go on job interviews.  

 

Eventually I linked up with a temp. firm. The lady (middle aged white chick) took a liking to me and got me a gig at Harper Collins (a large publisher of books, etc.).  Worked there for a few weeks and they actually wanted to keep me but had nothing for me position wise, so then I kept temping here and there until I got my break with a construction company. The lady really looked out for me and sent me on some nice jobs I must admit.  From there I had my job and eventually quit the other part-time gig and started looking for tutoring gigs and landed a nice part-time gig with a language company and that with my regular job allowed me to earn quite well as a 24 year old I must admit.  And that's how you do it...

 

That's why it's good to work all sorts of odd jobs because you get experience from each one and it makes a very well rounded individual and increases your skills to do a multitude of things.  Eventually I got enough experience that other construction companies became interested in me and I got to hone my project management skills and from there you just keep working until an opportunity comes your way.  Now I'm doing something I absolutely LOVE working as a Project Manger in the language/localization field.  Long hours, but it's worth it and the funny thing is I get paid to do this. lol The opportunity has presented me with great chances even abroad from recruiters so when I decide to move again, I'll get to pick and choose where I go.  

 

What I'm interested in now though is working as a consultant which would be fantastic.  Running a department on my own has shown me that I can actually run my own business with enough capital and connections... I could work when you want, earn nicely and have more time to yourself, but like I said, all of this stuff takes time.

 

Hell these days though, most of my friends are either stuck with their jobs or are going back to school to get their Masters' and I don't blame them.  The job market overall sucks IMO.

 

Unfortunately that's not enough in some fields...I have a friend with a Master's and his current job is tutoring.  Another one graduated from Cooper Union and still looking for a job.  Times are really rough these days.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Unfortunately that's not enough in some fields...I have a friend with a Master's and his current job is tutoring.  Another one graduated from Cooper Union and still looking for a job.  Times are really rough these days.

Oh believe me I know... I think some folks think that this is the best time to go back and get your Master's degree hoping that by the time they finish, the economy will have turned around... Wouldn't hold my breath on that... We're stuck in this for sometime to come... I'm just wondering what in the heck these folks are doing to pay the rent because everything is going up.  I guess most of them are still living at home or bunking up with people.

[SubwayGuy]

Oh believe me I know... I think some folks think that this is the best time to go back and get your Master's degree hoping that by the time they finish, the economy will have turned around... Wouldn't hold my breath on that... We're stuck in this for sometime to come... I'm just wondering what in the heck these folks are doing to pay the rent because everything is going up.  I guess most of them are still living at home or bunking up with people.

 

Problem is everyone who can't get a job goes back to school for a more advanced degree, saturating the market with people with advanced degrees who wouldn't have had them if there was more work available. Now those people find themselves in the unenviable position of having to pay off much more in school loans while not necessarily being able to get better employment.

 

So a degree doesn't mean as much as what you do with it. The most important thing nowadays is experience, so try different things and have a resume with more than a couple things on it by the time you apply for a job.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Problem is everyone who can't get a job goes back to school for a more advanced degree, saturating the market with people with advanced degrees who wouldn't have had them if there was more work available. Now those people find themselves in the unenviable position of having to pay off much more in school loans while not necessarily being able to get better employment.

 

So a degree doesn't mean as much as what you do with it. The most important thing nowadays is experience, so try different things and have a resume with more than a couple things on it by the time you apply for a job.

This is true also... The other problem is employers can't find skilled people for certain jobs because so many people are unqualified or just lack the proper skills... Not shocking either because everyone and their mother is going to college these days, so the so called college degree doesn't have as much behind it as it used to.  Some people supposedly graduated college and if you see how they write and their lack of competence you'd question if they even got through high school, let alone college.

[LMDNYC]

Still in high school and you want a job that gives no more than $4k a week?  Pipe dreams sir, pipe dreams.  Unless you're some top 1% genius prodigy in a specific science field that MTA would kill for.

 

Another note, aiming towards B/O while in college?  You'll basically say bye-bye to social life at that point.  College life is time-consuming even with online/hybrid courses.

 

Before having my Verizon job, I tried to do MTA and college at the same time and it didn't go so well for me.  I had basically no social life and Red Bull was my best friend and whenever I had sleep time on my bed, it felt like a vacation.

 

Most of the "high" paying jobs requires you to have previous experience anyway, so get some experience before tackling those types of jobs.

 

But really, patience man, patience.  Take a job that would pay moderately well before upgrading that pay grade or getting a promotion.  I survived with $10 an hour at the end of high school and beginning of college and now I'm still in college with a great $25 an hour pay.  Unfortunately not a MTA job but still a job with Union benefits.

 

You Have A $25 An Hour Job With Benefits And Would Leave It To Take Less With The MTA? 

 

You Must Really Hate Whatever It Is You Do lol

[peacemak3r]

You Have A $25 An Hour Job With Benefits And Would Leave It To Take Less With The MTA? 

 

You Must Really Hate Whatever It Is You Do lol

 

I never said I would take an MTA job over my current job.  I said I preferred an MTA job, plus the one I applied to was a higher pay than my current pay.

 

Even though the pay is good for myself at the moment, I actually do hate my job at times.  You have no idea how many ideas call Technical Support with "shoot me now" questions.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

LOL... $4k a week??? Not too many and certainly not right off the back, not unless you're a engineer or in some very technical position.  There's a guy that takes the bus with me sometimes that lives down in Spuyten Duyvil.  He's an engineer and does jobs for the  and he makes pretty good money (6 figures easily), but he's old enough to be my father.   He's got kids a little younger than me so he's been at it for a while.  He's actually working on a project here in the city and sometimes I see him around here and there.  Does things with cranes and such usually.  You usually don't start off getting 6 figures in most jobs in the field right off of the bat unless you're in a high up or really technical position.  

Ugh... Damn phone... Meant to say certainly not right off the bat...

-----

I think it's good that this kid is thinking about jobs already though... If I could do it all over again, I would've saved more of my pocket money instead of blowing all of it on stuff I wanted and put some of that money into a 529 plan, this way I would have less student loan debt to pay off... That's another thing that can give you a huge leg up when you've just graduated... I had four student loans to pay off... Paid off two of them and have two more to go...

----

[BroadwayBuffer]

You should take the next T/O or B/O exam when they're offered while continuing school and/or whatever other jobs you'll work in the mean time. Definitely look into interning at an MTA agency. You could look for colleges which offer Engineering or areas specific to the mass transportation field. Then when you're called off the list you'll have a good job available which you can take or not depending on your circumstances at that time.

[SubwayGuy]

This is true also... The other problem is employers can't find skilled people for certain jobs because so many people are unqualified or just lack the proper skills... Not shocking either because everyone and their mother is going to college these days, so the so called college degree doesn't have as much behind it as it used to.  Some people supposedly graduated college and if you see how they write and their lack of competence you'd question if they even got through high school, let alone college.

 

Thing is degrees don't mean anything because school work is all theoretical. If you can't do it in the real world, you can't do it. Employers want to see proof you can do it in the real world = experience.

 

A lot of college kids don't get this and that's why they end up moonlighting as bartenders while living in Williamsburg with 5 roommates while they try to figure out "what to do next"...

 

Civil service is nice because if you're willing to sacrifice a normal M-F 9-5 schedule, you get job security and you skip all the bullshit in hiring nowadays - no one's going to be sending you messages on LinkedIn, or critiquing your resume goals, or asking you if you have any questions of the [insert city agency here]. They just want to know everything about your background (are you a criminal, if you are, did you at least tell the truth and if so how bad is it?) and your work eligibility and you're good.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Thing is degrees don't mean anything because school work is all theoretical. If you can't do it in the real world, you can't do it. Employers want to see proof you can do it in the real world = experience.

 

A lot of college kids don't get this and that's why they end up moonlighting as bartenders while living in Williamsburg with 5 roommates while they try to figure out "what to do next"...

 

Civil service is nice because if you're willing to sacrifice a normal M-F 9-5 schedule, you get job security and you skip all the bullshit in hiring nowadays - no one's going to be sending you messages on LinkedIn, or critiquing your resume goals, or asking you if you have any questions of the [insert city agency here]. They just want to know everything about your background (are you a criminal, if you are, did you at least tell the truth and if so how bad is it?) and your work eligibility and you're good.

LMAO!! I have to laugh because it's so true.... They really don't have a clue how things work in the real world.... I have a co-worker that's like this... Totally clueless... All she talks about is how she used to be in frats when she was in college as if that's such a great thing to be advertising...   I just wonder how long my boss is going to tolerate her because she's already complained in front of me about her several times about how much she's f*cked up... 

[SubwayGuy]

LMAO!! I have to laugh because it's so true.... They really don't have a clue how things work in the real world.... I have a co-worker that's like this... Totally clueless... All she talks about is how she used to be in frats when she was in college as if that's such a great thing to be advertising...   I just wonder how long my boss is going to tolerate her because she's already complained in front of me about her several times about how much she's f*cked up... 

 

The other thing is that a college degree doesn't mean jack except that you or your parents basically have money or are willing to go into debt, or that you were smart in high school doing things that most adults don't think about or use in their careers (think about it, seriously) and got some form of scholarship. Anyone can pass a college course these days (or 40), there's no clear line anymore. When failure rates were higher in schools, degrees meant more. Now everyone can seemingly coax a halfway decent grade just by showing up and doing the work, regardless of how good or bad the end product is. Even at the so called "Ivy League" schools. A degree is a good start, but it's not what it used to be, and private employers (especially large ones) know this. Most new hires out of college they end up treating like idiots anyway until the new hire proves otherwise because that's what they're used to getting straight out of school, so the only ones that are hiring are the ones that don't expect a whole lot, so you can expect compensation to reflect that.

 

That's why experience is so important. After you graduate college and work your first job, no one gives a damn what your GPA was anyway so you might as well take it off your resume, and start putting things on your resume (especially statistics/facts) that reflect your skills at work (ie generated XX in sales, or produced this much work, or improved productivity xx%...not "proved to my manager that I was a hard worker with a can do attitude"). That's what makes the difference nowadays.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

The other thing is that a college degree doesn't mean jack except that you or your parents basically have money or are willing to go into debt, or that you were smart in high school doing things that most adults don't think about or use in their careers (think about it, seriously) and got some form of scholarship. Anyone can pass a college course these days (or 40), there's no clear line anymore. When failure rates were higher in schools, degrees meant more. Now everyone can seemingly coax a halfway decent grade just by showing up and doing the work, regardless of how good or bad the end product is. Even at the so called "Ivy League" schools. A degree is a good start, but it's not what it used to be, and private employers (especially large ones) know this. Most new hires out of college they end up treating like idiots anyway until the new hire proves otherwise because that's what they're used to getting straight out of school, so the only ones that are hiring are the ones that don't expect a whole lot, so you can expect compensation to reflect that.

 

That's why experience is so important. After you graduate college and work your first job, no one gives a damn what your GPA was anyway so you might as well take it off your resume, and start putting things on your resume (especially statistics/facts) that reflect your skills at work (ie generated XX in sales, or produced this much work, or improved productivity xx%...not "proved to my manager that I was a hard worker with a can do attitude"). That's what makes the difference nowadays.

It's true.... This is why I tried to intern and hone my office skills... Get as much experience in your field as you can and if you have to offer your services for free to get your feet wet.

[RTOMan]

The other thing is that a college degree doesn't mean jack except that you or your parents basically have money or are willing to go into debt, or that you were smart in high school doing things that most adults don't think about or use in their careers (think about it, seriously) and got some form of scholarship. Anyone can pass a college course these days (or 40), there's no clear line anymore. When failure rates were higher in schools, degrees meant more. Now everyone can seemingly coax a halfway decent grade just by showing up and doing the work, regardless of how good or bad the end product is. Even at the so called "Ivy League" schools. A degree is a good start, but it's not what it used to be, and private employers (especially large ones) know this. Most new hires out of college they end up treating like idiots anyway until the new hire proves otherwise because that's what they're used to getting straight out of school, so the only ones that are hiring are the ones that don't expect a whole lot, so you can expect compensation to reflect that.

 

That's why experience is so important. After you graduate college and work your first job, no one gives a damn what your GPA was anyway so you might as well take it off your resume, and start putting things on your resume (especially statistics/facts) that reflect your skills at work (ie generated XX in sales, or produced this much work, or improved productivity xx%...not "proved to my manager that I was a hard worker with a can do attitude"). That's what makes the difference nowadays.

 

 

Well Said some folks get a serious reality check in the worse way....

 

Thats why when "college grads" toot their horns online first thing i ask them is..

 

"If yer so smart why bother wasting time with us when you could be doing so much more?"...

 

*Crickets*         

[Xentor]

The very fact there are now many college grads turning to civil service for a career says quite a bit about whats going on out there in private corporate world. They used to be amongst the same people against unions and public workers. I can remember when I was in high school a couple of teachers would drill the fact that if you didn't do well there and in college, you were going to find yourself in Apex or Devry trying to learn how to fix something or in civil service working with a bunch of odious nincompoops who didn't know left from right. What a difference 15 years make.  Everywhere you look there's an imminent threat of disaster as the banks and large corporations keep playing with funny money and producing either JUNK, DEBT, massive layoffs, minimum wage or next to NOTHING for our society. All while civil servants and people that fix stuff keep everything running.